MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1992
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OLD AGE ALLOWANCE SCHENE WELL ADMINISTERED
THE DIRECTOR OF AUDIT PAID TRIBUTE TO THE STAFF OF THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT BY POINTING OUT IN HIS RECENTLY PUBLISHED REPORT THAT THE OLD AGE ALLOWANCE SCHEME WAS WELL. ADMINISTERED, THE DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE, MR MICHAEL CARTLAND, SAID
AT THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE'S PUBLIC HEARING HELD TODAY (MONDAY), MR CARTLAND SAID' FOUR RELATIVELY TECHNICAL POINTS OF THE SCHEME WERE STUDIED BUT THE MAIN THRUST OF THE REPORT WAS THAT THERE WAS A SOUND FRAMEWORK FOR CONTROL OF THE SCHEME WHICH WAS WELL RUN.
HE DREW MEMBERS' ATTENTION TO THE SCALE OF THE SCHEME'S OPERATION IN WHICH ABOUT 900 STAFF MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT HANDLED 70,000 APPLICATIONS A YEAR WITH AN EXPENDITURE OF $2.1 BILLION.
"THE FINDINGS OF THE DIRECTOR OF AUDIT'S REPORT ARE REALLY AN ENCOURAGEMENT AND A TRIBUTE TO THE STAFF. WITH A CASELOAD OF 420,000 THEIR WORK IS LARGELY MECHANICAL, OFTEN TEDIOUS AND IT'S AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO THEM THAT THEIR EFFORTS HAVE BEEN RECOGNISED IN THIS WAY."
THE
HE SAID HE AGREED WITH THE DIRECTOR OF AUDIT THAT IN FUTURE THE APPROVAL OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE SHOULD BE SOUGHT WHEN DEPARTMENT WAS TO CHANGE THE QUALIFYING CRITERIA FOR OLD ALLOWANCE WHICH WOULD RESULT IN ANY FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS.
IT WAS A FORWARD-LOOKING POINT ON THE PART OF THE DIRECTOR AUDIT WHEN HE INCLUDED THAT IN HIS REPORT, HE ADDED.
AGE
OF
IT WAS NOT NECESSARY TO SEEK ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THAT PURPOSE, BUT THERE WOULD BE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS IN ANY FUTURE CHANGE GIVEN THE SIZE OF THE PRESENT CASELOAD. FOR THAT REASON THE FINANCE COMMITTEE WILL BE CONSULTED IN FUTURE, MR CARTLAND ADDED.
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SEWAGE PUMPING STATION CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT SIGNED
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THE DRAINAGE SERVICES DEPARTMENT TODAY (MONDAY) SIGNED A $52.5 MILLION CONTRACT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TAI ро SEWAGE PUMPING STATION UNDER STAGE TWO OF THE TOLO HARBOUR EFFLUENT EXPORT SCHEME.
THE CONTRACT WAS SIGNED BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT'S ASSISTANT DIRECTOR (PROJECTS AND DEVELOPMENT), MR CHUNG KWOK-LEUNG, AND A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE US IN CHONG CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, WHICH HAS BREN AWARDED THE CONTRACT.
WORKS ON THE CONTRACT INCLUDE THE BUILDING OF A PUMPING STATION AND A BALANCING TANK INSIDE THE TAI PO SEWAGE TREATMENT WORKS WITH ASSOCIATED PIPEWORK AND ANCILLARY CHAMBERS.
/CONSTRUCTION WORKS