HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
another thing whether the manpower on the ground is sufficient at present to ensure that illegal hawkers do not interfere with the hawkers allocated these sites. For this very reason, no official allocation to the new hawker bazaar at Ngau Tau Kok has as yet been made. I sincerely hope that the Government will take steps to provide this Council with adequate means of enforcing policy decisions, such as this, on the ground, to the ultimate benefit of the hawkers, the housewives and shopkeepers alike.
MRS. ELLIOTT:- Mr. Chairman, could we have the assurance that the situation will not arise in Pak Tin as arose in Sau Mau Ping where one person was getting many sites and selling them to hawkers?
MR. BERNACCHI:- That perhaps, on the assumption that you are right in your facts of course, is a typical example of the complaint of this Council of insufficient manpower on the ground to ensure that this Council's policies decisions are carried out.
MRS. ELLIOTT:- Mr. Chairman, is there any way in which this Council can keep a closer watch and a tighter grasp on the situation so that it will not get out of hand again? I am suggesting by means of making very tight rules.
CHAIRMAN:- We certainly will be glad to see what we can do to improve matters, Mrs. ELLIOTT, but as Mr. BERNACCHI said, it is a question, I think, of staff and control.
MRS. ELLIOTT:- But, Mr. Chairman, are we doing anything about it?
CHAIRMAN:- As I have said many times, once we get the policy paper, which you have now agreed upon, up to the Secretariat, I would hope that I would be able to pursue the matter of staff immediately.
MR. BERNACCHI:- A further answer, I would certainly recommend myself that we do the same as we have done at Ngau Tau Kok, that is not to allocate these stalls officially until we are satisfied that we have the control on the ground.
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(8) MR. BERNACCHI, in the absence of Mr. HENRY H. L. Hu, asked the following question:-
When was the public latrine near the Aberdeen Market built? Is it sufficient to meet the present circumstances? Is there any plan to re-build a modern one either in the same locality or in another part of Aberdeen?
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
DR. A. M. S. BELL, CHAIRMAN OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:-
Mr. Chairman, this latrine was built in 1928. It has ten compartments for males and six for females. This is not sufficient to deal with the demand between 8 and 10 in the morning and 4 and 5 in the afternoon when queues usually form.
This old latrine will be replaced by a very much bigger latrine and bathhouse when Aberdeen Market is reconstructed. The reconstruction project is in Category C of the Public Works Programme.
I must thank Mr. Hu for drawing attention to this matter, particularly at a time when the Financial Secretary, in his speech on 26th February, said that action has been taken to speed up the process for upgrading building projects. In view of the Financial Secretary's statement, I propose to refer this question to the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee to consider a request to upgrade this project sooner than is at present intended, which of course may also mean upgrading the market to which this public latrine will be attached.
MR. SALES:- Mr. Chairman, can this Council be assured that in the reconstruction of this particular project that there will be no discrimination between male and female? (Laughter).
(9) DR. A. M. S. BELL asked the following question:-
Would the Commissioner for Resettlement:-
(a) Please state what is the average time taken for an appeal case to be brought before the Joint Resettlement Appeals Committee after notice of an appeal has been given?
(b) Is it usual when an appellant has been informed that his appeal case will be heard as soon as possible that he has to wait such a long period as from October 8th to February 25th?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:-
During 1968 the average time taken for an appeal case to come before an appeals committee was two months. The specific case referred to, which took rather more than four months, was exceptional.
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