Hong Kong’s new accountability system to ensure government ‘keeps fit’

A new accountability system for senior civil servants is targeted at strengthening the fitness of government departments and raising public trust in authorities, Hong Kong’s leader has said.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu told a radio programme on Saturday the measure would push department heads to consistently look for areas for improvement, likening the practice to regular exercise.

In his annual policy blueprint on Wednesday, Lee introduced the “Heads of Department Accountability System”, which would penalise underperforming senior civil servants and address internal deficiencies.

“My second goal for pushing this measure is that I want to push the heads of departments to strengthen their entire department on a day-to-day basis,” he said.

“It is like having one person who regularly exercises and another who does not. Right now, this system is to push that person to keep fit every day and help them assess whether their systems are effective.”

Lee said that he hoped the system would encourage senior civil servants to strive to be better.