The government will consider disclosure of key information related to post-retirement employment of directorate civil servants in order to enhance transparency and boost public confidence.

Revealing the proposal at a media event yesterday, Secretary for the Civil Service Joseph Wong says the key information includes names of the retired civil servants, posts they last held and the companies that they will work for.

The nature of their jobs in the private sector and the government's reason to allow such employment may also be disclosed.

According to legal advice, the proposal is on the whole workable and does not require a legal amendment, Wong said.

However, the government will have to consult the civil servants first and study whether the proposal will infringe privacy legislation.

The government plans to submit the proposal to the Legislative Council's Panel on Public Service next month. If adopted, the proposal will be implemented in the second half of the year by the earliest, he said.

Wong also stressed that the government would strictly adhere to the six-month "sanitization period" that retiring directorate staff have to go through before working in the private sector.

The proposal has stirred objections from civil service associations.

Felix Cheung, chairman of Hong Kong Civil Servants General Union, said harsh rules will scare away companies that wish to hire retired senior civil servants.

Poon Wai-ming, vice-chairman of Senior Non-Expatriate Officers' Association, said the proposal would infringe the privacy of the civil servants and their future employers.

In related development, an ex-government official said the "sanitization period" rules for retired civil servants and those who have resigned should be different.

Wilfred Wong, who resigned as deputy director-general of industry in 1992, said that those who resigned should be bound by a "sanitization period" because they receive pensions from the government.

"For those who resign from the government, the sanitization period will affect our living. For myself, I joined the private sector, almost immediately resigning from the government," he said.

He suggested the lengths of sanitization periods should be based on considerations such as whether the ex-civil servant's jobs in the private sector are related to his government posts.

"There is no conflict of interest for me joining a construction firm because it had no dealings with my previous posts," said Wong.

"But if one's new job is connected with his previous posts, full information should be disclosed while the length of the sanitization period can be approved by all parties concerned."

In Wong's opinion, the current rule is far stricter than that in his days in the civil service. But he considers it fair because the pay and pensions for civil servants in Hong Kong are very good.

On the much talked about topic of government and business collusion, Wong said it was the over-simplified accusation of some people.

"It is not easy (for government officials) to transfer benefits (to the business sector) because in the government, decisions are not made by one person," said Wong.

"There are various monitoring mechanisms in-place," he said.

Citing tender as an example, Wong said many procedures have been reviewed, not to mention the graft watchdog the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

"Even a bureau secretary cannot make the (important) decisions. There is no chance for collusion unless several secretaries are (in the deal) together, which is impossible," Wong said.

Referring to the Audit Commission's report on the land grant of the Discovery Bay project, Wong said it is unfair to accuse former chief secretary David Akers-Jones of colluding with the business sector to allow the developer to change the use of the site in the 1970s.

"People are judging decisions made several decades ago with hindsight," he said. "We should not forget that the site was not wanted by anybody at that time."

(China Daily February 16, 2005)