Duncan Pescod Explained

Duncan Pescod
Native Name:栢志高
Native Name Lang:zh
Office:Chief Executive Officer of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
Term Start:3 August 2015
Birth Date:1959 4, df=y
Awards:Gold Bauhinia Star
Chief Executive's Commendation for Government/Public Service

Duncan Warren Pescod is the former director of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, a statutory body of the Hong Kong Government.[1]

Career

Pescod joined the civil service in British Hong Kong in August 1981. He became an official Justice of the Peace in 1998.[2] Between June 2001 and November 2004, he was Deputy Commissioner for Tourism. Pescod was posted to Brussels as Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic Trade Affairs to the European Communities between 2006 and 2008.[3] He received the Chief Executive's Commendation for Government/Public Service in 2006.[4] From 2008 to 2010, he was Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Communications and Technology).[5] From then till 2014, he was Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Housing) and Director of Housing.[6]

Upon his return from his post in Brussels, Pescod and his wife bought a house in Clearwater Bay, Sai Kung, as a retirement home and investment. In 2012, during his tenure as chief of housing, Ming Pao Daily reported that several unauthorised structures had been found at this property. This negative attention came at a time when other prominent officials, including Chief Executive CY Leung, were found to have similarly illegal structures.[7]

He retired from the Planning Department in 2014 after thirty-three years in the civil service to join the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority.[8] Later that year he was awarded a Gold Bauhinia Star for "contributions in the areas of economic and trade, communications and technology, as well as housing."[9] He joined the semi-independent WKCDA as chief operating officer in October, and rose to the CEO position when Michael Lynch stepped down a year later.[10] His prominent position at the WKCDA was not well received by lawmakers or the arts community.[11] [12] EJ Insight noted it appeared to be a pro-government move at a time when 16 board members were due to retire at the end of their 6-year terms. At one point, the project was controlled by Henry Tang, failed Chief Executive candidate, whose appointment was seen as a conciliatory play by the elected victor Leung.[13]

Pescod was forced to resign from the WKCDA in 2020, not long before his term was due to end.[14]

Personal life

Pescod was born in Sierra Leone, West Africa, and grew up in Thailand. He went to Sedbergh School in England between 1972 and 1977. He spent 1977 to 1981 at Leeds University, at which he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with Honours.[15] EJ Insight reported in 2014 that he was living in a 5000sf house on Victoria Peak leased for $230,000 a month, of which he was paying just $16,000 due to civil service benefits. Pescod's forays into public life beyond the civil service include chairing the Peak School Council, the Children's Heart Foundation and the Valley Rugby Football Club, and a position on the Board of the Ocean Park Corporation in the early noughties.[16]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Head of Hong Kong's West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Duncan Pescod steps down . South China Morning Post. South China Morning Post. 30 September 2020. 29 September 2020.
  2. Web site: Justices of the Peace appointments . Daily Information Bulletin. Government of Hong Kong. 23 May 2017. 1 July 1998.
  3. Web site: Duncan Pescod . World Cities Summit . Centre for Liveable Cities in Singapore, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore . 23 May 2017 .
  4. Web site: 2006 Honours List . Press Releases. Government of Hong Kong. 23 May 2017. 1 July 2006.
  5. Web site: Duncan Pescod new permanent secretary. Admin & Civic Affairs. Government of Hong Kong. 23 May 2017. 15 July 2008.
  6. Web site: Mr Duncan Pescod. Third quarterly General Meeting 2011. Hong Kong Institute of Architects. 23 May 2017. 15 September 2011.
  7. Web site: Lai Ying-kit. Illegal structures found at housing chief's property . South China Morning Post. Alibaba. 23 May 2017. 26 November 2012. Two suspected illegal structures were found at a house owned by the head of the Housing Department, Duncan Pescod, a Chinese-language newspaper reported on Monday..
  8. Web site: Senior appointment (with photo). Press Releases. Government of Hong Kong. 23 May 2017. 20 March 2014.
  9. Web site: Appendix: The citations of the award recipients of the 2014 Honours List. Press Releases . Government of Hong Kong. 23 May 2017.
  10. Web site: International Arts Leadership Roundtable 2016. Hong Kong Arts Development Council. 23 May 2017.
  11. Web site: Work. Andrew. Pescod takes the WKCD underground. Harbour Times . New Work Media . 23 May 2017. 28 April 2016. Mr Pescod himself was not immune from harsh words from inside and outside LegCo on appointment. Critics suggested that he was neither 'local' enough nor 'arty' enough . . . The Democratic Party's Emily Lau . . . 'puzzling' . . . Alan Leong of Civic Party said the appointment was 'extremely unsuitable', raising concerns about having a former bureaucrat leading the project..
  12. Web site: Lee. Paul Benedict. Wrong man for the job? Artists express fears over appointment of new West Kowloon CEO. . 23 May 2017. 22 July 2015. A decision to hire a former Housing Department director to run West Kowloon Cultural District has sparked fears in local arts circles that the wrong man has been chosen for the job..
  13. Web site: Pescod to fill new role in troubled cultural project. Hong Kong Economic Journal. 23 May 2017. 2 September 2014. The change opens the door for more pro-government members, especially allies of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying..
  14. News: Tsui. Enid. Leung. Kanis. 5 October 2020. Bleeding billions, Hong Kong arts hub axes CEO, searches for new chief to steer project hit by delays, cost overruns. South China Morning Post. subscription. 21 June 2021. Duncan Pescod, 61, a former Hong Kong civil servant who became CEO of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority five years ago, said he was being forced to step down at the end of November, nine months before his HK$5 million-a-year term expires, without being told why..
  15. Web site: Duncan Pescod. . . 23 May 2017.
  16. Web site: Annual Report 2002–2003. Ocean Park Corporation. 23 May 2017.

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