XN000022-1983-11-10 — Page 11

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1983

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TOUCHING ON THE QUESTION OF ESTABLISHING STRONGER LINKS BETWEEN THE BOARDS AND OTHER COUNCILS OF GOVERNMENT, HE POINTED OUT THAT THERE HAD BEEN 68 APPOINTMENTS OF DISTRICT BOARD MEMBERS TO GOVERNMENT BOARDS AND COMMITTEES SINCE MARCH LAST YEAR.

AND HE WELCOMED A PROPOSAL THAT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISTRICT BOARDS AND AREA COMMITTEES SHOULD BE STRENGTHENED.

+ INDEED, APART FROM AREA COMMITTEES, THERE IS ALREADY A STRONG CROSS-MEMBERSHIP BETWEEN THE BOARDS AND MUTUAL AID COMMITTEES AND NUMEROUS OTHER RESIDENTS' ASSOCIATIONS AND COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS, HE SAID.

MR AKERS-JONES ALSO REFERRED TO A FREQUENT CRITICISM THAT DISTRICT BOARDS HAD NO EXECUTIVE POWERS+.

+THE CRITICS DO NOT EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT THEY MEAN BY THIS,+ HE SAID.

+TO LOOK AT VARIOUS PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF WHAT EXECUTIVE POWER AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL MIGHT MEAN, I SEE NO ADVANTAGE IN BURDENING THESE BUSY MEN AND WOMEN WITH THE DAY-TO-DAY WORK OF LICENSING.

+SIMILARLY THE COLLECTION OF REFUSE, THE CONTROL OF HAWKERS AND THE SWEEPING OF STREETS ARE ALREADY IN THE EXECUTIVE CONTROL OF THE URBAN COUNCIL: OTHER EXECUTIVE POWERS, IN OUR CIRCUMSTANCES, ARE MORE EFFECTIVELY ADMINISTERED CENTRALLY.

+'EXECUTIVE POWERS' HAS BECOME A RALLYING CRY FOR SOME CRITICS, PERHAPS LOOKING FOR EXCITEMENT, WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE SOLID RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENT OF THE BOARDS.

+NEVERTHELESS IT WAS IN A SPIRIT OF CRITICAL APPRAISAL THAT THE FIRST CONFERENCE ON DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION WAS ORGANISED

IN MAY THIS YEAR.+

MR AKERS-JONES ADDED THAT THE CONSENSUS AFTER THE CONFERENCE WAS THAT IT PROVED TO BE A USEFUL AND STIMULATING EXPER JENCE FOR THOSE WHO TOOK PART.

ALTHOUGH DISCUSSION WAS SOMEWHAT GENERALISED HE HOPED THAT AT THE NEXT CONFERENCE, TO BE HELD IN THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT YEAR, A MORE CONCENTRATED EXAMINATION COULD BE GIVEN TO SPECIFIC PROBLEMS. +THIS TIME THE BOARDS THEMSELVES WILL PLAY AN ACTIVE PART IN THE ORGANISATION OF THE CONFERENCE.+

HE ALSO SAID THAT THERE WAS NO WEAKENING OF GOVERNMENT'S RESOLVE TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE +FORTHCOMING AND FORTHRIGHT+ DISTRICT BOARDS WHICH ARE NOT A TALKING SHOP WITHOUT AIM OR ACHIEVEMENT*.

+DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION WITH ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES IS HARDLY A YEAR OLD BUT IT IS ALREADY EVIDENT THAT THE INTERACTION AT DISTRICT LEVEL BETWEEN REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT SERVANTS HAS CREATED NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESPONSIVE GOVERNMENT, HE SAID.

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