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handling the business? And is it cost-effective to spend thousands if not millions of dollars on consultancy fees when such input can be obtained, free of charge, from highly qualified people now serving on the Council? They are willing to serve as Councillors in which capacity they can contribute towards the overall aims and objectives of the Council and be fully responsible for their decisions. I am not sure if they would like to serve as advisors or members of individual Select Committees at which level they are not part of the overall and final decision-making machinery of the Council.
It has also been suggested that the appointed members should consider standing for election, in order to return with a public mandate. This does not take cognizance of the fact that we do not have full-time Urban Councillors yet. While professionals, academics, businessmen and senior executives are willing to give whatever time they can find for public service, I doubt how many of them can afford the time and energy, for vigorous and intensive electioneering campaigns.
The Hon. Frederick FUNG has encouraged the appointed members with his offer to help them in their electioneering. If any member is determined to represent a certain constituency, I think it is irresponsible of him to rely entirely on his campaign assistants, without getting to know his constituency and getting himself known by the people he seeks to represent. For this reason, how many appointed members we expect are likely to stand for election?
Hawkers
The next topic I wish to turn to is illegal hawkers. This same topic comes up almost every year and I do not pretend that there is an easy solution.
We have illegal hawkers for probably as long as the history of Hong Kong. In fact, one of the reasons our forerunner 'The Sanitary Board' was set up in 1883 was to regulate hawkers. As some members have rightly pointed out, it is very much a social problem the solution to which does not lie with the Council alone. The traditional Chinese concept of being your own boss and running your own business, no matter how small it is, has prompted people to operate as illegal hawkers. Then there is also the problem of supply and demand. Because of the convenience to buy from illegal hawkers who often trade at busy locations whenever our General Duty Teams are away or not present, and because they have few, if any, business overheads, they can sell at more competitive prices, we are never short of supply of illegal hawkers.
May I repeat the message made by me and my predecessor in the previous years, please use your district influence to persuade housewives not to patronize illegal hawkers. Convenient as it may be to buy from them, their very existence is the source of environmental and hygienic problems in your district.
May I also appeal for market-stall operators' support to make themselves competitive. We have built many new markets, and are in the process of modernizing some old ones. We wish to give market-goers the convenience as well as the comfort to shop around in markets which are clean, well-lit, well-ventilated, systematically laid out, and comprehensive in stock and variety. Help to maintain a pleasant market environment - clean and free from obstructions. Impress our customers with your quality of food and goods, and gain their confidence by your service and reliability.
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On the Council's part, we are not evading our responsibilities at all. We are fully committed to improving our provision of markets, their facilities and environment. Cooked food stalls are now present in most of the new UC complexes. As regards hawker control, the operation of a dedicated new grade of staff to undertake this onerous task is being actively pursued. The various new initiatives suggested by members will also be carefully examined. I hope before long we shall be able to see improvements.
Greening Hong Kong
Several members spoke about greening Hong Kong. We shall make this a priority in our work in 1993, which has been made the "Greening Year" of the Urban Council. This is to give impetus and arouse public attention to what will be a long-term commitment of the Council. I assure you action will not stop after 1993. The enthusiasm and momentum will carry on.
A Working Group on greening Hong Kong has been set up under the chairmanship of the Hon. MAN Sai-cheong. The Working Group has since developed a planting program for 1993/94. They aim to achieve an overall target of planting 1,500 trees under the street tree planting program for next year. Some may think this is not enough. Bearing in mind that our existing stock of pavement trees is about 11,000, the proposed target will clearly make an impact.
In addition, steps will also be taken in conjunction with other departments where appropriate, for slope planting, planting for capital and minor projects, planting for existing UC facilities and beautification of highways.
While the Council will do what it can to green Hong Kong, we will not be able to succeed without the community's active involvement and participation. May I also ask members of the community to give some thought to adding some green look to their home and their workplace. Develop an interest in greening, and instill the greening concept into the minds of the young. In due course, we will be able to enjoy a more beautiful and pleasant environment.
Public Impression on the Council
To improve ourselves, we need to have feedback. The civil service has an annual performance appraisal exercise for civil servants. As Councillors, we will of course not receive increments or promotions for any good work we have done. Nevertheless, we are concerned to know how we stand, in the eyes of the public, in respect of our performance and our work.
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