ENG-1996 — Page 44

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

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depth examinations of complex policy issues, analyses options and recommends practical solutions.

Much of its work is related to the annual Policy Address and Budget exercises. Other issues, which often cut across or fall between the boundaries of several policy branches or government departments, are assigned on a case-by-case basis. In 1996, it produced more than 380 reports and papers on a wide range of economic, social, administrative, political and other issues.

Role of the Efficiency Unit

The Efficiency Unit reports directly to the Chief Secretary and aims to pursue the government's commitment to improve services to the community and to enhance openness and accountability by formulating, securing support for and overseeing the implementation of a Serving the Community programme.

The unit has integrated various public sector reform initiatives into a new management framework. This approach, which builds on traditional strengths, gives a clear direction to management tasks across the government and provides the momentum for continuous improvement. The objective is to devolve more authority to those who carry responsibility for policy formulation and service delivery; and to place greater emphasis on serving customers and raising service standards.

The Structure of the Administration

The Hong Kong Government is organised into branches and departments. The branches, each headed by a policy secretary, collectively form the Government Secretariat. There are 15 policy branches, and two resource branches concerned with finance and the Public Service.

There are 71 departments and agencies whose heads are, with some exceptions, responsible to the branch secretaries for the direction of their departments and the efficient implementation of approved policy. The exceptions are the Audit Department, the independence of which is safeguarded by the Director's reporting directly to the Legislative Council; the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Office of the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints, whose independence is safeguarded by having the Commissioners report directly to the Governor; the Judiciary, which is the responsibility of the Chief Justice; and the Legal Department, which is the responsibility of the Attorney General.

Office of The Ombudsman

The Ombudsman formerly known as the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints (COMAC) — is an independent authority, established in 1989 under the COMAC Ordinance. The purpose of the office is to provide citizens with a means through which an independent person outside the Public Service can investigate and report on grievances arising from administrative decisions, acts, recommendations or omissions. The Ombudsman has jurisdiction over practically all government departments, except the Police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption, which have their own separate bodies to deal with complaints from the public.

Legislative amendments were enacted in June 1994 to widen the Ombudsman's powers and jurisdiction. The major changes included allowing members of the public to complain directly to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman's jurisdiction was