Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam has written to the Equal Opportunities Commission's chairman to underline the importance for the commission to carefully consider observations and recommendations in a Director of Audit's report which was tabled in the Legislative Council today.

The secretary advised the chairman to take appropriate follow-up actions - including  reviewing the internal guidelines, procedures and control mechanisms - to ensure good governance and efficient and economical use of resources.

The bureau says it respects the commission's autonomy as an independent statutory body in its internal management and operations. At the same time, as the Government provides subvention to the commission for its operations, it attaches great importance to the report's observations and recommendations regarding its governance and administration.

The bureau also accepts four recommendations in the report for the bureau and will take actions to implement them.

One recommendation concerns the proposal to convert the post of the chairman into a non-executive position and to reinstate the Chief Executive Officer post.