Hong Kong civil servant in charge of reusable mask giveaway admits transparency shortcomings, promises replacement filter production will go out to tender
- Annie Choi says she was not ‘sensitive enough’ when she did not initially reveal identity of the CuMask+ manufacturer
- Contract for production of mask filters will be put out to tender, head of the Innovation and Technology Bureau says
A senior civil servant overseeing the distribution of reusable masks to all Hongkongers has promised to put the production of their replacement filters out to tender after admitting to shortcomings in the transparency of the original contract awarded by the government.
Annie Choi Suk-han, permanent secretary of the Innovation and Technology Bureau, on Friday rejected suggestions the government had intentionally hidden the identity of the manufacturer chosen for the HK$320 million (US$41 million) mask giveaway, saying bypassing the open tender process was justified because of the urgency of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But she said she was not “sensitive enough” to transparency demands and took too long to reveal who the manufacturer was, adding that changes would be made when selecting the producer of the replacement filters.
More than 2.5 million Hongkongers, as of Friday, have registered to receive a free washable mask, which was manufactured by Crystal International Group, the Hong Kong-listed company awarded the contract without facing competition.
