agreements but are under the control of the law or franchise clauses include the two ferry companies, the Hong Kong Tramways Limited, the Peak Tramways Company Limited and the New Lantao Bus Company. However, it seems that there are no criteria governing the Government's decision on which companies should be brought under a scheme of control or be granted a franchise. For example, although the Cable and Wireless (Hong Kong) Limited and the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited are primarily operating on a monopoly and semi-monopoly basis,
neither of them is under a
scheme of control. As the Hong Kong Telephone Company Limited has been required to operate on a franchised basis, why has it not been so with the Cable and Wireless (Hong Kong) Limited? Telephone services are subjected to control, but the mobile radio telephone services are not. These anomalies and the dealings between utility companies and their associated and subsidiary companies are all very puzzling.
The Government has a set of guidelines governing the
charges of the public utility companies, the principal one being that charges must be able to cover operating costs. However, there are no standard rules for determining which authority should determine or approve charges. For instance, 11 public utility companies have to seek the approval of the Executive Council on matters concerning their charges; the Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited and Hong Kong Air Terminal Services Limited are required to seek the approval of the Civil Aviation Department for that matter; on the other hand the Boards of Directors of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation,
the Mass Transit Railway Corporation and the Hong Kong China Gas Company are empowered to revise charges for their services. The introduction of new tariff structure and the increase in additional tariff this year by the Cable and Wireless (Hong Kong) Limited has got the approval of the Post Office. The Legislative Council only has a say in the charges of the Hong Kong Telephone Company and it has to exercise this authority in conjunction with the Executive Council. Such being the situation, there is no wonder that some interested