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stamping government's housing policies, discredited Member's constructive opinions and sullied the image of the panel consultative body on housing matters. Moreover, the announcement to appoint an ex-civil servant as the chairman designate of the Housing Authority prior to the passing of the Amendment Bill by this Council not only tends to reinforce the Housing Authority's susceptibility to toe government line, but also prejudices Members' deliberations on the Bill.
With the removal of the Secretary for Housing, the
monitoring function of the OMELCO Housing Panel has also been
undermined. It would therefore seem necessary for a new
communication channel to be established for Members of this
Council to make enquiries about the Housing Authority's activities and to conduct open hearings wherever necessary. Ideally, the Housing Authority should eventually be accountable to this Council which should assume greater responsibility
which is now confined to endorsing the Housing Authority's
annual reports.
S
While acknowledging that the reorganization brings about better coordination of public housing projects, I tend to share the public's concern over the way the Housing Authority should deal with its surplus funds. The Amendment Bill allows
the Housing Authority discretion in making allocations to reserves, but a sizable part of the excess is to be returned to
the public coffer. It has been estimated that under the new financial arrangement, the Housing Authority would be able to repay 70 per cent of its loan from Government by 2001 and would then be financing its own building projects. Contrary to the
popular belief that public housing should be provided by the
Government as a social service to the community, the reorganization of the Housing Authority would enable Government to turn a social responsibility into a profitable investment.
S
Sir,
I therefore venture to suggest at this stage that an independent trust fund be established for channelling accrued
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