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wears after that time and many items in the Memorandum are outdated. Certain operational arrangements have now strayed from being practical. The Memorandum listed many items of our terms of reference. I am sure experienced Members realize that our powers have been cut bit by bit. The Function of this Council is now based on a basis different from that in the past.
Allow me to cite a few examples, if I may. Government was worried at that time because the Urban Council was the only council with an elected element. In order to balance off the power of the Urban Council, various departments were formed after 1973 to share our work.
First of all, the Regional Council was set up in 1985. We all know about this. The New Territories region was put under the management of the Regional Council. With the Municipal Services Branch dissolved in 1990, Hygiene came under the Department of Health and the two municipal councils began to handle food inspection jointly with the Department of Health. Answerability became confused. The cholera case in the first half year as well as other incidents show that part of the problem is with division of responsibility. We now know that there are different food inspection systems in Hong Kong and there is not one single body to coordinate food safety and monitoring.
Originally, we were responsible for health education. With the setting up of health education division in the Department of Health, we had stopped running such work. Several years ago, as the Urban Council saw the need, the Urban Services Department was asked to form a section to take up health education activities and set up a health education resource centre. As the two establishments tend to run their own programmes, we could not coordinate their work directly although we have had to foot the bills of both set-ups. This is a waste of manpower and resources.
Another example concerns public beaches. In the seventies, the Urban Council was responsible for managing public beaches as well as testing water samples. Ever since the establishment of the Environmental Protection Department, that role has been taken over. From the dominant role in waste management, we have now moved to a passive role following the establishment of the Environmental Protection Department. We are now reduced to a consultative and passive position in waste management policy making, waste collection, recycling, landfills and incinerators.
On culture, recreation and sports, the Urban Council was aware of various Government activities in the eighties. First, there was the Sports Development Bureau, then there was the Art Development Council. A sort of competition was created. Even though there is division of labour to some extent, conflict between the elitist and popularization developments has evolved. It seems that all of a sudden, artists and the general public are on opposite sides. In the use of venues, training of elite athletes and sports regarded as recreational activities by citizens are competing.
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