Former IT chief stokes resignation intrigue
The government's former information technology chief has broken his silence about his abrupt resignation, saying it was related to 'the conduct of government business'. He hinted the administration had been concealing facts about the process of selecting two organisations to conduct a HK$200 million internet learning programme.
Jeremy Godfrey, who quit his post as government chief information officer on February 12 - about two months before his three-year contract was due to end - told lawmakers that what the government had said about his role in the programme was incomplete and could be misleading, but did not elaborate.
The row surrounds the Internet Learning Support Programme, announced by Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah in his budget in February last year to subsidise computers and internet education for students from low-income families.
Instead of choosing one of the five proposals it received, the government picked two winners, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and eInclusion Foundation Limited and asked them to jointly launch the scheme.
A report by East Week magazine in November suggested that eInclusion had been favoured because it enjoyed a good relationship with the government.
The government then announced in January that Godfrey, who had headed the committee to select the providers of the programme, would quit prematurely for 'personal reasons'.
The secretary for commerce and economic development at the time, Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan, told members of the Legislative Council's information technology panel on March 14 that Godfrey had been responsible for setting the selection criteria.
In a note he submitted to the panel, dated April 18 and circulated to members yesterday, Godfrey said that what the administration told the panel about his role in the selection process had been 'incomplete and likely to create a misleading impression of the events'.
'I now face the possibility that my professional reputation might be unfairly affected as a result,' he wrote. He said he had requested the government make clarifications about the selection process, but had been informed that 'the government does not regard it as appropriate to be more transparent about these events'.
He added: 'Although the reasons [for his early departure] have been classified as 'personal reasons', they relate to the conduct of government business and are wholly unrelated to my health or my private life.'
However, he did not give details of why he had left prematurely, saying as a former civil servant he could not disclose such information unless authorised. But he dismissed suggestions that Lau or her deputy, Greg So Kam-leung, had put him under pressure over the selection process.
The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, under which he had worked, denied it had tried to hide facts. 'The government explained that the reports presented to the Legislative Council had already provided a clear account of the selection process, and what Mr Godfrey proposed to put on record did not deviate from these,' a spokeswoman said. She said the civil service adhered to a principle of confidentiality.
Panel chairman Wong Yuk-man said it was difficult to judge with the available information whether the dispute involved only internal discord in the government or was a matter affecting the public interest. 'If he finds he has been unfairly treated, he can complain to the Civil Service Bureau,' Wong said. Panel deputy chairman Samson Tam Wai-ho said he would follow up on the incident at its meeting next Monday.
