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although the projects are not castles in the air and have been decided on for practical needs in districts after careful consideration by various Select Committees. The decision to shelve these means that people in the neighbourhood will not get the municipal services they should get. I think this is unacceptable and defeats the Council's purpose in constructing facilities. Take the park planned for the West Kowloon Reclamation Area as an example. The park is supposed to be a municipal facility in a newly developed area. Now that developments in the neighbouring district are completed one after the other, the site for a new park is still barren land. Citizens have no facility thereon to enjoy. Such a turn of events makes our commitment to provide quality municipal service a false promise. People in the vicinity have to be settled as people there to open up the waste land.
Mr. Chairman, under the circumstances, I think that as the initiator of this mess, Government should be responsible for picking up the pieces. Government should bear the expenditure on committed projects on knowing that this Council is forced to shelve many projects because of failure in efforts to reallocate resources to meet the need. The best way out is of course for Government to give us additional funding to carry out the projects, but it is not to be. Government has made it clear time and again that no additional funding will be given. So, I can only urge Government to bear the responsibility.
In fact, I can see a lot of advantages in Government's shouldering of responsibility. To implement projects under the present economic downturn will provide more job opportunities and thereby help invigorate the economy. Government has proposed a cable car system in Lantau and other projects. If the proposals are endorsed, a large amount of Forex US reserves will have to be used in buying cars and machines from foreign countries which means that job opportunities will go to countries of their production. As municipal projects are mostly labour-intensive construction works, local expenditure will be high and high local expenditure means more jobs for local workers. This is something all construction site workers can understand. If we speak in terms of works planning on the basis of hard theories, this is called "Economic Multiplier" in works economy. Government should consult university professors when comparing different projects. Whether Government chooses to consult a university professor is something strictly for the Government to consider. I can list the budget for at least 53 projects originally to be taken up by this Council, being $720 million for the year 2000/2001, $1.24 billion for the year 2001/2002 and projects worth hundreds of millions to be shelved. It is clear that implementation of such projects will instantly create employment opportunities.
I hope that if and when Government is willing to bear the expenditure on these projects, work plans and design plans already endorsed by this Council will be accepted and reasonable cooperation with this Council will be arranged. If this can be done, the tense relationship between this Council and
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