XN000022-1974-03-13 — Page 6

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Wednesday, March 13, 1974

CALL FOR PRICE CONTROLS OF ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES

Inflation Biggest Problem Today Says Mr. Szeto Wai

The Hon. Szeto Wai today called for urgent measures with effective

legal control over the prices of rice and other foodstuff and essential

commodities.

Speaking in the resumed Budget debate in the Legislative Council,

he said that more than anything else, "inflation is the one worry that

looms large in everyone's mind today",

"In the course of last year," he said, "prices of staple

foodstuff and essentials have spiralled and continue to spiral today

while government remains reluctant to interfere."

Ho stressed that the time had come that the government must be

seen to be genuinely concerned with the situation created by "unscrupulous

merchants and profiteers in our midst "

•

On the accounts for the current year, Mr. Szeto noted that the

$425 million excess in expenditure is 9.6 per cent over the approved

estimate and 13 per cent over the actual expenditure in 1972-73.

However, he considered a good part of the increase was due to

inflationary prices in Public Works Non-Recurrent projects and thus the true

increase value should be much smaller, say about five to six per cent,

taking into consideration the proportionate coat of public works projects

to total capital expenditure.

"In comparison, it is much lower in true value than the 9.8 per cent

increase in 1969-70 over 1968-69 or the 11.2 per cent increase in 1968-69 over

1967-68 when building prices were stable," he added.

/"Clearly,