The Commission of Audit carried out a Performance Audit on the inspectors of public departments in year 2005, the main objective is to study the working hours and field work of the inspectors and whether the supervisory system set up by the departments are sufficient and good enough. The scope of the audit covers the 12 public departments whose nature of work includes inspection and supervision. The main findings of the audit are as follows:

. Of the 12 departments audited, 4 departments do not have written instructions on punctuality and attendance of the inspectors; 6 departments do not have instructions on verification of out-of-office work of the inspectors.

. In the aspect of recording working hours of the inspectors, only 7 departments adopt the electronic instruments to record working hours and absence of the inspectors. Most of these departments do not use the same electronic instruments to record overtime and fieldwork hours.

. Regarding punctuality and attendance, the inspectors of some departments do not obey the relevant requirements stipulated by the General Provisions for Macao Public Administrative Staffs.

. Most departments do not carry out proper management of out-of-office work of the inspectors, and they also fail to pay good attention to the fieldwork records. Moreover, it is found that some work arrangements are unreasonable.

. The majority of the departments do not have sufficient supervision over the work of the inspectors. They fail to make supervisory instructions and to carry out spot checks of attendance, punctuality and fieldwork of the inspectors Based on the abovementioned findings, the Commission of Audit has made the following suggestions:

. Such departments shall first review their current supervisory system and measures, then make overall stipulation and formulate clear instructions based on the General Provisions for Macao Public Administrative Staffs. At the same time, they shall consider their actual needs and condition of human resources allocation.

. Such departments shall actively adopt electronic instruments as tools to record the working hours of the inspectors for the purpose of proper supervision of punctuality and attendance.

. As for the management of inspective works, these departments shall regularly make effective assessment of their quality and quantity. It should be noted that document verification and spot check are indispensable effective methods.