BackThe Ombudsman, Ms Connie Lau, released to the public the latest issue of her Annual Report.
The Annual Report noted that inadequate coordination and compartmental mentality among Government departments had caused some problems in public administration to persist for years. The Report highlighted also the need for some departments to enhance their understanding of the meaning and requirements of the Code on Access to Information (“the Code”). Meanwhile, the Office of The Ombudsman has continued with its efforts in promoting the use of mediation in complaint handling.
Inadequate coordination among Government departments
Ms Lau said, “In the course of our investigation, we have noticed that where solving a problem requires the input of more than one department, inadequate coordination is found among departments.”
She noted that in such circumstances, public complaints would grow and the problems become even more unwieldy. By the time the departments/organisations concerned eventually decide to introduce major changes, or agree to work together to solve the problems, the slow pace of action means that huge costs would have been incurred. The Ombudsman urged the organisations concerned to take prompt actions on discovery of administrative problems and make improvements as soon as possible.
Code on Access to Information
In year 2015/16 (April 2015 – March 2016), the Office concluded a total of 53 cases that involved the Code on Access to Information. Of those cases concluded, failings on the part of the organisations concerned were found in 27 cases, with 11 cases involving unjustifiable refusal, wholly or partly, or imposing unnecessary conditions for provision of the information requested.
Mediation
Last year, 134 cases were concluded by mediation. More departments and organisations participated in resolving complaints by mediation and a total of 21 departments/organisations actually took part.
On successful conclusion of cases by mediation, the Office sent out questionnaires to the participating parties to obtain their feedback on the process. Almost all who had returned the questionnaire expressed appreciation of the speed with which the dispute was resolved and the performance of the Office’s staff as mediator.
Investigation work
In the previous year, the Office received 12,159 enquiries and 5,244 complaints, while 226 full investigations and eight direct investigations were completed. To enhance the transparency of direct investigation work, the Office turned some of the more substantial preliminary inquiries that would previously be concluded as “direct investigation assessments” into direct investigations and, upon completion, publish the investigation reports.
Looking ahead
On the work of the Office in the year ahead, Ms Lau said, “We shall continue with our endeavours in enhancing the effectiveness of our investigation in different aspects and shall remain committed to promoting mediation for even better achievements and improvement in public administration. Meanwhile, we shall enhance the transparency of our direct investigation, provide possible solutions and actively promote our values and functions through different promotional strategies and publicity channels so that all sectors of the community will understand better the work of this Office.”
Source: Office of The Ombudsman – Hong Kong
