123.
I understand that the Secretary, University and Polytechnic Grants Committee is currently reviewing the matter in conjunction with the Secretary for Education and Manpower.
124.
In
Head 22 - Agriculture and Fisheries Department. Subhead 603. Plant, vehicles and equipment. (250). 40 light motor cycles. The Livestock Husbandry Section of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department provides an artificial insemination service to improve the quality of the local pig herds and for this purpose eleven motor cycles were allotted to the section. A recent audit examination of their log books revealed that the majority of these motor cycles had not been fully utilized, the average rate of usage being only ten days per month. response to my observation, the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries informed me that the low utilization rate was a result of two vacancies (the post holders of which are required to ride motor cycles in performing their duties) and a decrease in demand for the artificial insemination service. The Director also informed me that following a subsequent review of departmental needs, 17 motor cycles, including six from the Livestock Husbandry Section, were found to be surplus to requirements and that he was making arrangements to return the serviceable ones to the Government Land Transport Agency for deployment elsewhere within the Government. The Director further informed me that procurement orders for 17 replacement motor cycles in 1984-85 had been cancelled, resulting in a saving of $136,000.
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Head 28 - Civil Aviation Department. Subhead 111. Hire of services and professional fees. Air passenger departure tax. The Air Passenger Departure Tax Ordinance passed in June 1983 required aircraft operators to collect a tax from passengers departing from Hong Kong and to pay the tax collected to the Director of Accounting Services within thirty days after the date of issue of a notice of demand by the Director of Civil Aviation. The Ordinance also provided that the Financial Secretary may authorize the payment to an operator of a fee for collection of the tax. It was recognized by the Government that the aircraft operators would benefit from the interest accrued on the tax collected during the period that the Ordinance permitted them to retain it and it was intended to take this benefit into account in fixing the actual fee to be paid. It was also felt desirable to aim for the administratively simple formula of a uniform payment per passenger based upon estimated costs less interest benefits. In May 1983, the Executive Council was informed that the tentative estimate for the annual fee payable would be about $2 million. The actual
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