Last Friday, the Executive Council proposed abolishing the administrative functions of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) for culture, leisure and sports, whilst giving the Bureau new powers to help other government departments on public services. According to the Council spokesperson, Leong Heng Teng, the government will establish a cross-departmental working group to streamline the administrative functions of IACM, the Cultural Affairs Bureau and Sport Development Bureau. The original functions of IACM regarding culture, leisure and sports, meanwhile, will be transferred to these two Bureaus. This functionional transfer will affect some 200 public servants currently working for IACM, Mr. Leong said, indicating the contracts of these civil workers will also be transferred to the two Bureaus. Meanwhile, the bill proposes allowing IACM to handle public services for other departments once it reaches agreement with these bodies, suggesting residents will be able to go to IACM’s offices for services of other departments in the future.
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