Government lapses in tainted water scare: Carrie Lam concerned about similar ‘phenomena’ in other departments
Lessons learnt from last year’s lead-in-water scandal to be explored by the chief secretary and heads of departments amid calls for officials’ accountability
The chief secretary will lead a meeting with other heads of government departments to explore what can be learnt from the tainted water scare a year after excess lead was first found in public housing drinking water.
Speaking at a special House Committee meeting at the Legislative Council on Monday, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor took the initiative to brief lawmakers on the agenda of a heads-of-departments meeting scheduled later this month.
Her comments followed the release of an independent report from a judge-led commission of inquiry in May, which confirmed that leaded solder was to blame for tainted water, as the commission blasted stakeholders over a collective failure to prevent the use of non-compliant materials.
The independent report listed seven faults of the Water Supplies Department – including a failure to update legislation with evolving British standards and to ensure trade compliance – while the Housing Authority came under fire for failing to conduct systematic risk assessments and for relying heavily on document checks.
Lam noted that the report pointed out some clear patterns that were found independently in two administrative departments.
