Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1958-1959 — Page 27

blocks, the Resettlement Labourers had also to clean all the spaces between the blocks as well as open spaces and streets which lay entirely within resettlement estates. As a result of the increasing extent and importance of sanitation work one Area Officer in each of the larger estates is now almost wholly occupied with the overall supervision of the sanitation labour force and the control of stores.

61. Simple rules of hygiene are the first lessons the Area Officer must endeavour to teach but there is much more that the new settler must learn; why, for example, it is important to pay his rent on the due date; why he must not engage in any occupation in his room which would cause a nuisance to his neighbours or which is contrary to the laws of the Colony; and the fact that the law requires a licence to be obtained for certain trades and businesses. Another side of the Area Officer's work is the settling of disputes, in particular disputes between two families which may have to share the same room. In carrying out these diverse duties he must win the co-operation and respect of the large number of settlers who must be trained to become good tenants of Government and good citizens of Hong Kong. This is no light task and calls for the patient exercise of imagination and tact, as well as firmness and perseverance.

62. In the domestic rooms on the upper floors settlers are allowed to engage in cottage industries, mainly rattan and embroidery work, most of which is piece work done for firms operating in other parts of the Colony; while many trades and businesses which are unsuitable for the upper floors can be accommodated in the ground floor bays, for which a higher rent is charged. The number and variety of these ground floor businesses increased considerably during the year and on 31st March, 1959, there were 1,502 shops and 345 workshops; 186 of the shops were licensed restaurants or cafes, 81 were licensed to sell fresh meat and fresh fish, 18 were licensed to sell fruit and vegetables, 18 were licensed to sell roast meat and the remaining 1,199 were retail shops of many kinds for which no licence was required.

63. In March 1958, two hawker bazaars were established by the Urban Services Department in Tai Hang Tung Estate in order to accom- modate a large group of hawkers who previously operated an illegal market on the fringe of the estate north of Block A. The bazaars contain a number of concrete stalls where hawkers other than those selling meat, fish, and poultry can ply their trade. Another bazaar was opened in Shek Kip Mei on 25th November, 1958. Shops have been let in the vicinity of the hawker bazaars for the sale of meat, fish and poultry.

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