Page 27 of 110
38
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
out with Government a method whereby medium-term loans at reasonable interest rates could be made available to building societies to encourage home ownership on a sound basis.
Our housing problem is very serious, Mr. Chairman, and what makes the problem all the more critical is the fact that there has developed severe overcrowding in new buildings outside resettlement estates. To indicate the severity of the problem, I might point out that over 40% of people in new multi-storey tenements built in the last five years are living in even more overcrowded conditions than in the resettlement estates. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, why Hong Kong still has one of the highest—and perhaps the highest tuberculosis rate in the world!
Before supporting the motion before the House may I take this opportunity to congratulate the Chairman and his staff for their conscientious and persevering efforts during the past twelve months in serving the public. In particular I want to congratulate you, Mr. Chairman for your sincere approach in consistently building up good public relations between the Urban Services Department and the public, I have been told on many occasions that this Department is one of the best run Government departments in Hong Kong.
Equally deserving of commendation is the Commissioner for Resettlement and his staff. From my own personal experience I know that the outgoing Commissioner, Mr. Jack ASERAPPA, has spared neither himself nor his staff in getting things done. With regard to the new Commissioner, Mr. Colin MORRISON, I have every reason to believe that we can expect the same high standard of responsibility and performance from him.
However, this does not preclude me from advocating that a survey be made by a team of management experts for the purpose of making recommendations to improve even further the efficiency and productive capacity of these two departments. No matter how efficient they are as compared with other Government departments, there is always room for improvement, and it is for this reason I am in favour of a management survey being made of both the Urban Services and the Resettlement Departments.
Mr. Chairman, I support the motion.
MR. K. A. WATSON: Mr. Chairman, may I start by congratulating the elected members on their statesmanlike speeches: a welcome change from some of the bad-tempered outbursts we have heard in recent years. (Laughter). In fact many of them were so constructive that they might have been given by appointed members. (Laughter). I was particularly enthralled by the chapters from Confucius quoted by Mr. CHEONG-LEEN,
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
39
I also find myself in substantial agreement with Mr. BERNACCHI'S proposals concerning housing. In the past I have tried to show that we were being over-optimistic if we thought that the efforts of the Resettlement Department were reducing the number of squatters. I think it must now be evident that the present programme is inadequate. In 1959 the number still to be resettled was estimated to be 350,000. A year later it was over 500,000, and this year it is about 600,000. If we include the 50,000 we have accommodated during the year, the total increase must be about 150,000 per annum. Even when we reach our planned maximum of 100,000 a year, we shall still fall short of coping with the yearly increase, if these figures are any guide.
The reason for this enormous and continuing increase is simply that our urban slums are bursting their seams. The problem of squatters and overcrowded slum conditions are directly connected, and until we tackle the latter, our squatter problem will never be solved.
Government now appears to have recognized this fact in deciding to extend the work of the Resettlement Department to provide low-cost housing for tenement dwellers. This change in policy has been greeted with unanimous approval and should be carried out as rapidly and as fully as funds and sites allow.
The most unsatisfactory aspects of public housing are the fierce competition for building sites, and the wasteful duplication of staff. The extension of the Resettlement Department means that it will have to build up an application and selection department similar to that of the Housing Authority. It has been argued that Government should take on more low-cost housing because it can build cheaper than the other agencies. If this is true, one wonders whether there is any point in duplicating the functions and staff of organizations with similar aims, particularly that of the Housing Authority which is already a semi-Government body. If it cannot build as cheaply as the Resettlement Department, is there any reason why it should not be amalgamated with the latter? As a start it could perhaps take over the Housing Authority's experienced application and selection staff and so avoid the waste which duplication would cause.
Communications: The Forgotten Factor in Housing: Now, one common problem facing all agencies engaged in low-cost housing is the lack of sites close to the urban centres where they are most needed. Because of this most estates have to be built far away, on the outskirts and in the new towns. While these allow for the expansion of industry and new jobs for young people, they do little to improve the living conditions of those whose jobs remain in the central districts.
The cause of this lack of cheap and convenient sites is usually put down to the shortage of land. But is there really a shortage? We have in the Colony 400 square miles of land, yet the bulk of the population
Page 27 of 110