XN000022-1972-03-29 — Page 3

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Wednesday, March 29, 1972

He cited, the annually updated Five Year Forecast of Revenue and

Expenditure, the Public Works Programme, the 10-year water development

sequences, the four year housing programmes, the airport development

programmes, the Medical Development Plan, the Development Plan for the

Fire Services, the setting of targets for the expansion of the education

system, various special studies such as the Long Term Road Study and the

Mass Transit Studies as well as a host of departmental studies which form

the basis, for instance, of land use policy and reclamation.

Those had not been set down in an overall 3 or 5 or 10 year

Development Plan but all were ultimately reflected in the annual Estimates

and extensively documented.

Planned Econory

"But I think it can be fairly said that that sort of overall plan,

which usually involves a planned economy too, tends to inhibit that flexibility

of approach and execution which is so necessary if the needs of the community

are to be met; for, once a share of assumed available resources has been

allocated to a particular service or department or sector of the economy, it

is difficult to affect changes.

"Not that, in any case, in Hong Kong's circumstances we can ever

make very firm assumptions about available resources - though we can,

now, in the short term, make such an assumption thanks to our much criticised

TT

reserves, he said.

The Financial