TNAG-0812-FCO40-1017-Allegations-of-bribery-and-corruption-in-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 116

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5.16 Sense of Responsibility and Service to the Community

It has also been put to the assignment staff by some of those interviewed (and a sentiment which is felt by the community at large) that in order to ensure that accountability is practised, it is important that Government should foster among staff of all levels a sense of responsibility for the work at hand, and of service to the community. The former is a matter for staff motivation and indeed machinery which is being set up in the form of staff consultative councils, regular review of pay and conditions of service, are all steps in the right direction. The latter, however, is a matter for education of staff. Sadly, some Government servants in their work situation still regard the public in a "us and them" context and possibly, vice versa. This attitude has manifested itself on occasions in hostility, rudeness, or condescension to the public. In a recent survey conducted by the Corruption Prevention Department3 on complaint procedures in Government departments, it was found that complaints from the public have often been characterised as trivial, ill-informed, or untruthful and in some cases, the investigation has been superficial. A consequence has been that Government servants who have treated members of the public unfairly or in a high-handed fashion have not been called to account by senior officers and thus accountability to the public has not been fully practised.

5.17 Maintaining Standards of Integrity

Yet another point made in the series of interviews and often repeated in the numerous contacts made by staff of the Community Relations Department of the Commission is that the practice of accountability would lead to a higher degree of integrity among Government servants. Clearly,

it will be necessary to ensure that adequate means exist to rid Government service of those who are found to be corrupt in the future. The disciplinary process in Government contains provision for dealing with an officer who has been convicted of a criminal offence in a court of law. If the concept of supervisory accountability presented in this study is to be a viable practice, there is a need for Government to consider how it can rid the service in the future of officers who have grave, albeit legally insufficient, suspicions cast upon their integrity, whether or not they have actually been charged and acquitted of a criminal offence.

5.18 It has been pointed out that there is one Colonial Regulation (C.R. 59)

which can mitigate this problem.4 C.R. 59 states that an officer may be compulsorily retired in the public interest without it being necessary to assign reasons. This C.R. has traditionally been used to weed out incompetent civil servants who have not been able to retain the confidence of the Government. The weeding out of incompetence by this means is one end-product of practising supervisory accountability, but the concept cannot be fully and comprehensively translated into practice unless and until the end-product includes the weeding out of officers who lack integrity.

3c.P.D. Report 11/77

"Government Department Procedures for Dealing With

Complaints Received From The Public".- 22nd December 1977.

4see

"Second Report of the Commission of Inquiry under Sir Alastair Blair- Kerr" September 1973 - Paras. 196

208.

G.F. 323

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