news in brief

Coldest February in 40 years

Hong Kong has experienced its coldest February in 40 years with the monthly mean temperature of 13.3C (55.4F) — 3 degrees below normal. The total rainfall in the month was 27.5 millimeters, or approximately 47% below normal.

Under the influence of an intense northeast monsoon, the cold spell persisted for 24 days, from January 24 to February 16. This was also the longest cold spell in 40 years. The minimum temperature fell to 7.9C (46.22F) on February 3, the lowest so far this winter. Except for sunny periods on February 3 and 9, the weather was generally cloudy, with rain patches in the first 17 days of the month.
           
More relief grants to go to snowstorm victims

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has accepted the advice of the Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee and approved two grants from the Disaster Relief Fund totaling US$256,410 for two relief agencies to undertake relief projects for snowstorm victims on the Mainland.

These grants are additions to a disbursement of US$30.18 million made earlier for three provincial/municipal governments and four organizations to provide emergency relief to snowstorm victims in eight provinces/municipalities.  The total value of grants for snowstorm victims on the Mainland now amounts to US$30.43 million.

Announcing the grants on February 29, a government spokesman said the committee hopes the grants — US$153,846 to The Association of Chinese Evangelical Ministry Limited for relief projects in Guangxi and US$102,564 to Cedar Fund for relief projects in Hubei — would help provide relief to snowstorm victims in the areas.

The Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee is responsible for advising the government on the policy and practices regarding the disbursement of funding for disaster relief from the Disaster Relief Fund. The fund was established in December 1993 for emergency disaster relief in places outside Hong Kong, as well as for advising on specific amounts to specific recipients, and monitoring the use of grants.

Chief Information Officer appointed

On March 26, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government announced the appointment of Jeremy Richard Godfrey as the government chief information officer, following a recruitment exercise conducted in late 2007. Mr. Godfrey will begin his new position on April 7, 2008.

In welcoming Mr. Godfrey's appointment, Secretary for the Civil Service Denise Yue said she has every confidence that Mr. Godfrey will bring his wealth of knowledge to the work of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), and take a proactive role in championing the development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and e-government in Hong Kong. “I am also confident that the staff of the OGCIO will continue to give their best under his leadership,” she said.

Mr. Godfrey has had an extensive career in the ICT sector, serving in senior positions in the telecommunications industry and as a partner in an international management and technology consulting firm. Before this, he served as a civil servant in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Godfrey graduated from Cambridge University in 1984. He served as private secretary to the Secretary of State of the Department of Trade and Industry in the United Kingdom government between 1987 and 1989.

In 1989, Mr .Godfrey took  a management position with the Cable & Wireless Group. From 1989 to 1990, he worked for Hongkong Telecom on the regulatory strategies for the liberalization of telecommunications in Hong Kong. From 1990 to 1994, he worked in the United Kingdom for other business under the Cable & Wireless Group. From 1995 to 1998, he returned to Hongkong Telecom, serving first as director of strategic planning and then as director of marketing. From 1998 to 2007, Mr. Godfrey was a partner with PA Consulting Group in Hong Kong. He led strategy, e-business, IT and business change projects for the public sector and for private sector clients in the telecommunications, transportation, utilities and entertainment industries in Hong Kong and various South and East Asian economies.

Since November 2007 and prior to his acceptance of the appointment from the HKSAR Government as GCIO, Mr Godfrey worked as an independent consultant advising clients on strategic issues and business change projects.