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Tuesday, August 22, 1972
One idea was to erect an exhibition hall in the heart of Sau Mau Ping,
an area affected by the June rainstorms. But this was thought to be unsuitable
because it was felt that such a building would normally be provided by the
Government, and should not be built at the expense of these donations.
Another idea was to distribute the balance in a final cash payment to
all registered victims.
While this proposal had the merit of immediately putting an end to the
chapter on the June rainstorms in so far as it relates to the public's generosity,
members felt such a liquidation of responsibility took no account of the expressed
desire of many donors to have their money constatively employed among victims
of future disasters.
Mr. Rowe said 4,528 families, or 21,580 individuals, had registered
for aid after the rainstorms with the Social Welfare Department alone, and if
the balance were distributed in cash among them, no one would get more than
between $100 and $200 each.
In view of the smallness of this amount and the large payments already
made, a more satisfactory solution would seem to be to consider legislation to
enable the balance to be transferred to the Community Relief Trust Fund proper
for use in future emergencies,
"There are precedents for this," Mr. Rowe explained,
"Indeed, the
Community Relief Trust Fund was begun with funds derived from donations in
respect of specifie disasters."
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