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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
We should all understand that with limited resources and high wages which if blindly forced to rapidly rise even higher, some manufacturers will lose their ability to compete in the world market. When most of the so-called 'backward industries' which have their roots in Hong Kong move elsewhere, the orders will be lost with them. The other manufactories will become processors which are no more than brokers. The situation will then be very deplorable.
At first a city of handicraft industries with small to medium scale factories, Hong Kong has now become an international financial centre with high-tech industries and advanced commerce. The evolution has taken place step-by-step. We must not let our workforce, which constitutes one quarter of our population, resort to hawking. We need to examine the conditions of survival for the small to medium scale industries, which are very flexible enterprises, to prevent them from dying out.
It is hoped that China will, to maintain Hong Kong's stability and prosperity during the transitional period, consider opening some markets for Hong Kong products before 1997, which might in turn stimulate manufacturers in China to produce more fashionable goods, or to give Hong Kong manufacturers some kind of favourable terms. At present it seems unfair that the manufacturers in Taiwan enjoy such terms but those in Hong Kong do not.
With these words, Sir, I support the motion.
(Mr. Edmund Chow and Miss Maria TAM left at this point-4.00 p.m.)
MR. HOWARD H. W. YOUNG (in Cantonese):--Mr. Chairman, we have had four English speakers and four Chinese. I have decided to make my speech in Chinese instead to tip the balance in one way, so that Mr. SULKE can correct it later on.
Reducing costs and Augmenting Resources
With the revised arrangement for sharing rates with Government in the urban area, the Urban Council will have at least for the next couple of years removed the threat of continuing deficits, negative reserves and even possible financial bankruptcy that has been hanging over our heads for some years now. Even though the average ratepayer, by having his rates increased to 6 per cent from 5½ per cent is having to pay a bit more, this is a modest 9 per cent increase which in my view, is, speaking as a ratepayer myself, bearable. In fact when considering the increased levels of activities and numbers of venues provided for the public in areas such as recreation, sports, culture and entertainment, I would say that the public is getting value for money in respect of the rates paid.
However, this does not mean we can afford to spend money in a carefree manner. On the contrary, we must continue to explore avenues of reducing costs and obtaining revenue and resources from sources other than rates. I shall mention three areas in recreation, as an example, since I have from this year chaired the Recreation Select Committee, and also touch on one aspect of income in hawker policy since a very comprehensive consultative document has recently been published.
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upkeeping
On the Environmental Hygiene side, we have had over a year's experience in selective privatization of cleansing services, namely refuse collection in squatter areas in Eastern District and cleansing of public toilets in West Kowloon. Both have shown savings of about half the cost of maintaining these services through direct Urban Services Department staff. While it may be optimistic to expect such a large saving to be sustained over a long period of time or to apply equally to all services, I think we should start exploring whether certain areas of our recreational facilities can also be contracted out or privatized.
Late last year, the Recreation Select Committee discussed a detailed report drawn up by U.S.D. on the safety and management of swimming pools. The Department has also promised to give us soon a report on the manning levels of swimming pools. One of the characteristics of recreational swimming is that it is highly seasonal, whether in swimming pools or at beaches. Although we do already employ lifeguards on a part-time basis on beaches during the peak swimming season, there is still a substantial core of staff in the running of our 13 swimming pool complexes. I urge the Department to explore methods of cutting down on this core and either use more part-time staff or contract out part of the service instead. In the same way that we do not want to, and did not, jeopardize health standards in environmental hygiene privatization, we must not jeopardize safety in swimming pools either. Our safety track record has been fairly good over the years, we have comprehensive statistics on fatalities, accidents, and rescues, so the safety standard can be measured. When employing contractors, we can use similar standards to monitor the effectiveness of whoever we employ. Swimming pools ought to be a good starting point and test case, but if it proves successful, why can't we extend this to management of our parks and amenities?
This is the money-saving side of the value for money formula, but what about the revenue side? I think there is potential for more involvement of non-Urban Council money and resources in recreation and sport. Firstly, there is the sponsorship of events and activities. Up to now, many sports events are sponsored by grants from the Urban Council covering half the cost, with the Council for Recreation and Sport coming up with the other half. Discussions are already under-way to review the roles Urban Council vis-a-vis Council for Recreation and Sport should play, and it is likely that the Council for Recreation and Sport will concentrate more on sports development and training while the Urban Council will shoulder more of the burden of sponsoring events. Rather than being content with the role of a bottomless piggy bank, should we not always encourage sports bodies to seek commercial sponsorship for events first, and only have the Urban Council subsidies as a last resort? Sponsoring could be in the form of naming events after products or company names, or outright advertising on the spot. With more and more pressure against cigarette media advertising, I would not be surprised if sponsorship of events in various
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