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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. CHARLES C. C. SIN (in English):-Mr. Chairman, section 36 of the Urban Council Ordinance permits this Council to delegate its powers and functions except those set out in Sub-Clause 4 thereof. It was in pursuant to this section and for the sake of efficiency that this Council by motion passed unanimously on 14.8.1973 delegated all its powers to the Standing Committee save and except those functions under Sub-Clause 4.
Sub-Clause 4 of Section 36 sets out those functions which this Council cannot delegate and, consequently, these functions must be exercised by this Council in open session and be made known to the public. These functions are:-To approve the annual list of works, estimates of income and expenditure to raise any loan-to authorize the annual report or statements of revenue and expenditure, assets and liabilities to make any by-law or regulation or to invest surplus funds of the Council. These are important issues which provide the public with a gauge to determine this Council's effectiveness and matters on which the public ought to be fully informed and to be able to question the Council's use of public funds and to query by-laws made by the Council. It is thus quite rightly for the Ordinance to provide that these functions cannot be delegated and must be exercised by this Council in public meetings.
The motion before us calls upon the Council to delegate all its powers and functions to the Standing Committee except those in Sub-Clause 4 but at the same time it requires this Council to formally adopt in open session any matter previously requiring to be passed in such a way before the Council delegated such powers to the Standing Committee. I believe the intention of the motion is to require the Council to decide on all matters in open session. On the face of it, the motion appears to be laudable, but let me analyse the effect of this motion if it is carried. If the motion is carried the situation as I see it, is that this Council will in future be obliged to do the following things in open session:
First, the Council must resolve in open session on every occasion when its seal has to be affixed to any deed and to authorize the Chairman of this Council and one other member to sign the deed to which the seal has to be affixed.
Secondly, to formally resolve in open session any amendment to Standing Orders.
Thirdly, to formally create committees and delegate powers.
Fourthly, to formally deal with any temporary loan.
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I firmly believe that these matters I have just cited are of little interest to the public.
It is in my view of little interest to the public as to what deed this Council affixes its seal onto or how this Council conducts its meetings; it is what this Council within its scope does for the people that matters greatly to the public. On the borrowing of money on a temporary basis, it would seem that this could only arise if there was a delay between the receipt of Council revenue and payment of Council expenses. In such an event, the temporary arrangement to borrow have to be entered into regardless of a public debate or otherwise. Mr. Chairman, with great respect I submit that the motion has little, if any, merit.
Before I resume my seat, I wish to thank our Secretary for preparing the paper on this motion which has assisted me greatly in understanding the effect of the motion. Mr. Chairman, as I fail to see the merit of the motion, I therefore intend to vote against.
Dr. DENNY M. H. HUANG (in Cantonese):-Chairman, after reading the motion raised by Mr. B. A. BERNACCHI again and again and running through the relevant papers, I still fail to figure out the purpose of his making such a motion.
I, as well as a few other Members of the Council, tend to think that what Mr. BERNACCHI tried to suggest is: Any Member may raise a matter within the jurisdiction of the Council, notwithstanding the fact that such matter may have already been discussed and decided upon by the Select Committee or the Standing Committee, for discussion again in the open monthly meeting.
If this is really so, then I have to strongly oppose to it for the following reasons:
(1) Although the scope of the Council's jurisdiction is narrow, yet the matters, complicated or trivial, it has to look after are quite many. Besides the monthly open meeting, there are as many as 19 other kinds of meetings to be held each month, dealing with an untold number of matters. I am afraid that the ordinary citizens will never realize that the job of the Members—I mean those Members who attend meetings every now and then—is so onerous.
If this motion is passed, the first danger will be: If there is one Member who often irresponsibly overrules the resolutions adopted by the Select Committee and the Standing Committee
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