CONFIDENTIAL
go to UMELCO members; and also that it would be
wrong to distinguish between elected and nominated
members of Urbco. In any case at that time the
Urban Council was fully occupied with its own
re-organization and with the 'Keep Hong Kong Clean'
campaign. It was therefore decided to invite a
group of four UMELCO representatives in the autumn
of 1972 followed by an invitation to a similar
number of Urbco members (both elected and
appointed) this year. The UMELCO visit duly took
place in November 1972.
In
5. The Urban Council was re-organized in 1972
on the lines of a Hong Kong Government White Paper
on its reform. The aim of the re-organization was
to reduce possible areas of friction between the
Government and the Urban Council and to delineate
the Council's proper sphere of activities.
order to make this decision more palatable to the
Councillors and to the public the Council was also
given more autonomy, both financial and otherwise,
within its proper sphere. At the same time all
Official Members were removed from the Council and
Membership of the Council now consists of 12
Members
Elected and 12 Appointed the Council being free to
select its own Chairman. The Urban Council role
broadly consists of environmental public health,
including sanitation and hygiene; recreation and
amenities, including the provision of entertainment;
and the provision of cultural services. The
Council also had some responsibilities in regard to
public housing but these have now been removed from
the Council with the establishment of the new
Housing Authority.
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