The bigger the better for Hong Kong government revamp? Public policy experts divided over expansion plan for bureaus
- Former minister Anthony Cheung says size of governments has been getting bigger because of growing calls for more public services to meet expectations
- HKU academic John Burns warns, however, that more bureaus could create more silos and therefore more coordination problems
The Hong Kong government’s plan to increase the current 13 bureaus to 15 has divided public policy experts, with some saying the new framework will speed up implementation of initiatives while others argue bigger is not necessarily better.
The HK$94.8 million (US$12.07 million) expansion plan, announced on Tuesday, also involves adding three deputy secretaries under the city’s highest-ranking politically appointed officials: the chief secretary, financial secretary and secretary for justice.
The justice minister will get a political assistant for the first time, a privilege already available to the chief executive, the city’s No 2 and 3 and other bureau heads.
It will be the largest administration yet in terms of the number of bureaus since the city adopted a political accountability system in 2002, when there were 11 such top government branches.
Former transport and housing minister Anthony Cheung Bing-leung told the Post it had been a global trend that the size of governments was getting bigger because of growing calls for more public services.
“Whenever there is a change in government, the new administration tends to revamp the structure to cater to changing expectations from members of the public,” he said.
Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said the new framework would be “conducive to strengthening the leadership of the government and control of the executive branch and the civil service”.