Housing chief Winnie Ho steps down, taking political responsibility

Stepping down after more than three decades of government service, outgoing Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho says in a statement she is willing to take the political responsibility for the Wang Fuk Court blaze.

She hopes the deceased may rest in peace and that their families may find solace and move forward.

She adds she felt deeply honoured to have had the opportunity to contribute to Hong Kong over the past four-plus years.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong will concurrently serve as acting secretary for housing.

At the press conference, Chief Executive John Lee said while Winnie Ho committed no personal wrongdoing, she should bear political responsibility in her role as the housing chief.

JOHN LEE: "I have considered a wide range of factors, including the official's role in the matter, the official's policy portfolio and its relation with the incident, whether the problem relates to policy or execution, the performance of the subordinates, the large amount of work the political team will have to do in the time ahead. Considering that the fire took place in Wang Fuk Court and it falls within the purview of the Housing Department which is under the Houing Bureau, the secretary for housing should take political accountability."

As an architecture major -- Winnie Ho's career in the government began in 1992 when she joined as an architect.

Nearly three decades later,she was appointed Director of Architectural Services in 2020.

During the COVID pandemic, her department turned to modular integrated construction technology to ratchet up the rollout of more than 3,000 quarantine units within ten months.

Following the election of John Lee as the 6th term Chief Executive, Winnie Ho was appointed the housing chief.

Before taking office, Ho had stressed the importance of taking swift action given the urgency and gravity of housing issues to the city.

Following the city leader's instruction, Ho first introduced the public rental housing advance allocation scheme followed by transitional housing projects, and 13 light public housing projects, totalling some 30,000 units.

They have helped trim the overall waiting time for public housing from a peak of 6.1 years to 4.8 years.

2024 -- came the Basic Housing Unit policy which set sights on fully eradicating subpar subdivided units by 2030.

However, during her tenure, after authorities' inspections, some construction irregularities came to light at multiple public housing projects.

They include three light public housing units where structural screws were cut short.

The deadly blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po also revealed the Housing Bureau's independent checking unit or ICU -- responsible for overseeing major repairs -- had multiple dereliction of duties -- and was considered to bear the biggest onus among the four government departments involved.

Winnie Ho said the Wang Fuk fire was heartbreaking noting how "terrible" the contractors' practices were and that government inspectors should step up their rigour.

When asked recently -- whether she would like to stay in office until the end of her term, Ho said at the time -- she would make the most out of each day.