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Wednesday, November 29, 1972
He said the supply of housing had not been able to catch up with the
demand and "any further delay in plans can only result in higher cost of
accommodation."
"The chain reaction will be higher cost of living and higher cost
of labour, which will add to the cost of our export products as well as creating
further social probleme.
Mr. Lee appreciated the need for the bill and said he had considerable
sympathy for the Public Works Department in view of the situation it was facing.
"I am sure we would all like to pay a tribute to the devotion of duty
shown by the Director of Public Works and his staff, particularly in the
Buildings Ordinance Office for having carried out the already very heavy_load
of work which has now been aggravated by the June disasters".
Mr. Lee was aware that to speed up the approval of building plans
was not the sole responsibility of the P.W.D.. He suggested that urgent measures
be taken to recruit "at the soonest possible date" the extra professional staff
for whom the posts have already been approved by the Finance Committee of the
Legislative Council.
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