Page 239 of 382
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
I think we have deteriorated badly in all these fields. Our city has never been dirtier in the past 17 years that I have known it, nor has the Resettlement programme appeared to be more inadequate and nor has the road and traffic situation ever appeared more chaotic and uncontrolled. Many local residents shake their heads and say—Oh, this Hong Kong is getting a terribly dirty place to live in—many new comers are appalled by the conditions in our city. This has not arisen because this Council and its elected or appointed councillors have been dilatory—indeed they have been ceaseless in their work and demands and requests to Government to awaken to the needs and problems which could be foreseen and which now exist. But the overall policy has been to maintain the status quo and to get by with the minimum of financial expenditure so that each year everyone could feel happy and complacent that there was a surplus income over expenditure.
Of course, there can always be a surplus if the minimum is expended and the projects budgeted for are not in fact completed or even started in that particular year. If the finances of this colony had been directed to make this a better than ever place for its 4 million citizens to live in, we ought to have been having a budget deficit every year for the past 10 years and by this time we ought to have had a fair system of direct income taxation introduced to help Government meet its commitments to the community each year. I hold our financial secretaries, financial committees, and our Legislative Council responsible for what we have instead. Just look at our position—abattoirs which were supposed to be completed years ago still do not exist and will only do so (we hope) in 1967 or 1968. How Government can close its eyes to the subhuman conditions in which it is (and has been) asking its own employees to work in the present abattoirs is beyond comprehension.
Incinerators, the need for which was mooted years ago, are only beginning to have their chimneys on the horizon and when completed are unlikely to be adequate for our needs. We boast the magnificent number of two mechanical street sweepers. All these delayed projects have been the result of insufficient release of finance to this Council to proceed with. If adequate finance had been granted so that the street sweepers could earn a salary fit for human beings to live on, then we would today have had adequate staff and be in a position to employ more staff to keep our streets in the condition all would like to see. Instead, just take a look at our streets, even our main ones such as Nathan Road, Taipo Road, Castle Peak Road any morning. Between 8.00 and 9.00 or even ten o'clock when it would be hard to imagine more unsightly and larger rubbish dumps. The back streets are even worse.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
457
have been meted out as deterrents! I have not heard any sustained worthwhile daily 1-2 minute live broadcasts on Commercial Radio or Rediffusion along humorous and human lines to encourage the public to cleanliness—similar to advertising and repeated 6 or 8 times per day. Of course, in fairness, finance would have to be set aside for this. But there is no doubt that persistent "brain-washing" of this sort sooner or later has effect. Furthermore, looking at the condition of most of the pavements, street gutters, and roadways in their dilapidated, chipped, cracked, and broken state is not by any means an encouragement to the public to maintain these streets in a clean state. The section of the Public Works Department which is supposed to inspect and maintain these pavements, gutters, and drains has been extraordinarily negligent in its duties not only in the back streets but in the main ones as well. Again, this is no doubt due to inadequate granting of finance to enable the employment of inspectors for this work and contractors to carry it out.
Aside from our Keep Your City Clean campaigns, what other groups have been set up by the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs Department or the Social Welfare Department to get groups of citizens together to maintain and sustain such campaigns? The District Kaifongs have tried; are they receiving enough backing and encouragement? If a particular multistory building or some particular shopkeepers are noted to constantly make the streets outside their premises into a rubbish bin, is any public example made of these people to make them lose a little face by placing specially highly colored litter bins in concentrated numbers outside their premises for all to see and to know that the people living there are particularly careless people?
What has happened to any compulsory cleaning of the backs and interior corridors and public parts of our many handsome fronted multistory buildings? Why has no legislation been passed to make the original landlords of new buildings sold flat by flat, shop by shop, responsible for the proper upkeep and maintenance of communal areas and facilities? The Council should see that all these regulations are enforced. I suppose more finance would be needed and of course, the increase in rates charged couldn't be used for this—this increase must go to swell the general coffers so that we may have a surplus income.
Turning to Resettlement—it surely must be evident even to the most unwilling resident observer that tucked away out of sight in unlikely and well-camouflaged areas we have now in Kowloon more or as many wooden squatter huts as ever we have had. Only now these areas are not called squatter areas but resite areas. Wonders have been done by the Resettlement Department and the programme has surpassed any in the World. But it simply still is not enough largely because in trying to find more sites for new and better estates, more sites for new schools, new clinics, and in opening up wider and more roads, we are causing more squatters, and because there has been no slum clearance programme.
Page 239 of 382
Page 239 of 382
456
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
I think we have deteriorated badly in all these fields. Our city has never been dirtier in the past 17 years that I have known it, nor has the Resettlement programme appeared to be more inadequate and nor has the road and traffic situation ever appeared more chaotic and un- controlled. Many local residents shake their heads and say-Oh this Hong Kong is getting a terribly dirty place to live in--many new comers are appalled by the conditions in our city. This has not arisen because this Council and its clected or appointed councillors have been dilatory -indeed they have been ceaseless in their work and demands and requests to Government to awaken to the needs and problems which could be foreseen and which now exist. But the overall policy has been to maintain the status quo and to get by with the minimum of financial expenditure so that each year everyone could feel happy and complacent that there was a surplus income over expenditure.
Of course there can always be a surplus if the minimum is expended and the projects budgetted for are not in fact completed or even started in that particular year. If the finances of this colony had been directed to make this a better than ever place for its 4 million citizens to live in we ought to have been having a budget deficit every year for the past 10 years and by this time we ought to have had a fair system of direct income taxation introduced to help Government meet its commitments to the community each year. I hold our financial secretaries, financial committees and our Legislative Council responsible for what we have instead. Just look at our position-abattoirs which were supposed to be completed years ago still do not exist and will only do so (we hope) in 1967 or 1968. How Government can close its eyes to the subhuman conditions in which it is (and has been) asking its own employees to work in the present abattoirs is beyond comprehension.
Incinerators the need for which was mooted years ago are only beginning to have their chimneys on the horizon and when completed are unlikely to be adequate for our needs. We boast the magnificent number of two mechanical street sweepers. All these delayed projects have been the result of insufficient release of finance to this Council to proceed with. If adequate finance had been granted so that the street sweepers could earn a salary fit for human beings to live on, then we would today have had adequate staff and be in a position to employ more staff to keep our streets in the condition all would like to see. Instead just take a look at our streets even our main ones such as Nathan Road, Taipo Road, Castle Peak Road any morning. Between 8.00 and 9.00 or even ten o'clock when it would be hard to imagine more unsightly and larger rubbish dumps. The back streets are even In our statement of Aims we have no less than 8 Aims for the improvement of our city cleansing-none of which can be carried out without adequate finance. I know that the blame for the dirty streets will be put fully upon our culpable citizens for their careless habits but what incentive has there been for improvement and what punishments
worse.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
457
have been meted out as deterrents! I have not heard any sustained worthwhile daily 1-2 minute live broadcasts on Commercial Radio or Rediffusion along humourous and human lines to encourage the public to cleanliness-similar to advertising and repeated 6 or 8 times per day. Of course in fairness finance would have to be set aside for this. But there is no doubt that persistent "brain-washing" of this sort sooner or later has effect. Furthermore looking at the condition of most of the pavements, street gutters and roadways in their delapidated, chipped, cracked and broken state is not by any means an encouragement to the public to maintain these streets in a clean state. The section of the Public Works Department which is supposed to inspect and maintain these pavements, gutters and drains has been extraordinarily negligent in its duties not only in the back streets but in the main ones as well. Again this is no doubt due to inadequate granting of finance to enable the employment of inspectors for this work and contractors to carry it out. Aside from our Keep Your City District clean campaigns what other groups have been set up by the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs Department or the Social Welfare Department; to get groups of citizens together to maintain and sustain such campaigns. The District Kaifongs have tried, are they receiving enough backing and encouragement? If a particular multistory building or some particular shop keepers are noted to constantly make the streets outside their premises into a rub- bish bin, is any public example made of these people to make them lose a little face by placing specially highly coloured litter bins in con- centrated numbers outside their premises for all to see and to know that the people living there are particularly careless people?
What has happened to any compulsory cleaning of the backs and interior corridors and public parts of our many handsome fronted multistory buildings? Why has no legislation been passed to make the original landlords of new buildings sold flat by flat, shop by shop, responsible for the proper upkeep and maintenance of communal areas and facilities. The Council should see that all these regulations are enforced. I suppose more finance would be needed and of course the increase in rates charged couldn't be used for this-this increase must go to swell the general coffers so that we may have a surplus income.
Turning to Resettlement-it surely must be evident even to the most unwilling resident observer that tucked away out of site in unlikely and well camouflaged areas we have now in Kowloon more or as many wooden squatter huts as even we have had. Only now these areas are not called squatter areas but resite areas. Wonders have been done by the Resettlement Department and the programme has surpassed any in the World. But it simply still is not enough largely because in trying to find more sites for new and better estates, more sites for new schools, new clinics and in opening up wider and more roads, we are causing more squatters, and because there has been no slum clearance pro-
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