7.94 On the propriety of a limited architectural competition in the circumstances, the Director said that the Directo Architectural Services favoured architectural competitions for major projects. In the case of the technical institutes had been accepted that improved standards of facilities should be provided. A competition was seen as a means of providing a choice of designs. At the time he had thought that this approach was cost-effective and sensible. In future, however, a limited design competition would not be needed because the Vocational Training Council now had sufficient experience of their requirements.
7.95 The Director accepted that the Vocational Training Council had placed a high priority on aesthetic appeal but site layout, operational efficiency and completion date had also been given high priority. No priority had been given to costs because the architects had already been given the estimate within which they should work. Although estimates had been scaled down by $45 million, the buildings had still enabled the Council to meet its requirements. The additional money could have enabled the Council to provide better institutes.
7.96 On the failure to wait for the sketch plans to be endorsed by the Director of Architectural Services before proceeding to detailed designs,the Director said that the Council had given no written instructions to their architects on the matter. They had merely allowed them to continue with the designs. It had been impressed upon the architects at various times that there was urgency in getting the projects finished. The architects had gone ahead in good faith on the assumption that they would be paid for their services.
7.97 The subsequent decision to scale down costs, necessitating redesign work, had delayed the opening of the institutes by one year with the loss of technical education for 6,650 people.
7.98 The Director said that a lesson had been learned from the experience. In the planning of the Chai Wan Technical Institute the procedures had been followed and there had been no problems. A new 21-step procedure had been introduced which should ensure that design and financial considerations are closely related in future. In his opinion however the new procedure was over-complicated.
7.99 Conclusions and Recommendations. The Committee are concerned that at the planning stage of the Tuen Mun and Sha Tin Technical Institutes design and financial considerations were not closely related. The Committee note that the Government has since introduced revised procedures for the financing of building projects by subvented organizations. These are to ensure that the design and financial considerations are closely related in future. The Committee recommend that the Government and the Vocational Training Council should also co-operate in devising a set of building standards for future Council building projects. These should ensure that full weight is given to the functional attributes and costs of buildings with a view to producing cost-effective buildings. The Committee wish to be informed if there are any difficulties in implementing this recommendation.
7.100 The Committee conclude that the main cause of the problem was the failure to adjust the estimated project costs downwards during a period of falling building costs. The Committee recommend that such adjustments are made for future building projects where necessary.
7.101 The Committee are concerned that no attempt was made to stop the architect proceeding with detailed design work before the design was approved by the Director of Architectural Services. This resulted in nugatory expenditure of $7.8 million.
7.102 The Committee note the statement of the Director of Technical Education and Industrial Training that it should not be necessary to build further institutes in the future and that, in any case, the Vocational Training Council has accumulated sufficient experience to render future recourse to design competitions unnecessary.
7.103 Nevertheless, the Committee recommend that the Government policy of not inviting architects to compete for design work should be followed generally by subvented organizations in the future.
7.104 The Committee congratulate the Deputy Financial Secretary for his timely intervention. Following redesign of the institutes, this resulted in a net saving of $38 million.
8 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
8.1 The Committee note that while the Director of Audit's report comments on certain shortcomings in various departments and branches of the Government Secretariat, these should be viewed in a proper perspective: that is, against the background of the total volume of government transactions, the bulk of which do not attract adverse comment. The Committee wish to place on record their belief that, in general, public servants do tackle their responsibilities for public money with prudence, restraint and proper regard for economy. Although the work of the Committee in this and previous years has highlighted instances where things should have been handled differently, the Committee conclude that, on the whole, public finances are in sound hands. However, the Committee wish to emphasize that such a satisfactory situation can be sustained only by persistent alertness, the application of sound disciplines and constant striving after the highest standards.
8.2 The Committee once again wish to emphasize the vital role in achieving these standards played by the audit process. This process can achieve its maximum effect only if it is recognized that it is essentially constructive in nature. While the Committee will not hesitate to comment on cases where there is prima facie evidence of neglect, they do not wish to be cast in the role of a judicial body. In general the Committee lack the resources and expertise for such a role, particularly when the issues are complex or technical. The Committee's main purpose is to establish the lessons for the future. It is to this end that the Committee have directed their work in the past, have done this year and will continue to do so in the future.
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