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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
a Statement concerning the creation of posts for, and the recruitment of, ten Amenities Officer Class II for recreation and amenities work in the Urban Areas.
The acreage of public amenities in the urban areas has greatly expanded over recent years; from 175 acres in 1955 to 991 acres at present.
For many years the Select Committee has asked Government for specialist, administrative and managerial staff without getting approval for their engagement. As a result, there has been a brake on progress but more important still, has been the resultant deficiency in management which has failed to keep pace with development. This shortfall has now assumed serious proportions. Furthermore, higher standards of management are now essential because increasing concern is being placed on the quality and the importance of the environment to the public. Now that we have direct control of our own finances, we are therefore taking the necessary steps to start putting the matter right.
Parks and passive recreation areas must be places for quiet enjoyment. Playgrounds and areas for active recreation must be controlled for proper games' use, whether it be for organized games or random sporting activities. Our young people must be able to play without hooligan interference in Urban Council amenities, which are safe. It would be an invidious reflection on our management if the public decided to keep away from Urban Council amenity areas because of real or assumed insecurity.
The management position must be put right. More staff, especially middle managers, are essential to restore the position. Otherwise, expensive amenities are constructed but are not put to full and proper use.
10 Amenities Officers are to be recruited and these will be trained and posted out to City Districts. They will be deployed on a regional basis and will fill the present void in middle management. They will supervise and control junior staff, on functional duties, at close hand, and will be able to see that these duties are being properly carried out. They will also strengthen the communication chain so that deficiencies on the ground are quickly brought to the attention of the Urban Services Officer for speedy remedial action.
I am pleased to report that the creation of these posts is proceeding at full speed and that the department is already taking preparatory steps to complete the necessary formalities including medical examination of successful applicants, at present on a waiting list, and that offers of appointment will follow immediately the posts are available.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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(2) MR. T. S. Lo, CHAIRMAN OF THE CITY HALL SELECT COMMITTEE (In English):-Members are aware that the demand for the facilities at the City Hall, in particular the Concert Hall and the Theatre, has been extremely heavy and for the last four years, a balloting system has been in use for the allocation of the available dates. Although certain priorities were built into the system to ensure some degree of balance of usage, it has become evident that the system is no longer adequate or fair when scores of artists and organizations have to be turned away month after month.
The City Hall Select Committee has made a thorough review of the position and has decided that the time has come for the Council to take a more positive role in deciding how this cultural centre of Hong Kong should be used. The Select Committee has decided that priority should be given to functions which not only have intrinsic merit but will also prove enjoyable to the public at large. A points system has been devised to assess all applications for the hiring of City Hall units and a sub-committee has been appointed to examine all applications and to recommend the priority to be given to individual applications on the basis of such points system.
The points system will take into account the cultural content of the function, its artistic or cultural merit and attendance figures at its previous booking. The points system will also take account of the frequency of previous hirings of the City Hall for the particular kind of function so as to encourage the appearance of new faces. This will be done by the award of special "bonus" points to those local artists making their debut at the City Hall. Even the ability of the applicant to organize a function properly will be taken into account.
Although the sub-committee will in general base its recommendations on this points system, it may override the system in exceptional cases in order to retain some degree of flexibility.
The new system will be put into effect as from 1st July, 1973. It will be reviewed in the light of actual operating experience after 6 months.
I must make clear that this system applies to "ordinary" bookings only. The separate arrangements for "special" bookings will be retained
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