http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=147981&sid=42742574&con_type=1
Jasmine Siu
Monday, August 04, 2014
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John Tsang Chun-wah confirmed in his blog yesterday that the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau issued letters to all government departments on Wednesday to announce the 1 percent cut across all departments from 2016 to 2018.
Tsang also said that with immediate effect, the processing of applications by departments for increases in recurrent spending has been suspended.
For bureaus seeking "new money" for the latest initiatives in Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying January's policy address, secretaries have to submit detailed explanations and reasons before their applications can be approved.
"I want to emphasize the government does not want to turn off the taps or cut spending," said Tsang. "Overall government expenditure will continue to increase, but it will increase more slowly.
"The reason why we are asking the departments to save 1 percent of their expenses is to encourage them to evaluate the priority of their work at hand, so that untimely tasks can be canceled or reorganized to raise efficiency."
Money saved will be centrally redistributed again to promote new policies and services that will better suit society needs.
Recurrent expenditure is estimated to reach HK$307.4 billion, or 94 percent of operating expenditure, by the end of March.
Democratic Party chief Emily Lau Wai-hing criticized Tsang for being unwise and disrespectful of lawmakers in making such decisions during the legislature's summer recess. This, she said, adds further tension to relations between the executive and legislative branches of government.
Chinese University of Hong Kong political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung said some supporters of Leung have criticized Tsang for capping expenditure that the chief executive could use to launch new initiatives in his two previous policy addresses.
Tsang's move appeared to let Leung decide how to tap the coffers to launch new policy initiatives, Choy said, adding he believed the financial secretary will stick to fiscal discipline.
Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man said the moderate 1 percent cut is an opportunity for different departments to reflect on the use and efficiency of financial resources. "But whichever way we choose to handle it, we must make sure it will not affect the quality of our services."
Meanwhile, Liberal Party lawmaker James Tien Pei-chun said it is understandable for the government to cut back as the chief executive wants to spend money on his plans.
A government working group on long-term financial planning has projected that government expenditure by 2041 will reach HK$2.9 trillion - more than twice revenue of HK$1.4 trillion - in a worst-case scenario.
