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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
73
MR. Lee Kwok-KEUNG (in Cantonese):-
Hawker Control, Market Management and Bureaucracy
Mr. Chairman and colleagues, since joining the Urban Council, I have gained a better understanding of the various services provided by the Council. Today I shall speak mainly on hawker control and management of markets. In addition to that, I would also like to talk about the impression I gained during the past months as a Member of this Council, about bureaucracy in particular.
Illegal hawking has long been a problem besetting the Council. Last year about $1 billion was spent on the control of licensed and unlicensed hawkers. In terms of cost-effectiveness, why is it that no improvement has been achieved despite this huge amount of expenditure?
The present Hawker Control Team was formed by staff transferred from the former General Duties Team with the intention of having a dedicated grade to solve the problem of illegal hawking. Unfortunately, some Hawker Control Officers (HCOs) fail to discharge their duties properly. For instance, they simply disperse hawkers instead of arresting them, and the black sheep among these officers even tip the hawkers off ahead of operations and disclose the identities of complainants. How can such management be effective in alleviating the problem? Recently, there are gossips about HCOs being absent from duty without permission. The Court's decision to dismiss the appeal against compulsory early retirement by a USD employee is indicative of the present situation.
It is time for us to make up our mind to improve the discipline of the Hawker Control Team. I hope that in the year ahead, the Hawker Control Team will be reorganized, its internal disciplinary training strengthened, and a new code of discipline be introduced. This is the only way we can solve the problem of unlicensed hawkers effectively. With the strengthening of manpower on the part of the Council, the introduction of a three-shift system for the Hawker Control Team and joint operations with the Housing Department, the current situation will certainly be improved.
The Urban Services Department is specialized in the management of markets. In this aspect, it has done a better job than the Housing Department, if we compare UC markets with those managed by the Housing Department. The Market Improvement Scheme will render our markets even more enviable in the future. But I would like to raise the question about the daily management of markets. Policies and facilities, no matter how good they may be, are often spoiled by irresponsible managing officers. Indeed, one of the main problems in market management lies in 'enforcement'. I hope the Department can spend more time on the management of markets, tackling such issues as passage obstruction, illegal hawking and keeping the market clean. Setting up a Market Consultative Committee for each market will be conducive to solving the above-mentioned problems.
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