1981 — Page 26

# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

# ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN

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CHAIRMAN (in English):-Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen.

## MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 April 1981 were confirmed.

(Miss Cecilia L. Y. YEUNG arrived at this point.)

## STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN

CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):-A top priority of the Urban Council is improving the living environment of our four million urban residents.

With this in mind, the Council has recently allocated $1.19 million for capital expenditure plus $2.9 million for annually recurrent costs, to improve the basic cleansing and sanitation services for 450,000 squatters living in the urban areas.

In hawker congested streets, hawkers will be firmly encouraged to put all their litter in bins, rather than having such litter strewn on the street.

It is recognized that hawkers have to make a living and they perform a service to the public. However, the Urban Council will redouble its efforts to ensure that hawker congested streets become cleaner and tidier for the improvement of the living environment.

The Markets and Street Traders Select Committee will continue with its in-depth review of district markets, coupled with more on-the-spot visits in order to make sure that markets are being put to best possible use in the sale of fresh meat, fish, vegetables and other foodstuffs to the public under hygienic conditions.

A motion is to be introduced at today's Council meeting for the purpose of amending the by-laws to revise the fees for use of squash courts, tennis courts, bowling greens, etc. to become effective on 1 June 1981. It is now proposed that as much as possible in future, revised Urban Council fees should be introduced for amendment in one package at one time during the year, instead of having different fees being amended at different times during the year. I hope this procedure will be less confusing to the public.

Inflation is a serious problem for Hong Kong residents as it is detrimental to their standard of living. Therefore, the Urban Council will not increase fees any more than is absolutely necessary, and will do so in a manner that enhances democratic practices and social stability.

## PAPER

The following paper was laid on the table:-

(1) Report to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of April 1981.

## QUESTIONS

1. MRS. GRACE HO asked the following question (in Cantonese):-What are the recent developments in the hawkers re-ordering exercise?

MR. SHUM CHOI-SANG, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS & STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):-This question concerns recent developments in hawker re-ordering exercises.

In Kowloon, Phase I of the re-ordering exercise, which concerned mainly the former Hawker Permitted Areas, was completed when Temple Street and Tung Choi Street were re-ordered between 23 and 26 February this year and between 9 and 12 March respectively. Out of 4,004 Hawker Permitted Places created, 3,577 licences (as at 1 May 1981) have been issued and 1,277 itinerant hawker licences cancelled in the process. In respect of Temple and Tung Choi Streets alone, 471 HPP licences were issued to hawkers in Temple Street, and 842 to those in Tung Choi Street. Business in these two streets has now returned to normal and the areas are patrolled daily by General Duties Teams.

Five hundred and twenty-five appeals were received from hawkers who claim to have traded in the former HPA's at Temple Street and Tung Choi Street but to have been omitted from the Department's hawker surveys. These appellants were invited to an interview on 22 April when 434 turned up, to determine whether their claims were justified. The results of the interviews are now being collated, and a report will be submitted to the Delegated Member of the Markets & Street Traders Select Committee for consideration in the normal manner.

Planning for Phase II of the exercise in Kowloon, which concerns major hawker concentrations not included in Phase I, is well under way. This will involve an estimated 6,600 hawkers in Wong Tai Sin, Sham Shui Po, Kwun Tong, Kowloon City, Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei. The Government departments concerned and District Management Committees are being consulted.

In Hong Kong, the re-ordering exercise has been proceeding smoothly on a district-by-district basis since the exercise started in April 1980. To date, the main part of the exercise has been completed in Central, Wan Chai, Western and Eastern. Out of 2,239 Hawker Permitted Places created, 1,932 HPP licences (as at 29/4/81) have been issued and 897 itinerant hawker licences have been cancelled in the process.

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