TNAG-0822-FCO40-1029-Policy-on-salaries-for-civil-servants-in-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 452

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33.

I have referred earlier to the part that career development can play in preparing local officers for

advancement to more senior posts. We must also try to

arrange our staff structures, job requirements and entry

qualifications so that more posts can be filled from within

Hong Kong. I suspect that we also need to be bolder

in making full use of available talent, as well as more

flexible in slotting the right officer into the right post,

perhaps by extending the number of cross-postings from one

department to another.

·34.

To conclude, may I echo Miss Dunn's remark that

Hong Kong is too sophisticated a place for it to be wise

or necessary to pursue a policy of localisation for its own

sake. Indeed, if we were ever to fall into that trap, the

civil service could lose some of its most dedicated and

talented officers. Hong Kong as a whole would then be the

loser.

--35.

Sir, I support the motion.