Page 153 of 279
280
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
DR. Woo:-Mr. Chairman, upon reading the report of the Ad Hoc Committee, I find that my two elected colleagues are completely hypnotized by my two appointed colleagues in the Ad Hoc Committee for having made no reference of elected representation to the Legislative Council. But taking into consideration the government's past attitude in not accepting anything that is not unreasonable, the simple pattern for local administration recommended in this report may be found acceptable by the government. I therefore congratulate the committee for its thoughtful simplicity.
I do not intend to give a detailed comment on the report, but I must stress that the government when taking the pattern as a base for consideration, must take it wholly or not at all. The Committee has recommended a Greater Hong Kong Council, or Hong Kong Municipal Assembly, and two or more district councils, the functions of which have been fully defined. The district council will seek the need of the people while the Greater Council will formulate the policy and its implementation. Such division of duties will enable more people to participate in their local affairs, moreover it will have a more concentrated and better organized body in formulating responsible policies. Any attempt to dissolve the present Urban Council and have it replaced by many district councils would result in disaster. This would mean the division of power, followed by differences in opinion and policy and so leads to the delay in the implementation of policies, and, eventually inefficiency in government administration. For this reason I am in favour of division of duties and not division of power.
In regard to the responsibility and composition of its members it would require a careful study on the various aspects. Here I must point out I would want to stress that, anyone, be he an official or unofficial, who has a say in the matter must always have the public interest at heart, have an open mind, being impartial giving the people a fair deal and needless to say, he must not be selfish!
The report is the result of His Excellency the Governor's announcement that some form of local government is being contemplated. Members of the Civic Association were at that time puzzled as to the exact interpretation and intention of the government. Hong Kong is not a country but only a very small place, hence local government must literally and essentially mean to be allowing the people to manage their own affairs. People in Hong Kong at large are only interested in having a house to live in, a school for their children and a bed in the hospital in time of sickness. They are quite indifferent to Civil Aviation, Government Audit, Registration of births and deaths, scientific and research services, weight and measure, to mention just a few of the less important departments prescribed in the report. The people must be given a say in departments that affect their daily life. Already members in the Legislative Council have described the report
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
281
as being ambitious, some say, Medical and Education Departments are within their sphere of jurisdiction, why should the Greater Council step on their toes? Indeed, Sir, departmental functions sometimes do overlap. Take the Executive Council for example: the Executive Council is supreme in power but I have not heard its members accusing the Legislative Council of interfering in their jurisdiction. Is it simply because there are no elected members in these two Councils? Whether it may be, to say that the Greater Hong Kong Council would be interfering in the functions of the Legislative Council is being narrow-minded and not in the public interest. Members of the Urban Council must be united and request Government to give the people of Hong Kong a system with real power and responsibilities and not something that is only in name.
Mr. Chairman, I have great pleasure in supporting the motion before the Council.
ACTING DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: -Mr. Chairman, Members of this Council will know that the P.W.D. is a fairly closely knit organization comprising in effect 6 basic offices, Architectural, Buildings Ordinance, Crown Lands and Surveys, Civil Engineering, Electrical & Mechanical and Waterworks, each of which has further divisions. At first view this may seem a clumsy inefficient organization and this has in fact been said on many occasions. By the same token, Council will realize that it has often been suggested that the P.W.D. should be split up but, on closer examination, the verdict has always been the same- our present organization is ideal for a place the size of Hong Kong and with Hong Kong's special problems. The activities of all the various branches and divisions of the Department are inter-related and by being under one roof, questions of, say, private development, which affect all the offices, can be settled quickly and, I think, efficiently. To remove one of the offices or divisions from the organization by placing it under a separate head would therefore reduce efficiency as measured by any standard. When, therefore, after glancing through the report I read at paragraph 19 that the only aspects of Public Works falling to the Greater Hong Kong Council were those of Roads, Control of Building Construction and Waterworks, my immediate reaction was that this fragmentation of the department would be difficult to put into practice. My fear of the new organization was, however, increased when I read further on and found at paragraph 21 that the Public Works function of sewage and sewage disposal was to be delegated to the various District Councils, which by virtue of paragraph 69 would be dependent upon the Greater Council for the allocation of funds for the construction of these works. This would mean that every time a road was reconstructed it would be necessary to have the approval of and allocation of funds from the Greater Hong Kong Council for the actual road works, the approval of and allocation of funds from the District Council for the construction of sewers in the roads (which in
Page 153 of 3
279