Civil Servants Holding Concurrent Appointments with Foreign Governments
Prime Minister's OfficeSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether civil servants are permitted to hold concurrent appointments with foreign governments and the measures in place to prevent influence operations. Ms Hazel Poa inquired about the circumstances under which such roles are allowed and the number of officers currently serving in these capacities. Minister Chan Chun Sing replied that while concurrent employment is generally prohibited to avoid conflicts of interest, civil servants may provide consultancy or serve on advisory panels under official cooperation agreements. These arrangements require prior permission from Permanent Secretaries, and officers are strictly prohibited from accepting gifts or using official resources without authorization. Minister Chan Chun Sing added that these measures help mitigate foreign influence risks, although the Government does not track the specific number of such cases.
Transcript
6 Ms Hazel Poa asked the Prime Minister (a) whether civil servants are allowed to hold concurrent appointments with foreign governments; (b) if so, under what circumstances will they be allowed to do so; (c) how many are currently holding such concurrent appointments and with which foreign governments; and (d) what measures are in place to prevent these civil servants from being targets of influence operations.
Mr Chan Chun Sing (for the Prime Minister): Civil servants are, generally, not allowed to take up concurrent employment with foreign governments. This is aligned to our policy on outside employment, where civil servants should not seek employment outside of the Public Service to avoid conflict of interest with their official duties.
Some civil servants are invited to serve on advisory panels or provide consultancy or training services in other countries, under cooperation agreements, in view of their professional work and expertise. These arrangements are similar to how foreigners or foreign officials are invited to sit and serve on our advisory boards and councils.
Officers have to seek prior permission from their Permanent Secretaries to ensure there is no conflict of interest before they embark on these activities. In addition, to mitigate the risk of foreign influence, there are measures in place where officers cannot receive gifts from foreign governments nor use any official resources or information in these external activities without the approval of their Permanent Secretaries. We do not have data on the number of such cases.