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DR. Woo:-I know, Mr. Chairman, you are passing the buck to me. (Laughter). I also know that the booklet was not produced because of the cost of printing. But can the Chairman explain why, in the last eight years when Government proposed a vote for expenditure by my Committee, the vote was never referred to my Committee for consideration.
CHAIRMAN: I cannot explain what happened in past years, Sir, but it should go to your Committee in accordance with our new standard practice this year.
DR. Woo:-This year Sir? I have made repeated requests. Could you explain why, for the last eight years, it never came before my committee? If it did I would ask for the cost of printing this booklet to be included.
CHAIRMAN:-I am informed that the procedure to bring estimates before relevant Select Committees, and not just the Estimates Select Committee, was only approved by the Standing Committee of the Whole Council in March this year.
DR. Woo:-They used to for the first few years, Sir.
CHAIRMAN: -At any rate Dr. Woo, if we have been at fault we have tried to rectify it.
(12)
DR. P. F. Woo asked the following question:-
The hawkers at Fa Yuen Street have complained that there are not sufficient toilet facilities in that area and I have submitted two letters of complaint from them to the department. Can the Chairman explain why after three months no improvements have yet taken place?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
There are no suitable sites in the immediate vicinity of the Fa Yuen Street Market and Hawker Bazaar where a public lavatory for hawkers could be built, since the neighbourhood is a developed one.
Most of the buildings in the neighbourhood are of comparatively recently construction with flushing toilets, and it does not appear that there is a strong case for building a full-size public lavatory in the Fa Yuen Street Market area even if space were available. However, the nearest public lavatories for women hawkers are in Luen Wan Road, a walk of about 350 yards and at the junction of Shanghai Street and Mong Kok Road, a walk of about 300 yards.
In the circumstances, if facilities are to be provided, the best solution appears to be to construct a small lavatory on the Fa Yuen Street Market site itself next to the existing urinal for men. This would, however, be at the expense of some of the storage and bicycle parking space available to stallholders in the market and could give rise to complaints on these grounds.
The Department has approached the Public Works Department and suggested that a lavatory for women with two compartments and a wash-hand basin, and a new latrine for men with two compartments and a trough-type wash basin might be built here. An estimate of cost is now awaited, together with the comments of that Department on the feasibility of the suggestion.
DR. Woo:-Mr. Chairman, I have no supplementary questions, but I would like to let you know that this is another glaring example of your Department. I handed in my first letter of complaint more than three months ago. I have received no information from the Department until you answered my question to-day.
CHAIRMAN: --Dr. Woo, could you enlighten me as to whether you asked for a reply?
DR. Woo:-No, but a number of the hawkers keep on coming and asking me what has happened. If you don't give me information, how am I going to answer these hawkers?
CHAIRMAN: Well Sir, you will, I trust, use the information I have given you this afternoon in order to inform them of the state of play.
DR. Woo:-Thank you Sir, but I should have been given this information long before to-day.
CHAIRMAN:-Dr. Woo, I cannot let this pass without saying that the problem was not an easy one for us to make up our minds about. It was not in fact until the 8th August that we wrote to the Public Works Department putting forward our suggestions.
(13) MR. PETER P. K. NG asked the following question:-
Will the Chairman give us more details of the latest plan for the construction of more swimming pools in both Hong Kong and Kowloon?
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