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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
The purpose of amending these By-laws is to help keep the Council's target subsidy for cremation and columbarium niches below the 50 per cent level while maintaining a satisfactory service to the general public.
The increase has been carefully considered by the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee, the Finance Select Committee and the Standing Committee of the Whole Council, and I am satisfied that due weight has been given to all implications of the proposal.
Mr. Chairman, I beg to move.
MR. TONG KAM-BIU, VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE, seconded the motion (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I rise to second the motion.
The question was put.
The motion was carried unanimously.
3. MR. LEE CHIK-YUET, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, moved the following motion (in Cantonese):---Mr. Chairman, I rise to move the motion standing in my name:-
'RESOLVED that the Hawker (Urban Council) (Amendment) By-laws 1987 be made under section 83A of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, Cap. 132.'
As a preamble to the Hawker (Urban Council) (Amendment) By-laws 1987, I wish to make several important point to put this proposal into proper perspective.
Firstly, it is four years since there were any changes in the fees for hawker licences and hawker pitches, which have remained unaltered since 1 March 1983.
The reason for this is that in the meantime the Council had set up the Working Party on Hawkers and Related Policies to very thoroughly examine the highly complicated hawking problem in the urban areas.
This in turn led to many meetings of the Working Party and a series of site visits to see and assess the problems on the ground and hold talks with both hawkers and their customers.
Then there followed a consultation exercise with all the urban District Boards-which proved to be quite a lengthy process-and subsequent to all this it was agreed at a high level in Government that two senior Police Officers should be seconded to the Urban Services Department to study policing and control aspects of the hawker problem.
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The report of these two officers is now nearing readiness and it is hoped that the final recommendations of the Working Party can be made public in the coming months.
Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your patience in allowing me to go into such detail but I think it was necessary to give a full and complete background to the situation as to why there have not been any adjustments to the fees for hawker licences and hawker pitches.
In the intervening period the costs of hawker management and control have continued to rise, and in the coming year it is estimated that these costs will reach the worrying figure of $236.32 million.
On the other hand, if the Council does not impose and increase at this stage, the revenue from such fees will remain at a total of only $29.22 million, resulting in a deficit of $207.1 million.
This, the Council believes, would be an intolerable burden to place on the ratepayer.
This brings me, Mr. Chairman, to the essence of this motion-which proposes an increase of 70 per cent in the fees for hawker licences and for the allocation of fixed pitches. However, this proposed increase which has been agreed by the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee--would not take effect until July 1 this year, thereby giving hawkers yet another four months 'holiday' before the increase is imposed, and providing them ample time in which to make the necessary financial arrangements. The new fees for the issue and renewal of hawker licences are shown under Part I of the amended schedule to the principal by-laws while the new fees for the allocation of fixed pitches are shown under Part III of the same schedule.
The fee increases before you would produce an additional revenue during 1987/88 of $20.65 million and take the total revenue up to $49.87 million.
On this basis, the deficit during 1987/88 on hawker management and control would be reduced to an estimated $186.45 million.
In the circumstances I hope members will agree that the Council has no other choice but to agree to this increase.
However, before moving the motion, Mr. Chairman, I wish to make a further important point, which is that this proposed increase is just a normal incremental revision being made on the basis of the rising costs in hawker administration since 1983.
It has absolutely nothing to do with any recommendations that the Working Party on Hawkers might make when its Report is issued later this year.
Sir, with these remarks, I beg to move.