IAM with fewer competences, more staff and budget

Leong Heng Teng_(center) and José Tavares (right)

Some of the responsibilities of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) will be transferred to departments such as the Public Security Police Force (PSP) once the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) is established, the Executive Council (ExCo) spokesperson Leong Heng Teng said yesterday during a press conference.

The new bureau will have more departments, more divisions, at least 14 additional staff members and a growing budget of around MOP12 million.

The ExCo completed its analysis of the Administrative Regulation that will organize the IAM’s operations. As Leong mentioned, the new bureau will continue to be run by a board of directors, and will have 12 departments (one more than IACM) and 36 divisions (three more than IACM).

“The IAM will also have 14 more workers and a budget that will see growth of some MOP12 million,” Leong said.

In response to questions from the media, the president of the IACM, José Tavares explained, “the additional department is the department of ‘Organization and Information Technology,’ which will be responsible for two of the new divisions: planning and installations.” He added, “the other new division will be ‘integrated services to the citizens,’ which previously was a department and will now be a division.”

In response to queries regarding the new bureau’s additional workers and budget, Tavares said, “the added staff has to do with the new structure and the external services,” adding, “we aim to provide a better and faster response on the external services.”

Jurisdiction over demonstrations, public gatherings and street protests as well as over the licensing of fireworks and firecrackers, and the sale of weapons and ammunition will be granted to the PSP.

As Tavares explained, a new IAM Service Center will be opened in Taipa.

“It’s a new service center, similar to the one existing in Areia Preta district that will be working in Taipa by the Central Park, and it’s planned to open in the first trimester of next year,” the president of IAM informed. The center will house 22 departments of the Bureau and offer 270 services to citizens who will no longer be required to go to the Peninsula for these administrative procedures.

All IACM staff will be transferred to the new IAM center and retain the same form of appointment, career position and category. Regarding real estate assets, some will be transferred to IAM and others will revert to the government.

On the topic, Tavares said, “We will not lose any relevant facilities; we will retain most of the real estate that we have now.”

Another topic that the Administrative Regulation addresses is the creation of a Commission for Finance and Assets Inspection that would be in charge of the “effective inspection over the assets and finance accounts of the bureau.” As explained by Leong, this commission has not yet been created, and as such he was not able to comment on its composition.

During the same press conference, the ExCo also presented conclusions of two other related administrative regulations relating to the transfer of power over fireworks and firecrackers and weapons licensing from the IACM to the PSP.

The new regulations clarify that with the exception of fireworks and firecrackers used during Chinese New Year in specified locations, all activities that require such materials require licensing administered by the PSP.

However, the licensing over the sales of pyrotechnic products will remain under IAM’s jurisdiction.

The ExCo proposes that all the administrative regulations will enter into force on January 2019, with a transition period to be only applied to the sale of guns and ammunition. According to Leong, there are currently a total of seven establishments that possess licenses for the sale of such products in the region.