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Next to it, we should also liberalize the definition of obstruction. The Select Committee has surveyed the streets in the urban area which are to be gazetted as hawker permitted streets and made over 20 visits between the months of March and May 1974 to all hawker bazaars and street hawking sites in both sides of the harbour. I should also point out that since the 1st April 1973, the management of hawkers in Housing Department's estates are no longer the jurisdiction of the Urban Council. Probably the Council should still be consulted about the issue of licences and the hygienic problem. We are trying to find out a working procedure between these two institutions.
The Hawkers Select Committee has solved individual case or grievance through its Appeal Sub-Committee which meets quite often and also in long hours to look each case very closely. I should thank its Chairman Mr. BERNACCHI and members Mrs. ELLIOTT and Mr. Charles SIN for their very good work done in the Sub-Committee.
I am convinced that the right policy of Hawkers Select Committee and hard work of its members and the staff of U.S.D. have contributed a great deal to the stability of our community in this economically difficult time. We view the hawker problem from the context of the interest of the community as a whole. We rely on the principle of tolerance and self-reliance to tackle this problem. We are confident this is the right principle to keep Hong Kong in its economical viability and competitiveness.
Mr. Chairman with these remarks, I support the Motion. (Applause).
MR. H. M. G. FORSGATE (in English):-Mr. Chairman, in the days when Government was represented by Official Members on this Council, our Annual Debate seemed to have more bite, as we had a conveniently handy target for real or imagined sins of omission by Government to our demands. I, for one, rather miss their presence for that reason and many others.
I think we must now regard this debate as an occasion to review the progress of our various Select Committees over the past year, so that the rate-paying public can judge for themselves, and at the same time outline our plans for the year ahead.
Finance
In the absence abroad of our Vice-Chairman and Finance Committee Chairman, Mr. Hilton CHEONG-LEEN, I have also to review certain financial aspects of our work. The majority of our aspirations require money, so I will deal with this first.
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In the present climate of gloom, where many creative ideas and enterprises in commerce, industry and Government are being stifled by financial stringency, we are indeed fortunate that our financial solidarity enables us to foster and promote further energetic schemes for improving expanding public amenities and facilities. As our Balance Sheet so amply demonstrates, we have established a reasonable reserve, putting the Council on a firm financial footing, and our main objective should now be to speed up all the minor projects and lay the ground work for the larger capital works that I will refer to later, when reviewing the progress of the Works Planning Sub-Committee.
Our present financial position reveals a handsome surplus at the end of this year. Although a budget deficit of about $15 million on our Income and Expenditure Account is budgeted for at the end of March 1976, this includes a $20 million allocation for switch-financing of certain projects. It must be remembered that economies in expenditure are difficult to achieve, as two thirds of the total budgeted expenditure is for Personal Emoluments, which amount to some $223 million. This is inevitable in the labour intensive operation of the Urban Services Department, although all Select Committees are being nagged by you, Sir, to keep an eagle eye on all expenditure under their control. Paradoxically, however, some Select Committees are lagging behind on their allocated expenditure budgets, and I would suggest, Sir, you take out the whip in this direction.
You have also urged Committees to closely examine fees and charges, which have been in force for many years, and are now outdated. This exercise is required to increase revenue on a rational basis to a more realistic level. If this objective is achieved, it is expected that the Council's expenditure will be financed from income, leaving us with reserves at 31st March 1976, of approximately $84 million. However, in case anyone gets carried away by this apparent affluence, let me remind you of our ambitious capital expenditure budget, the full impact of which has yet to be considered by Finance Committee, and then Standing Committee.
Sir, as the major custodians of our finances, both you and our absent Vice-Chairman have done us proud in taking every advantage in the rule book of the high interest rates that have prevailed. To date this year, this source of income has yielded some $6 million. However, fixed deposit interest rates are declining rapidly, and I suggest you press for Governmental approval to diversify our investments