Millions budgeted for ministerial jobs that remain vacant

It's unlikely to happen but that hasn't stopped the government from setting aside millions to pay for it.

The financial secretary has allocated HK$7.6 million in the latest budget to pay for three senior positions - two undersecretaries and a political assistant - even though the posts have remained vacant since they were created in 2008. The chief secretary is also getting funds for a political assistant - a job that has yet to find its first taker.

Academics and lawmakers have questioned if the money could be put to better use and if the recruitments make sense given the government has two years left in its term.

In the budget estimate for 2010-11, HK$3 million has been set aside to pay for a deputy minister at the Development Bureau and related administrative expenses, HK$2.7 million for a deputy minister at the Labour and Welfare Bureau and HK$1.9 million for a political assistant at the Transport and Housing Bureau. The financial secretary has also earmarked money for a political assistant for the chief secretary, and together with other postings in that office, expenditure is expected to increase by HK$36.6 million.

The three bureaus had funding for the posts the previous year but did not fill the positions, even though they faced a hectic 12 months with the debate over minimum wage, the HK$66.9 billion high-speed railway link to Guangzhou, and plans for mass revamp of older districts and industrial buildings.

The Transport and Housing Bureau and the Development Bureau said they would fill the positions if there were suitable candidates. However, Ivan Choy Chi-keung, a political scientist at Chinese University, doubted that anyone would accept the job. 'The chief executive's team will end in two years,' Choy said. 'What kind of talent will take up a post with such enormous political risks but that lasts just two years?'

Lee Cheuk-yan, a lawmaker with the Confederation of Trade Unions, said the money could be better used elsewhere - such as on expanding transport subsidies for low-income workers. 'It is a waste of resources if you allow the money to sit idle for something that you know is unlikely to happen.'