HEALTH
Complex, Wong Nai Chung Complex and Tai Shing Street Market. The To Kwa Wan Cooked Food Centre and Sai Wan Ho Cooked Food Centre were air-conditioned at the beginning of the year. All future cooked food centres will be air-conditioned to improve the quality of service.
A scheme for contracting-out cleansing operations had been implemented in 37 markets in the urban area at the year-end- 19 on Hong Kong Island and 18 in Kowloon.
The Regional Council administered 45 markets in the New Territories, providing a total of 5 289 market stalls and 406 cooked-food stalls.
In late 1994, the council opened a new air-conditioned market with 365 market stalls and 28 cooked-food stalls in Shek Wu Hui, Sheung Shui. The market accommodated stall lessees operating in the old Shek Wu Hui Market and Shek Wu Hui Temporary Markets I and II, which were scheduled for demolition.
During the year, the council completed a series of long-term improvement measures at Sha Tin Market. Work also commenced on improvements to toilets, lighting, drainage and ancillary facilities at other selected markets. Further improvements are in the pipeline. The recommendations of the council's Working Group on Market Management, on market policy and related management matters, were implemented after endorsement by the council.
The council contracted-out the cleansing operations of 11 markets during the year after a pilot scheme at three selected markets in Sha Tin, Tai Po and Yuen Long proved to be cost- effective. -
Hawkers
Control over on-street hawking is maintained by the two municipal councils.
In May, a new hawker control officer grade, with a fortified chain of command and streamlined supervisory structure, was established by the councils to tackle illegal hawking. The hawker control teams replaced the former general duties teams.
The licensing of street hawkers in the urban area is the responsibility of the Urban Council. At the end of the year, there were 11 000 licensed hawkers in the urban area — 800 less than in 1993. The decrease was mainly due to a policy of not issuing or allowing succession of itinerant hawker licences. In addition, the completion of the new Causeway Bay Market in late 1994 made it possible to resite 49 licensed hawkers formerly trading in the vicinity.
The council's policy of eventually eliminating itinerant hawker licences was announced in March 1993. Itinerant hawker licences will cease to exist in April 1996. Until then, licence-holders are offered the option of surrendering their licences in exchange for either an ex gratia payment of $30,000, a fixed-pitch hawker licence or a market stall tenancy. By the end of 1994, a total of 1 140, or 33 per cent of, itinerant hawker licences had been surrendered under this policy.
During the year, the hawker control teams in the urban area, comprising 2 177 civilian staff trained in law enforcement, secured 90 500 court convictions for hawking offences by both licensed and unlicensed hawkers.
The Regional Council accorded top priority during the year to implementing the recommendations of its working group on illegal hawking and illegal shop extensions. A sub-committee was formed to monitor the progress of the implementation work.
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