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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

MR. HU: Mr. Chairman, could you kindly tell us when the proper action will be taken, approximately?

CHAIRMAN: I am unable to say, but I would like to hope that it will be within the next week or two.

(13) MR. HENRY H. L. Hu asked the following question:

Is the Chairman aware that on all the posters urging the citizens to register as voters for Urban Council Elections there is no mention of where to obtain a registration form?

(See reply to Question No. 7.)

(14) MR. JOHN MACKENZIE asked the following question:

Will the Chairman comment on the circumstances whereby rubbish at Tsz Wan Shan Estate has remained uncollected for a period of two weeks, as reported by a member of the Council, and indicate what steps have been taken to ensure more efficient collection at this Estate?

MR. PETER C. K. CHAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE RESETTLEMENT SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:

In late March some baskets of litter were indeed left standing near a playground for two weeks due to a misunderstanding as to whether they were the responsibility of the cleansing contractor who deals with one section or of the Resettlement departmental labourers responsible for the other. The estates staff failed to step in to resolve this dispute in good time, and an appropriate reprimand has been issued.

At this estate like many others, cleansing standards are regrettably low and the Resettlement Department, like all concerned Councillors, recognize that much has to be done to improve matters. The whole cleansing system in estates needs a major review and overhaul, and the Commissioner for Resettlement is taking steps to ensure that this is done; one factor is the low contract rate per room but reasonable rates need to be reinforced by good working arrangements between the estates staff and the cleansing contractor. And even this combination will never be very effective unless we can persuade tenants not to throw litter from windows and verandahs.

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cleansing contractor. And even this combination will never be very effective unless we can persuade tenants not to throw litter from windows and verandahs.

The need for improvements in this field have of course become much more apparent in those estates, such as Tsz Wan Shan, where we have cleared the open spaces of illegal structures and resited the hawkers. We had always expected this to be so, and it is a matter of making steady progress, dealing with the various weaknesses as they are revealed.

We are now considering the creation of a specialist cleansing post in our Estates Headquarters, to be filled by an experienced man from the Urban Services Department, and this should enable us to get a better grip on this intractable problem. I think we must admit that in the past we have not given our estates staff the necessary resources to tackle these problems effectively and have never paid enough attention to supervision of cleansing staff.

I am sure that Members will recognize that the ill effects of years of neglect and disorder cannot be corrected as quickly as we would all like. There are many matters clamouring for attention in the estates and they cannot all be tackled at once; the important thing is to recognize shortcomings and to take steps to put them right. This, I believe the Resettlement Department is doing.

MR. MACKENZIE: Mr. Chairman, it seems as if the answer reflects a lack of efficiency, perhaps generally, on the part of cleansing contractors. Could I ask what steps are being taken to improve efficiency in these areas, and as a supplementary to that supplementary, could I say that the present practice of accepting always the lowest tender is showing itself here to be totally inefficient.

CHAIRMAN: I do not see that the second part is a supplementary.

MR. MACKENZIE: You do not, well, may I ask if the Commissioner agrees?

COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: The whole question of having cleansing done by contract, rather than by direct labour, is one which certainly does need review. I think, perhaps, we took on this new system of cleansing by contract, rather than by direct labour, a shade lightly without going into all the pros and cons.

For example, it is noticeable that the Urban Services Department itself has never chosen to have public places in any one area cleaned by contract.

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