58
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
boards is to provide a better forum for public consultation and participation at the district level. The district boards consist of government officials, appointed unofficial members, elected members from the constituencies, and Urban Councillors or rural committee chairmen. They have a mainly advisory role, with substantial responsibility for the manage- ment of district affairs.
In monitoring the government's performance and achievements at the district level, the district boards discuss a wide range of matters affecting the well-being of residents in the district. All district boards have been allocated public funds for local recreational and cultural activities and for minor environmental works.
The district management committees, whose membership comprises government officials, provide a forum for inter-departmental consultation to produce more effective government at the district level. The committees are in effect responsible for servicing their respective district boards.
District boards in the New Territories became statutory bodies, in accordance with the provisions of the District Boards Ordinance, with effect from April 1, 1982, while the urban district boards became statutory bodies with effect from October 1 that year.
The district boards have demonstrated their value in providing for public participation in the consultation and management of district affairs. To ensure that they continue to meet Hong Kong's changing needs and circumstances, a review on their composition and administrative arrangements was conducted in 1984. As a result of the review, it was decided that the representative status of the district boards should be strengthened by increasing the size of the elected element. It is envisaged that after the March 1985 elections the balance between elected and appointed members will be 2:1.
Where the doubling of elected members would result in a district board becoming too large and unwieldy, the size of the board will be trimmed by reducing slightly the overall number of members while retaining the 2:1 ratio. For the elections in March 1985, the number of elected seats will be increased from 132 to 237. There will be a very slight reduction in the number of appointed members from 135 to 132. Thus, altogether, there will be a total of 369 unofficial members.
The second result of the review was that after the district boards election in 1985 official representatives will cease to be board members. They will, however, continue to be in regular attendance at district board meetings, to present papers, answer questions and give explanations. The chairmen of the boards will be elected from the unofficials.
Thirdly, the review noted that Tsuen Wan District has developed into a large and complex conurbation and has the largest population of all. It includes not only old Tsuen Wan but Kwai Chung, from which it is separated by a range of hills, and Tsing Yi Island. Furthermore, Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung/Tsing Yi differ in their developments and face different problems. It was therefore decided that two boards should be created
one for Tsuen Wan Town and one covering Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi so that they can serve the local district more effectively. In other words, there will be 19 districts instead of the existing 18.
TIT
Finally, the review concluded that since district boards had already made an impact on the management of the densely populated urban areas, their urban management role should be further developed.
The term of office for the present district board members will expire on March 31, 1985, and elections for the following term will take place in the same month. It is expected that with the introduction of the above-mentioned changes, the boards will prove to be even more effective in serving the residents of the districts.