Acting as CEOs, Hong Kong’s district council heads can begin new chapter in public service

Under the district council revamp, district officers will see their role expanded from public liaison to executive duties
Assured of competent district councillors to work with, these officers must live up to public expectations of better service

Tony Kwok

Published: 4:30pm, 17 May 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

Earlier this month, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu took the time to visit a booth in Wan Chai set up to collect residents’ signatures in support of district council reform. In the presence of the media, Lee spoke at length to the Wan Chai district officer, emphasising the important role she would play, under the reform, as district council chairman.

In an interview, Lee said that district officers are the most knowledgeable about their respective districts, and most suitable for the job. This is, I believe, a strong message from the chief executive: as district council chairmen, district officers are expected to take district management to new heights.

With district council reform, emphasis is rightly placed on ensuring the correct implementation of the Basic Law with regard to the role of district councils, following the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” and safeguarding national security. These principles would be readily accepted by the public, who had witnessed for themselves how the existing district councils had been hijacked by anti-China elements during the 2019-2020 insurrection and used as a platform for advocating “Hong Kong independence”, leaving the district councils in chaos and residents’ welfare disregarded.

We can also ignore the voices opposing the revamp of district councils from overseas, including those who are fugitives in connection with the insurrection. As Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, once warned, Hong Kong society must be on the alert for overseas subversive forces.

Meanwhile, the public may have high expectations that the revamped district councils will provide much better service. To my mind, the most critical aspect of the district council revamp is letting district officers chair the councils.

In the past, the role of the district officer was principally public liaison: acting as the eyes and ears of the government, taking the public’s pulse on government policy and assisting in the administration of districts. These officers had limited executive powers, with district offices largely serving as public inquiry centres.

But the current change in essence makes the district officer the CEO of the district, in charge not only of the district council, but also of the three district committees, namely the Area Committee, District Fight Crime Committee and District Fire Safety Committee, as well as the newly formed community care teams.

In future, district officers will be expected to perform all the functions of chief executives in district management, including strategic planning, deliberating with stakeholders, implementing agreed plans and conducting reviews of their effectiveness with a view to further improvement. District officers should be expected to tackle all the deep-rooted problems at the district level, such as those related to hygiene, the environment, recreation and traffic congestion.

Furthermore, with the revamp of the selection process for district council members, district officers can rest assured that they will be assisted by competent and professional district councils in each district. Under the revamped system, the chairman of the district council has the authority to demand that councillors fulfil their roles and implement the course of action agreed on by the council.

How the attempt to empower district councils came to naught

In the event that a district council member fails to fulfil their responsibility, as many did in the old district councils, under a new performance monitoring mechanism, the chairman can initiate an investigation of an underperforming district councillor that will be conducted by a supervisory committee and the councillor will be dealt with according to the outcome of the inquiry.

In future, the district officer will have the enhanced responsibility of overseeing and coordinating the work of government departments that most directly impacts local residents. If the district officer encounters any difficulties in getting adequate support from other government departments in district affairs, they can refer the matter to the high-level Steering Committee on District Governance to be chaired by the chief secretary for administration, or the District Matters Co-ordination Task Force chaired by the deputy chief secretary for administration, to ensure effective coordination.

05:10

Hong Kong's revamped electoral system bolsters pro-Beijing influence in key decision-making bodies

One key past function of the district councillors was to handle public complaints at the district level and offer assistance to needy residents. There should be a streamlining of the complaint handling structure in the district, and better coordination among the district office, the councils and the three committees.

In addition, district officers should play a more active role in communicating with the public. Perhaps they could take turns to be guest hosts of morning and evening phone-in programmes on RTHK, making direct contact with members of the public on district matters. To take advantage of social media, each district should set up a district news channel to better communicate with the public on district affairs.

Given the importance of the district officer’s new role, the title of the position should be changed to district commissioner. The role should now be an essential post for the career development purposes of all administrative officers, whose promotion prospects would depend on how effectively they did their job as CEO of a district.

In conclusion, we can look forward to revitalised district councils, which will be filled with able and committed people with Hong Kong’s best interests at heart, ready to embark on a new chapter in public service and to substantially increase care and attention to livelihood matters in all municipalities.

Tony Kwok is an adjunct professor at HKU Space and a justice of the peace