2
social facets of the public housing programme, I believe that Government should actively undertake the development of the
I shall state below my views on Government's commitment
programme. in public housing and on the two Reports.
At present, according to the financial arrangements between the Government and the Housing Authority, the major commitments of the Government in the construction of public housing
The are the provision of land at no cost and low-interest loans. provision of free land is of benefit to the tenants as well as to the society as a whole. The development of public housing will lead to rise in prices of nearby residential, commercial or industrial lands, and would thus boost Government's coffers through land sales. As for low-interest loans, they are obtained from the Development Loan Fund by the Housing Authority at an interest rate of 5% per annum. The Housing Authority is not required to pay the interest in cash, but the amount must be listed out in its accounts as subsidy by the Government towards the redevelopment of old
But the principal housing estates and the construction of new ones. of the loans must be repaid by the Housing Authority over a period
of 40 years.
In other words, the Government is only assisting the Housing Authority in its development of public housing by means of low-interest advancements which constitute one of the major revenue sources of the Authority's development projects;. the other principal source of finance is rental income from tenants.
Recently, there is indication that the Government is
Such
trying to relinquish its public housing commitments. withdrawal will directly increase the burden of the Housing Authority and indirectly increase that of the people of Hong Kong. I shall elaborate on this in the following paragraphs.
According to relevant information, the amount of
In 1986-87, such
government loans will be progressively reduced. loans amounts to 57% of the capital expenditure of public
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.