TNAG-0594-FCO40-740-Staffing-in-the-Dependent-Territories-in-the-1980s-1977 — Page 102

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officers from other dependencies and this requirement should sop up some of the officers who become redundant as a result of independence

etc.

Administrative Officers

3. Outside Hong Kong there are presently some 95 senior administra- tive officers in the remaining dependencies. 71 of these jobs should

In the fall away as the 5 larger territories become independent. 1980s, therefore, we should be faced with the problem of providing some 20-25 administrators of whom rather less than half will be Governors (see schedule at Annex A). Whatever plan is adopted for staffing the senior administrative ranks of dependent territories in the 1980s, certain needs must be satisfied.

(a) There is a need to protect the interests of the remaining officers of HMOCS. In fact the supply of these is drying up very rapidly. Most of those who are left available, and particularly those with the right type of experience, are now in their middle or late 50s. The normal retirement age for HMOCS is 55 and pensions

By 1980, except and other benefits are based on that retirement age. for Hong Kong, there should only be 9 officers left, aged under 55, from those presently active in the dependent territories.

(b) The need to maintain and ensure continuity and experience is felt not only in the dependent territories themselves (it would be a mistake to have too many Chief and Financial Secretaries without

Mr Posnett, previous relevant experience), but also in the Office.

in his paper on managing dependent territories, has pointed out that those serving in dependenices have a feeling, no matter how ill- grounded it may be, that their interests were looked after better by the Colonial Office, whose whole experience concerned dependent territories and where desk officers stayed at one job for a long time; than by the FCO for whom the dependencies are a minor side interest. There is a real need for a cadre of officers available to serve on dependent territories desks in the Office who have had

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