2
Wednesday, March 29, 1972
"To meet these and many other responsibilities the Government
employs nearly 100,000 public servants organised into 40 departments; and subvents on a deficiency grant basis educational, medical and social welfare institutions employing another 25,000."
The Government operated the largest industrial undertaking
the waterworks in Hong Kong and the largest workshops as well as innumerable other establishments ranging from offices to police stations to hospitals to schools to fire stations and facilities of all kinds, he pointed out.
Government's Stock Of Vehicles
Add to that the Government's stock of vehicles and equipment, the multitude of contractual relationships entered into for supplies and for building and civil engineering works and the "ubiquitous nature" of the Government's activities, despite its liberal economic and fiscal policies, began to become apparent, he said.
"And so does the sheer unlikelihood of our performance being, at
all times, and in all areas, perfect."
Sir Yuet-keung blamed Government's less than perfect performance on what he described as "a serious deficiency in forward planning", on a restrictive financial policy and on a lack of confidence in Hong Kong and the people of Hong Kong resulting in a certain hesitancy in "many fields of endeavour", the Financial Secretary said.
"We are planning and forecasting all the time, perhaps not very tidily, but we are," he stressed.
/He cited.