Page 118 of 194
202
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Even in the same street, one part may be bustling and other parts, quiet. Those who are fortunate enough to be assigned, by drawing lots, spaces in the bustling part will of course be very pleased, but those assigned to the quiet parts will lodge many complaints.
Should different charges be levied in the beginning or different licence fees imposed on different sections of the roads, or should any vacant spaces be open to tender so that those hawkers who are assigned spaces in the quieter sections may have another chance to bid for one in the bustling section? These questions are worthy to be considered by the Council.
There are about 18,000 unlicensed hawkers in the urban areas, substantially less than 10 years ago (estimated at 30,000). If the Urban Council does not exert its efforts to minimize their number, it is very likely that they will greatly increase with the expansion of the population, especially when one enjoys higher income and better working hours by hawking than working in a factory. As more people turn to hawking, the streets will be filled with hawkers and I fear that the shops nearby will be seriously affected and there will be expressions of dissatisfaction and complaints from more and more residents. We should therefore spare no effort to clamp down on the increase of unlicensed hawkers.
By the Re-ordering Scheme, fixed-pitch licences are issued to some itinerant and unlicensed hawkers so that they may operate their business in designated areas in an orderly manner. When new markets are built, they will be accorded priority to move into the markets.
The difficulties are to find suitable places for resiting the hawkers. If they are resited in busy areas, the Fire Services Department, the Lands Department, the Transport Department and the Police Force etc. will frown at the idea while remote areas are unpopular with the hawkers.
At present, many people, including Urban Councillors, are quite sympathetic with those unlicensed hawkers who have been operating in the same place for many years. They depend on their trade for a living but are often arrested, sometimes with their goods confiscated. If the Council continues to implement its Re-ordering Scheme, special consideration should be given to those hawkers long operating in the neighbourhood. It is hoped that government will, as far as possible, consider allocating more open land for the building of temporary hawker bazaars.
Commencing from June 1983, cooked food stall owners who voluntarily wind up business will be given an ex-gratia payment of $36,000. This measure is much welcomed by the cooked food hawkers and so far 270 cooked food stall owners have applied to voluntarily surrender their licences. Up to 1st December last year, the Urban Council has taken back the spaces of 72 cooked food stalls. By this method, the Council can save on the building of cooked food centres.
General Duties Team
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
203
In areas under the jurisdiction of the Urban Council, there are about 45,000 licensed and unlicensed hawkers and in the Housing Department's housing estates, about 5,300 unlicensed hawkers. If these thousands of hawkers are not controlled, we can imagine how our roads will be blocked. Without proper control, the number of unlicensed hawkers will shoot up and things will certainly go from bad to worse.
The following opinions are advanced to deal with the hawker problem: (a) In the past, some people have advised to leave the hawkers alone, allowing them to freely operate their business. Such a laissez-faire policy may be adopted in rural villages or in small towns with a small population, but in Hong Kong today, it will create chaos on the roads with rubbish lying everywhere. We cannot adopt such a policy in Hong Kong.
(b) To build more markets and hawker bazaars to accommodate the hawkers. This is the Urban Council's long-term objective, but regrettably with the mass of hawkers, we shall, by a rough estimate, need to build 90 large markets the construction of which will cost $30,000,000 to $40,000,000 each, obviously beyond the present financial capability of the government. On the other hand, it is also difficult to find suitable sites in the urban areas to build so many markets.
(c) To bring the hawkers and on-street hawking under control as well as to reduce the number of hawkers each year, with the long-term plan of gradually moving them into markets. This is the Urban Council's present policy.
In view of the constraint of financial and land resources, we shall not be able to resite all the hawkers into markets, so in the foreseeable future, we shall face the complicated problems of hawker control.
In the old days, all hawkers were controlled by the police. About 10 years ago, a Hawker Control Force was created, but in recent years, the General Duties Team has taken over the control of hawkers.
As we all know, it is not so easy to control the hawkers. The General Duties Team has to keep the roads reasonably free of obstruction and clean, and very often they may come into friction with the hawkers. In the past year, the Council paid much attention to the training of the General Duties Team with emphasis on discipline, efficiency, and courtesy. The residents too have begun to realize the undesirable effects caused by on-street hawkers and have demanded stricter control over them.
It is hoped that in future, the Council will have more and greater support from the District Boards in its handling of the hawkers.
Page 118 of 194
Page 118 of 194
202
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Even in the same street, one part may be bustling and other parts, quiet. Those who are fortunate enough to be assigned, by drawing lots, spaces in the bustling part will of course be very pleased, but those assigned to the quiet parts
will lodge many complaints.
Should different charges be levied in the beginning or different licence fees imposed on different sections of the roads, or should any vacant spaces be open to tender so that those hawkers who are assigned spaces in the quieter sections may have another chance to bid for one in the bustling section? These questions worthy to be considered by the Council.
are
There are about 18 000 unlicensed hawkers in the urban areas, substantially less than 10 years ago (estimated at 30 000). If the Urban Council does not exert its efforts to minimize their number, it is very likely that they will greatly increase with the expansion of the population, especially when one enjoys higher income and better working hours by hawking than working in a factory. As more people turn to hawking, the streets will be filled with hawkers and I fear that the shops nearby will be seriously affected and there will be expressions of dissatisfaction and complaints from more and more residents. We should therefore spare no effort to clamp down on the increase of unlicensed hawkers.
By the Re-ordering Scheme, fixed-pitch licences are issued to some itinerant and unlicensed hawkers so that they may operate their business in designated areas in an orderly manner. When new markets are built, they will be accorded priority to move into the markets.
The difficulties are to find suitable places for resiting the hawkers. If they are resited in busy areas, the Fire Services Department, the Lands Department, the Transport Department and the Police Force etc. will frown at the idea whil remote areas are unpopular with the hawkers.
At present, many people, including Urban Councillors, are quite sympathetic with those unlicensed hawkers who have been operating in the same place for many years. They depend on their trade for a living but are often arrested sometimes with their goods confiscated. If the Council continues to implemen its Re-ordering Scheme, special consideration should be given to those hawker long operating in the neighbourhood. It is hoped that government will, as far a possible, consider allocating more open land for the building of temporary hawker bazaars.
Commencing from June 1983, cooked food stall owners who voluntarily wind up business will be given an ex-gratia payment of $36,000. This measure is much welcomed by the cooked food hawkers and so far 270 cooked food stall owner have applied to voluntarily surrender their licences. Up to 1st December las year, the Urban Council has taken back the spaces of 72 cooked food stalls. B this method, the Council can save on the building of cooked food centres.
General Duties Team
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 118 of 194
203
In areas under the jurisdiction of the Urban Council, there are about 45 000 licensed and unlicensed hawkers and in the Housing Department's housing estates, about 5 300 unlicensed hawkers. If these thousands of hawkers are not we can imagine how our roads will be blocked. Without proper
controlled,
control, the number of unlicensed hawkers will shoot up and things will certainly go from bad to worse.
The following opinions are advanced to deal with the hawker problem: (a) In the past, some people have advised to leave the hawkers alone, allowing them to freely operate their business. Such a laissez-faire policy may be adopted in rural villages or in small towns with a small population, but in Hong Kong today, it will create chaos on the roads with rubbish lying everywhere. We cannot adopt such a policy in Hong Kong.
(b) To build more markets and hawker bazaars to accommodate the hawkers. This is the Urban Council's long-term objective, but regret- tably with the mass of hawkers, we shall, by a rough estimate, need to build 90 large markets the construction of which will cost $30,000,000 to $40,000,000 each, obviously beyond the present financial capability of the government. On the other hand, it is also difficult to find suitable sites in the urban areas to build so many markets.
(c) To bring the hawkers and on-strect hawking under control as well as to reduce the number of hawkers each year, with the long-term plan of gradually moving them into markets. This is the Urban Council's present policy.
In view of the constraint of financial and land resources, we shall not be able to resite all the hawkers into markets, so in the foreseeable future, we shall face the complicated problems of hawker control.
In the old days, all hawkers were controlled by the police. About 10 years ago, a Hawker Control Force was created, but in recent years, the General Duties Team has taken over the control of hawkers.
As we all know, it is not so easy to control the hawkers. The General Duties Team has to keep the roads reasonably free of obstruction and clean, and very often they may come into friction with the hawkers. In the past year, the Council paid much attention to the training of the General Duties Team with emphasis on disciplinc, efficiency, and courtesy. The residents too have begun to realize the undesirable effects caused by on-street hawkers and have demanded stricter control over them.
It is hoped that in future, the Council will have more and greater support from the District Boards in its handling of the hawkers.
Page 118 of 19
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