Opening remarks by ICAC Commissioner, Mr Raymond Wong Hung-chiu, at the Legislative Council's Security Panel meeting
2005-7-22
The recent resignation of the Director of Investigation of the ICAC's Operations Department, Mr Gilbert CHAN Tak-shing, has raised public concern. In fact, due to privacy concerns, it is not appropriate to publicly discuss personnel matters. However, Mr CHAN, who is now outside Hong Kong, has submitted a letter to the Panel on Security to briefly explain his decision to resign.
Mr. CHAN applied, in accordance with established procedures, to resolve his agreement with the Commission. As he has accumulated considerable leave during his long service with the Commission, he applied to take leave during the notice period. Since Mr Chan had been on leave for about one month before making his application, his duties were taken over by a directorate officer appointed to act in his post. Having regard to the work and operational need of the Operations Department and to minimise disrup tion, I approved Mr Chan’s application to proceed on leave during the notice period. The officer who was appointed to act in the post was allowed to continue to act. The decision was made on grounds of exigencies of service and was fair and reasonable.
The ICAC has established procedures to make sure that senior officers leaving the Commission do not enter into employment which may lead to a conflict of interest. In accordance with our existing rules, all agreement officers on Directorate Pay Scale D3 or above are required to seek approval from the ICAC Commissioner before taking up employment or appointment, or engaging in any business, trade or profession the principal part of which is carried on in Hong Kong, within one year immediately following th e expiry of their final leave. On receipt of any such applications, I would scrutinize them to ensure that there will not be any conflicts of interest.
In view of the public concerns about ICAC's manpower following Mr CHAN's resignation, I would like to provide this Panel with information in this regard. First, in respect of terms of appointment, as different from other government departments, up to 98% of ICAC staff are appointed on agreement terms. Hence, their turnover may be higher than civil servants on pensionable terms, and more susceptible to changes in the labour market. In the first six months of this year, 46 officers from various department s and various ranks left the Commission. In the past five years, the average wastage rate is 6%. The turnover rates for 2000, 2001 and 2004 are comparatively higher - 6.7%, 7.4% and 7.1%. For the years of 2002 and 2003, possibly due to the overall econ omy, the turnover rates are relatively lower - 4.8% and 4.7% respectively. (The turnover figures include cases of non-renewal of contracts, resignation, retirement and civil servants returning to the Government on completion of secondment.) Secondly, a high turnover is seen at the frontline level. To fill the vacancies arising from wastage and promotion, the Commission has since 2003 recruited 117 officers, including 84 Assistant Investigators and Investigators, and 13 Assistant Commission Against Corr uption Officers for the Community Relations and the Corruption Prevention Departments. We also regularly review our overall workload and flexibly deploy our staff to ensure effective operation. Meanwhile, a number of promotion exercises have been conduc ted to fill vacancies. Since 2003, 71 suitable officers have been promoted to various ranks.
Although ICAC's staff turnover rate is not particularly high, we appreciate the work pressure faced by our colleagues, in particular, the frontline investigators. While corruption complaints have slightly decreased in the past two years, many cases under investigation are very complex in nature, requiring considerable manpower and resources for in-depth analysis and the gathering of evidence. At the same time, we need to operate with stringent resources. Therefore, the work pressure faced by ICAC office rs is imaginable.
To tackle these challenges positively, apart from recruiting staff to ease the work pressure faced by frontline staff, early this year, the ICAC has embarked on a comprehensive review of the professional training needs of our staff as a reference for form ulating long-term staff training plans. In addition, the Operations Department has appointed an overseas training consultant well-versed in law enforcement work to conduct a consultancy study and to make recommendations on the training of investigators o f all ranks. We will continue to allocate more resources to strengthen the professional training of our staff to enhance our law enforcement capability and to sustain effective anti-corruption work.
Lastly, I would like to reassure the public that despite the challenges, all ICAC officers will continue to steadfastly discharge their anti-corruption duties in strict accordance with the law, without fear or favour, for the good of the Hong Kong communi ty.
Mr. CHAN applied, in accordance with established procedures, to resolve his agreement with the Commission. As he has accumulated considerable leave during his long service with the Commission, he applied to take leave during the notice period. Since Mr Chan had been on leave for about one month before making his application, his duties were taken over by a directorate officer appointed to act in his post. Having regard to the work and operational need of the Operations Department and to minimise disrup tion, I approved Mr Chan’s application to proceed on leave during the notice period. The officer who was appointed to act in the post was allowed to continue to act. The decision was made on grounds of exigencies of service and was fair and reasonable.
The ICAC has established procedures to make sure that senior officers leaving the Commission do not enter into employment which may lead to a conflict of interest. In accordance with our existing rules, all agreement officers on Directorate Pay Scale D3 or above are required to seek approval from the ICAC Commissioner before taking up employment or appointment, or engaging in any business, trade or profession the principal part of which is carried on in Hong Kong, within one year immediately following th e expiry of their final leave. On receipt of any such applications, I would scrutinize them to ensure that there will not be any conflicts of interest.
In view of the public concerns about ICAC's manpower following Mr CHAN's resignation, I would like to provide this Panel with information in this regard. First, in respect of terms of appointment, as different from other government departments, up to 98% of ICAC staff are appointed on agreement terms. Hence, their turnover may be higher than civil servants on pensionable terms, and more susceptible to changes in the labour market. In the first six months of this year, 46 officers from various department s and various ranks left the Commission. In the past five years, the average wastage rate is 6%. The turnover rates for 2000, 2001 and 2004 are comparatively higher - 6.7%, 7.4% and 7.1%. For the years of 2002 and 2003, possibly due to the overall econ omy, the turnover rates are relatively lower - 4.8% and 4.7% respectively. (The turnover figures include cases of non-renewal of contracts, resignation, retirement and civil servants returning to the Government on completion of secondment.) Secondly, a high turnover is seen at the frontline level. To fill the vacancies arising from wastage and promotion, the Commission has since 2003 recruited 117 officers, including 84 Assistant Investigators and Investigators, and 13 Assistant Commission Against Corr uption Officers for the Community Relations and the Corruption Prevention Departments. We also regularly review our overall workload and flexibly deploy our staff to ensure effective operation. Meanwhile, a number of promotion exercises have been conduc ted to fill vacancies. Since 2003, 71 suitable officers have been promoted to various ranks.
Although ICAC's staff turnover rate is not particularly high, we appreciate the work pressure faced by our colleagues, in particular, the frontline investigators. While corruption complaints have slightly decreased in the past two years, many cases under investigation are very complex in nature, requiring considerable manpower and resources for in-depth analysis and the gathering of evidence. At the same time, we need to operate with stringent resources. Therefore, the work pressure faced by ICAC office rs is imaginable.
To tackle these challenges positively, apart from recruiting staff to ease the work pressure faced by frontline staff, early this year, the ICAC has embarked on a comprehensive review of the professional training needs of our staff as a reference for form ulating long-term staff training plans. In addition, the Operations Department has appointed an overseas training consultant well-versed in law enforcement work to conduct a consultancy study and to make recommendations on the training of investigators o f all ranks. We will continue to allocate more resources to strengthen the professional training of our staff to enhance our law enforcement capability and to sustain effective anti-corruption work.
Lastly, I would like to reassure the public that despite the challenges, all ICAC officers will continue to steadfastly discharge their anti-corruption duties in strict accordance with the law, without fear or favour, for the good of the Hong Kong communi ty.