ENG-2003 — Page 52

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

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public authorities are readily accessible to the public;

abuse of power is prevented;

wrongs are righted;

facts are pointed out when public officers are unjustly accused;

human rights are protected; and

the public sector continues to improve quality, transparency and efficiency. Two exceptions to the monitoring system are the Hong Kong Police Force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption, both of which have their own separate body for dealing with public complaints.

The 17 major public organisations in the schedule are: the Airport Authority, Employees Retraining Board, Equal Opportunities Commission, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, Hong Kong Housing Authority, Hong Kong Housing Society, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong Sports Development Board, Hospital Authority, Kowloon- Canton Railway Corporation, Legislative Council Secretariat, Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Securities and Futures Commission, Urban Renewal Authority and Vocational Training Council.

Apart from investigating complaints, The Ombudsman may initiate direct investigations of her own volition into matters of public interest and widespread concern, and publish the reports. This proactive and preventive approach aims at addressing problems affecting a broad spectrum of the community. The direct investigations are particularly useful in redressing administrative flaws of a systemic nature and addressing fundamental problems or underlying causes for complaint.

Since 1994, when The Ombudsman was empowered to undertake direct investigations, 45 such investigations have been completed six of them in 2003. These six concerned the following subjects:

*

the monitoring of charitable fund-raising activities by the Social Welfare Department and the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority;

the prevention of abuse of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme operated by the Social Welfare Department;

the Education and Manpower Bureau's enforcement of the Education Ordinance in respect of universal basic education;

the role of the Home Affairs Department in facilitating the formation of Owners' Corporations;

the assistance provided by the Home Affairs Department to owners and Owners' Corporations in managing and maintaining their buildings; and

* the operation of the Integrated Call Centre by the Efficiency Unit of the Chief

Secretary for Administration's Office of the Government Secretariat.

The reports of all direct investigations have been published and are available for public scrutiny at the Office's Resource Centre.

The Ombudsman Ordinance also empowers The Ombudsman to investigate complaints of non-compliance with the Code on Access to Information against government departments, including the Hong Kong Police Force and the Independent