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promote the relations and communications between District Boards and the give priority and concessions. However, the Council may consider giving
Urban Council, so that the Council's service can meet district needs. For this reason, I believe that District Boards have great expectations of their representative members.
I wish to thank the Urban Council for holding a reception for all the Yau Tsim District Board members on 23 November 1989, which provided a good opportunity for us to exchange experience. Now, I would like to present the following opinions on the questions mentioned in the reception:
(A) District Boards should be given priority and concessionary rates in hiring the H.K. Coliseum.
At present, the H.K. Coliseum is always patronized by profit-making organizations, in particular the entertainment companies, while District Boards are not given any priority and concessions in using this venue. In organizing some larger scale community involvement activities, District Boards often require the appropriately large venues. For publicity purpose, the venues should have the capacity for a large audience. On the other hand, they should be well equipped with such facilities as seats, audio systems and lightings. In order to meet all these requirements, District Boards have to spend a large sum of money. But financial constraint is always a headache.
I have no objection to letting UC venues to profit-making organizations. However, in the formulation of the hiring principles, the background of the hirers should be considered. The purpose of organizing such events should also be given primary consideration. If the Urban Council supports the implementation of district administration, it should consider giving priority to District Boards in using the venues.
The large-scale meaningful events organized by District Boards like district festivals, require a substantial amount of funds, but financial provisions are always stringent. As a matter of fact, donation does not provide a long term solution. Therefore, the Urban Council should grant concessionary rates to District Boards. I understand that the receipts from the rents paid by the profit-making organizations can be used to cover the deficit incurred by certain items of expenditures, but it is really unreasonable not to give any support to District Boards in their efforts to organize district events for community building purpose.
Referring to the question I raised in the monthly meeting on 12 December 1989, the Council gave the reply that its policies on subsidy for hirers were last reviewed in July 1987. Thus, a further review on this policy should be immediately conducted, as two years have already passed since then.
Without doubt, there may be a great number of events expected to be organized by District Boards, so that it is not always possible for the Council to certain concessionary quota to District Boards.
'Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign'.
(B) The District Boards should be invited to participate in the planning of the Although the Urban Council has made painstaking efforts in promoting the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign throughout these years, the results are still far from being satisfactory. Now, littering and spitting are still no rare phenomena in Hong Kong and sanitation problems in residential blocks and flats still abound. In view of this, I propose that prosecution be stepped up and health education be strengthened. District Boards should be invited to take part directly in the planning of the campaign if it is intended to relay the message through publicity and education to the grass-roots of the community effectively.
As a matter of fact, every district has its own unique environment and planning should therefore be done with due regard to the characteristics of individual districts so that publicity would be more effective and the desired goal easier to attain. Otherwise, it would simply result in wastage of both manpower and other resources.
Although District Boards do have representatives in the Urban Council and participate in the planning work concerned, they may not necessarily be members of the Public Health Select Committee or the Keep Hong Kong Clean Committee. Moreover, they may not even be members of the Keep Hong Kong Clean Committee of their own district. Therefore, I think it would be most desirable for the chairman of the Keep Hong Kong Clean Committee of each district to take part in the planning of the campaign. If this kind of arrangement could not be made, taking into consideration the excessive number of participants to get involved at the central planning level, then, as an alternative, sufficient consultation period for seeking the views of the districts should be allowed before decision is made at the central level. Only then will work be better coordinated at the time of implementation.
To promote better communication, arrangement could be made for the chairmen of District Boards and those of the various Urban Council committees to exchange their ideas in the future, apart from inviting District Board members to visit the Council as what we did last year.
In short, the work of the Urban Council and that of the District Board are closely linked together. More contact, better communication and closer cooperation between the two could enhance the image of the Council, facilitate the effective implementation of its work as well as invite more grass-root involvement in the promotion of urban services.
Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support the motion.
CHAIRMAN:-Ladies and Gentlemen, as agreed at the Standing Committee, I will exercise my right of reply at the next meeting to be held on Tuesday, 13 February 1990.
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