The government finally announced on April 17 details of its Principal Officials Accountability System after deliberating the issue for over a year. Under the system, 14 senior officials, including three secretaries of department and 11 directors of bureaux, will be appointed to cover respective portfolios assigned to them by the Chief Executive. I think the new system marks a major step forward for the HKSAR Administration, because it clarifies lines of responsibility and should also help invigorate Hong Kong's economy.

As effective and efficient administration is the cornerstone of a conducive business environment, the government must move with the times and respond quickly to economic changes. To help businesses cope with the current economic transformation, it should introduce various measures to assist businesses and to help them sharpen their competitiveness.

Given the problems with the current civil service structure, the accountability system is clearly an improvement. However, my biggest concern is how the government will attract talent from the private sector to take up these positions as the quality of these people will play an important factor in the degree of success of the new system.

Recruiting outside talent will benefit the administration by bringing in expertise and experience in their respective areas, as well as creative ideas for formulating policies. Compared with career civil servants, they should have a better feel of the pulse of financial, business and economic affairs. Policies initiated by them will therefore be more responsive to economic needs.

The government has proposed that bureau directors cannot return to their profession within one year of leaving the civil service. If they go into business in the period, they must seek advice from a special committee. Such a draconian requirement would only discourage talent from entering the civil service, so I hope the government will consider shortening the one-year requirement to ensure it attracts the best talent.

I also think the government needs to improve co-ordination between the Executive and Legislative councils to ensure the system operates smoothly. The government's failure to gain adequate votes to pass policies in Legco has, to a certain extent, made policy implementation difficult.

If legislators belonging to political parties are appointed to the Executive Council and discuss policies with bureau directors, proposed policies will more likely be supported and passed in Legco more easily. This, in turn, will enable bureau directors to implement policies more efficiently and effectively.

I disagree with those who criticise that the system will merely give the Chief Executive greater powers, because the Basic Law already confers all administrative powers on the Chief Executive. Many democratic countries like the U.S. and the U.K. have similar inner power groups for their top leaders and they function well.

As I mentioned earlier, the introduction of the accountability system on July 1 should be implemented as soon as possible in view of the social and economic benefits that it will be able to bring to Hong Kong. Nevertheless, Legco is still responsible for examining related regulations cautiously to avoid any loopholes in the law, and as such I have joined a special Legco committee to scrutinise the system and I will keep you informed of the progress.