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Council. The time spent by each Councillor on Council affairs is therefore considerable. How to assist the 24 Councillors so as to enable them to carry out their work more efficiently is indeed an important question that calls for an immediate answer.
In May this year, the Council had commissioned a Management Consultant company to conduct a survey on the administrative set-up of the Council. In October, the Company proposed to concentrate on the strengthening of the organization of the Council Secretariat so as to give a clearer picture of each problem to the Chairman and members of the Council and, hopefully, to give them more time to study each problem thoroughly, thereby making it easier for them to formulate reasonable and correct policies and to arrive at good decisions.
It is hoped that the Consultant Company will, in the near future, be able to put forward a concrete proposal which will be of great importance in increasing the efficiency of the Urban Council and in promoting the well-being of the community.
If a more effective method to improve efficiency cannot be found; in other words, if a solution cannot be found to strengthen the Council Secretariat so as to provide better service to Urban Councillors, we should then consider the justifiability of increasing the number of Councillors to share the heavy responsibilities.
The public has a right to know any work planned by the Council as every decision concerns the people. If the public relations section of the Council can make known to the public a detailed account of the discussion at any monthly meeting, the people can better understand the reasons behind each decision.
This year, the Urban Council has moved into the new Council Chambers which is some distance from the Urban Services Department headquarters. Workwise, it is not as convenient as before. As the workload and staff of the Department are on the increase, an Urban Services Department Building should be erected.
The building should be ideally located near the Urban Council, not far from the Central Government Offices, and easily accessible so that it will be convenient for the people to go there for various affairs.
With the above criteria in mind, one of the suitable sites for the Urban Services Department Building is the Government car-park next to the Council Chambers.
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If this car-park can be redeveloped into a 20-storey building, the Urban Services Department headquarters will have ample room for expansion in the next eight or ten years. At the same time, three storeys can be retained as a public car-park, thus providing better facilities to the people.
Although the Urban Council has spared no effort in the provision of recreational facilities, people still feel that these are insufficient. We should therefore give priority to the construction of such facilities as swimming pools that can benefit the majority.
Recently, the Council has adopted the policy of limiting the renting out of playground to clubs and associations for other activities. From now on, these associations will find it difficult to have suitable venues for holding entertainment and cultural activities. To cater for their need, the Government should set aside some open grounds in each district to be lent out to various associations.
Booking for the City Hall Concert Hall has to be made six months in advance. From this we can see the serious lack of halls and auditoria. Hence, the construction of the Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Complex should be speeded up.
If the Council can provide more well-planned cultural and recreational programmes, more youths will be attracted to engage in healthy activities for both the body and the mind. This is a positive way to reduce the number of problem youths.
In order to lessen the number of problem youths, the Government should give more attention to the "sex dens". Many of these establishments conduct their business in the name of clubs, bars, bathhouses and dance-halls. It is hoped that the relevant licensing authorities, including the Liquor Licensing Board of the Council, should examine each case carefully before renewing the licences so as to stamp out these vice establishments.
Strenuous efforts should be made to abolish the "sex dens" set up inside residential buildings as they have severe ill effect on the mind of the children, as well as the security of the buildings and create a lot of noise nuisances.
We cannot let these establishments alone simply because some people like to visit these places, or that there is still no way to exterminate these "sex dens" altogether. If they are allowed to grow in number, social peace will be all the more disturbed.
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Page 146
Page 146 of 174
Page 145 of 174
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Council. The time spent by each Councillor on Council affairs is therefore considerable. How to assist the 24 Councillors so as to enable them to carry out their work more efficiently is indeed an im- portant question that calls for an immediate answer.
In May this year, the Council had commissioned a Management Consultant company to conduct a survey on the administrative set-up of the Council. In October, the Company proposed to concentrate on the strengthening of the organization of the Council Secretariat so as to give a clearer picture of each problem to the Chairman and members of the Council and, hopefully, to give them more time to study each problem thoroughly, thereby making it easier for them to formulate reasonable and correct policies and to arrive at good decisions.
It is hoped that the Consultant Company will, in the near future, be able to put forward a concrete proposal which will be of great importance in increasing the efficiency of the Urban Council and in promoting the well-being of the community.
If a more effective method to improve efficiency cannot be found; in other words, if a solution cannot be found to strengthen the Council Secretariat so as to provide better service to Urban Councillors, we should then consider the justifiability of increasing the number of Councillors to share the heavy responsibilities.
The public has a right to know any work planned by the Council as every decision concerns the people. If the public relations section of the Council can make known to the public a detailed account of the discussion at any monthly meeting, the people can better understand the reasons behind each decision.
This year, the Urban Council has moved into the new Council Chambers which is some distance from the Urban Services Department headquarters. Workwise, it is not as convenient as before. As the workload and staff of the Department are on the increase, an Urban Services Department Building should be erected.
The building should be ideally located near the Urban Council, not far from the Central Government Offices, and easily accessible so that it will be convenient for the people to go there for various affairs.
With the above criteria in mind, one of the suitable sites for the Urban Services Department Building is the Government car-park next to the Council Chambers.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 145 of 174
251
If this car-park can be redeveloped into a 20-storey building, the Urban Services Department headquarters will have ample room for expansion in the next eight or ten years. At the same time, three storeys can be retained as a public car-park, thus providing better facilities to the people.
Although the Urban Council has spared no effort in the provision of recreational facilities, people still feel that these are insufficient. We should therefore give priority to the construction of such facilities as swimming pools that can benefit the majority.
Recently, the Council has adopted the policy of limiting the renting out of play ground to clubs and associations for other activities. From now on, these associations will find it difficult to have suitable venues for holding entertainment and cultural activities. To cater for their need, the Government should set aside some open grounds in each dis- trict to be lent out to various associations.
Booking for the City Hall Concert Hall has to be made six months in advance. From this we can see the serious lack of halls and auditoria. Hence, the construction of the Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Complex should be speeded up.
If the Council can provide more well-planned cultural and recrea- tional programmes, more youths will be attracted to engage in healthy activities for both the body and the mind. This is a positive way to reduce the number of problem youths.
In order to lessen the number of problem youths, the Government should give more attention to the "sex dens". Many of these establish- ments conduct their business in the name of clubs, bars, bathhouses and dance-halls. It is hoped that the relevant licensing authorities, including the Liquor Licensing Board of the Council, should examine each case carefully before renewing the licences so as to stamp out these vice establishments.
Strenous efforts should be made to abolish the "sex dens" set up inside residential buildings as they have severe ill effect on the mind of the children, as well as the security of the buildings and create a lot of noise nuisances.
We cannot let these establishments alone simply because some people like to visit these places, or that there is still no way to exter- minate these "sex dens" altogether. If they are allowed to grow in number, social peace will be all the more disturbed.
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Page 146 of 174
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