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cussing them with individual members afterwards, otherwise the purpose of the debate will be defeated.
As in past years the aims as presented are comprehensive and laudable. But what despairs me is that, year after year, we do not seem to have been able to achieve as much as the Council ought to have accomplished. Admittedly, there are problems in this Council which are of long standing and cannot be solved easily. The challenges are undoubtedly great, but if we could get to the root of the problems, we should be able to see greater improvement. Here are a few of the many areas which merit our immediate attention and a complete review of these is indicated.
(1) Co-ordination with other Departments: The statement makes mention of maintaining and improving co-ordination with only the Medical and Health Department and Public Works Department. This co-ordination should be extended to embrace all Government departments related to this Council. There were occasions in the past when due to lack of co-ordination the progress of projects was unnecessarily hindered. Delays in issuing licences give rise to complaints and create a bad image of the Council in the public eye as well as being one of the chief causes of corruption. If the Council has no control over another department but has things to do with it, we should have the Head of that Department or his deputy serve on the relevant committee of this Council. If necessary, an experienced senior officer should be seconded to our Urban Services Department. Most of the delays have been unnecessary, as in the case of the clearance of applications for licences through the Fire Services Department, and it is most unfair that the public should be called upon to wait for longer than necessary.
(2) Recruitment of Staff: Notwithstanding the fact that personnel estimates are approved by this Council annually, a constant review should be made to ensure that no division in the department is under strength. This Council must seek a realistic salary structure for its staff in order to attract men in the numbers and of the quality necessary to implement the Council's policies. Our experience with street sweepers has shown what disastrous results a grossly understaffed department and underpaid staff could have on its efficiency.
(3) By-laws and Regulations: There are still quite a number of these which are either too vague or outdated and unenforceable. This leads to inconsistencies and corruption and brings the Council into disrepute. It is not good enough that we amend these as and when they come to our notice. I suggest that all our by-laws and regulations, especially those concerning food and food premises and environmental hygiene, should be promptly reviewed.
(4) Efficiency of the Health Inspectorate: There is hardly any doubt that complaints directed against our inspectorate have been for the most part justified. I cannot better illustrate this than by going back to the case of Nam Yuen Restaurant in Kowloon during last year's cholera outbreak. The inspection record showed that 10 routine inspections were made over a period of two months prior to the outbreak and on no occasion was any unsatisfactory report made on the condition of the restaurant. According to the report submitted to this Council by the Deputy Director of Medical and Health Services the requirements which were supposed to have been checked by the health inspectors concerned were in fact all found to be deficient at the time of the outbreak. While it is not expected of the inspectorate to uncover all the violations in a restaurant, in this instance this was definitely a case of gross negligence. It is not merely the lack of initiative that the inspectorate is generally suffering from and it seems to me there is more to it than meets the eye.
Corruption is a dirty word. This is undoubtedly the greatest stumbling block to efficiency, and is responsible for much of the ills that we are faced with. It is difficult to prove, more so in Hong Kong's circumstances, but can it be honestly said that it does not exist in our inspectorate? Government must face up to this fact and institute new, and if necessary, drastic management methods to curb this trend. Government must proceed with this with determination and there must be no half measures if we are to get anywhere.
Government would also do well to study the question of the entry point of the health inspector's pay, which I understand is lower than for comparable grades in other Government Departments. The result is, we are either not getting the people of the right calibre or when we do get the right people they more often than not use this as a stepping stone to gain employment with other Government departments.
Mr. Chairman, I would now move on to other subjects that also merit our consideration :-
Food Hygiene: There is a clear need for a laboratory of our own, if we are to proceed with the expansion of the food inspection and sampling service. The existing Government laboratory is often fully taxed and can at best provide us with temporary facilities. With the establishment of the Food Certification Branch for comprehensive health certification of foods for export, the need for a separate laboratory becomes the more pressing. I see great potentials in this food trade and with a proper and scientific certification service, we should be able to witness an increase in our food exports.
Health Education: The food hygiene training courses for licensed food premises and other personnel engaged in catering business have not had the response that we expected. Whatever the reason for this apathy on the part of the restaurant personnel, there is no denying that these
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445
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682
Page 233 of 382
444
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
cussing them with individual members afterwards, otherwise the purpose of the debate will be defeated.
As in past years the aims as presented are comprehensive and laudable. But what despairs me is that, year after year, we do not seem to have been able to achieve as much as the Council ought to have accomplished. Admittedly, there are problems in this Council which are of long standing and cannot be solved easily. The challenges are undoubtedly great, but if we could get to the root of the problems, we should be able to see greater improvement. Here are a few of the many areas which merit our immediate attention and a complete review of these is indicated.
(1) Co-ordination with other Departments: The statement makes mention of maintaining and improving co-ordination with only the Medical and Health Department and Public Works Department. This co-ordination should be extended to embrace all Government depart- ments related to this Council. There were occasions in the past when due to lack of co-ordination the progress of projects was unnecessarily hindered. Delays in issuing licences give rise to complaints and create a bad image of the Council in the public eye as well as being one of the chief causes of corruption. If the Council has no control over an- other department but has things to do with it, we should have the Head of that Department or his deputy serve on the relevant committee of this Council. If necessary, an experienced senior officer should be seconded to our Urban Services Department. Most of the delays have been un- necessary, as in the case of the clearance of applications for licences through the Fire Services Department, and it is most unfair that the public should be called upon to wait for longer than necessary.
(2) Recruitment of Staff: Notwithstanding the fact that personnel estimates are approved by this Council annually, a constant review should be made to ensure that no division in the department is under strength. This Council must seek a realistic salary structure for its staff in order to attract men in the numbers and of the quality necessary to implement the Council's policies. Our experience with street sweepers has shown what disastrous results a grossly understaffed department and underpaid staff could have on its efficiency.
(3) By-laws and Regulations: There are still quite a number of these which are either too vague or outdated and unenforceable. This leads to inconsistencies and corruption and bring the Council into dis- repute. It is not good enough that we amend these as and when they come to our notice. I suggest that all our by-laws and regulations, especially those concerning food and food premises and environmental hygiene, should be promptly reviewed.
(4) Efficiency of the Health Inspectorate: There is hardly any doubt that complaints directed against our inspectorate have been for
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
445
the most part justified. I cannot better illustrate this than by going back to the case of Nam Yuen Restaurant in Kowloon during last year's cholera outbreak. The inspection record showed that 10 routine inspec- tions were made over a period of two months prior to the outbreak and on no occasion was any unsatisfactory report made on the condition of the restaurant. According to the report submitted to this Council by the Deputy Director of Medical and Health Services the requirements which were supposed to have been checked by the health inspectors con- cerned were in fact all found to be deficient at the time of the outbreak. While it is not expected of the inspectorate to uncover all the violations in a restaurant, in this instance this was definitely a case of gross negligence. It is not merely the lack of initiative that the inspectorate is generally suffering from and it seems to me there is more to it than meets the eye.
Corruption is a dirty word. This is undoubtedly the greatest stumbling block to efficiency, and is responsible for much of the ills that we are faced with. It is difficult to prove, more so in Hong Kong's circumstances, but can it be honestly said that it does not exist in our inspectorate? Government must face up to this fact and institute new, and if necessary, drastic management methods to curb this trend. Government must proceed with this with determination and there must be no half measures if we are to get anywhere.
Government would also do well to study the question of the entry point of the health inspector's pay, which I understand is lower than for comparable grades in other Government Departments. The result is, we are either not getting the people of the right calibre or when we do get the right people they more often than not use this as a stepping stone to gain employment with other Government departments.
Mr. Chairman, I would now move on to other subjects that also merit our consideration :-
Food Hygiene: There is a clear need for a laboratory of our own, if we are to proceed with the expansion of the food inspection and sampling service. The existing Government laboratory is often fully taxed and can at best provide us with temporary facilities. With the establishment of the Food Certification Branch for comprehensive health certification of foods for export, the need for a separate laboratory be- comes the more pressing. I see great potentials in this food trade and with a proper and scientific certification service, we should be able to witness an increase in our food exports.
Health Education: The food hygiene training courses for licensed food premises and other personnel engaged in catering business have not had the response that we expected. Whatever the reason for this apathy on the part of the restaurant personnel, there is no denying that these
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