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8 MR HILTON CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question (in English):- What measures have been taken to reduce the mosquito nuisance in the urban areas and to act quickly on complaints concerning mosquito nuisances, particularly in the North Point District?
MRS GRACE HO, CHAIRMAN OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English): The mosquito nuisance in the urban areas is controlled mainly by systematic surveys aimed at the location and elimination of breeding places. Places where breeding is likely to occur, such as building sites, are visited weekly by Pest Control staff and at intervals of one or two weeks by the District Health Inspector. All gully and drain traps in public places are oiled once a week and prosecutions are instituted against those who allow mosquitos to breed on premises under their control.
On receipt of a mosquito complaint, the District Health Inspector, Pest Control Inspector, or Pest Control Overseer will attend in person as soon as possible and in any case within 48 hours, and conduct a thorough survey of the area. After action is taken, further regular visits are made to ensure that there has been no recurrence of the nuisance.
These standard procedures are followed in all areas including North Point. In the Eastern District, which includes North Point, altogether nine mosquito gangs are employed. A special survey of this area was carried out in April before the commencement of the mosquito season, and another in August this year. Four complaints were recorded in the months of July and August 1978, and during the same period 196 breeding places were destroyed and 21 warnings issued. Six summonses were applied for in respect of mosquito breeding on building sites, all in the Cloudview Road area.
MR CHEONG-LEEN (in English):- Mr Chairman, are the complaints from North Point above average or compared to other districts very mild? Are we still getting complaints from the North Point district which is Eastern District, of course?
MRS HO (in English):- I am afraid, Mr Chairman, I must protest. I find that every time MR CHEONG-LEEN asks a question his supplementaries usually stray about. If he had asked me that in his question I would have been able to produce the figures. Can I send the figures to him?
MR JOHN MACKENZIE (in English):- Mr Chairman, is mosquito breeding being encouraged by pig breeding in certain hillside areas inside North Point, and if so, what action is taken on this subject?
MRS HO (in English):- Mr Chairman, this is a difficult question, because pig breeding is not within the jurisdiction of this Council. It is the Agriculture & Fisheries Department's responsibility and the policy is to ensure that all pig breeding is carried out in the non-urban areas. Now unfortunately, it is a policy that has not been carried out and this does create a nuisance, not only in the North Point area, but in any area where there are normally hillsides and pig breeders have moved in. It is a problem and one of the blackspots is the pig breeding area and constant work has been carried out to reduce the nuisance.
MR MACKENZIE (in English): Mr Chairman, I accept Mrs HO's recognition but as the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee is responsible to this Council generally, can efforts be made to eliminate pig breeding from within the urban area which is definitely an environmental hazard?
MRS HO (in English):- Mr Chairman, I certainly will look into it but I rather think that there is very little we can do unless we can get the Agriculture & Fisheries Department to make a move.
MOTIONS
1 THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL moved the following motion: RESOLVED that the audited Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Statement of Revenue and Expenditure of the Urban Council for the year ended March 1978, be adopted.
He said (in English):- The audited accounts for 1977-78 are now presented to this Council for adoption.
There is a surplus of $73.794 million as anticipated earlier in the year, in spite of cutting down the rate voluntarily from 6 to 4%. The Council has increased its reserves substantially, first, to meet any general contingency that may arise and, secondly, to pay for capital projects should recurrent provisions be insufficient to do so in any given year. They stand at $200 million. In addition, $20 million is carried forward on current account.
The Council has been able to report a surplus each year since achieving financial autonomy five years ago. Even so, it must still keep a close watch on all revenue and expenditure. Otherwise, in a period of rapid expansion as at present, difficulties could be created for another day. Perhaps more so, because the Council has been open-handed so far in the approval of projects and programmes intended for the benefit of the community. It is firmly committed to the improvement of basic services; it has also introduced innovative schemes for the good of the people. Indeed, much had to be done quickly at the start to make life more amenable. For, there was much to do to catch up; yet, much more has still to be done, of course. In these circumstances, with heavy demand for higher-grade manpower, better-quality buildings, and earlier replacement of perhaps outmoded equipment, there is likely to be sharply higher recurrent expenditure in the financial years to come. Consequently, the examination of secondary revenue levels to relate
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