Where exactly does the buck stop? Senior Hong Kong civil servants are asking themselves that question after the unveiling of a new accountability system targeting department heads.

They point to the deadly Tai Po fire last year as an example. An independent committee investigating the tragedy heard evidence officials gave contractors at the blaze-hit Wang Fuk Court estate advance notice of inspections, potentially allowing problems to be concealed before fire-safety checks on scaffolding nets.

Who is at fault for the notice: the frontline officers involved or the senior civil servant overseeing them?

“Opinions are divided among ourselves,” said a veteran civil servant, speaking on condition of anonymity. “In this case, the senior official can say this was an execution problem by frontline staff. Such a high-ranking official doesn’t micromanage to this level.”

But another said: “Can the head truly shrug off supervisory accountability? It may depend on whether he or she turned a blind eye to questionable practices. But it’s hard to prove.”

The new mechanism targets department heads for “widespread, repetitive, systemic” failures, aiming to clarify administrative blame.

Former ministers, high-ranking bureaucrats and political observers pointed to the practical challenges of attributing responsibility amid scandals, and questioned the government’s decision not to make it a legal requirement to publish full investigation results.