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Hong Kong. She was Madame YIU Kam, of 107 years and was duly honoured by the Council. One could see her family members beaming with pride, joy and respect when accompanying this senior lady to the presentation ceremony. I hope such a meaningful event could be carried on so that the virtue of honouring the aged can be maintained forever.
Since the Centenary Committee has completed its work and will be dissolved next year, what remains, as perhaps the most important task for me, is to thank the members of the Centenary Committee for their hard work and never failing support. I hope members of the Council will excuse me if I add, for selfish reasons yet out of good intentions, that I hope the Committee will have another chance to work together in the next occasion, after another hundred years, and we all survive for that important date.
Increased Private Sector Participation
Thriving with a system of free enterprise economy, Hong Kong has been the focus of study for leading economists who are generally fascinated by our city's private sector. As a way of helping to stimulate its activities, I suggest that the Council should examine the possibilities of the enhanced participation of private enterprises in governmental operations. An interesting proposition for testing the efficacy of the invisible hand is to privatize our cleansing service. The Urban Council delegation to the United Kingdom last September was able to observe the privatization of cleansing services in the Borough of Wandsworth. The innovation whereby private contractors were engaged for the cleansing function, contributed to reduced expenditure by 40%.
While it may be hasty to conclude that similar measures will necessarily benefit the city of Hong Kong, such savings are evidently attractive to set an inspiring model for our reference. Some may argue that it is essential for a responsible government to provide sanitation services. But for the man in the street, he is simply more concerned with whether the services provided are efficient and at low costs, than with whatever body performing it.
However, it is equally dangerous to accept the motion of privatization on face value. Instead, important management devices must be laid down to regulate the working of the new system. I would like to suggest four important criteria. First, we need clearly stated objectives linked to a defined time scale. Second, standards of performance, albeit subjective, must be established. These have to be complemented, in the third instance, by a system of regular evaluation backed by adequate sanctions of reward and punishment. Fourthly, channels must be established whereby public complaints can be expeditiously tackled. In the United Kingdom, the council delegates have witnessed the application of management tools that utilize extensively quantitative techniques, supported by a centralized database. Given the obvious merits of such a system, it is advisable for the Council to put it on trial in one district before considering the wisdom of its city-wide application.
The Future
Indeed, management in the future cannot rely on a single facet of administration. There must be a total approach that entails the integration of various control systems built on the many disciplines of arts and sciences. It is important for us to be equipped with this perspective when we look ahead to the future. In retrospect, the past year was beset by our political uncertainty, the dwindling dollar, and the property and banking industries trapped in their recessions. I must confess that the note of alarm which I sounded out last year unfortunately materialized. However, I am not one of those who are consistently pessimistic. Given a satisfactory political solution, I have every faith in the resilience of Hong Kong and its market economy. Nevertheless, I am concerned about the conspicuous slowdown of investment in plant and machinery, which the Financial Secretary estimated at a real rate of zero growth.
Discussions about the future of Hong Kong have centered on the importance of the rule of law, the flight of capital and the exodus of professionals. Yet in my mind, none is more disheartening than a sustained brake on reinvestment. Hong Kong needs to compete with our neighbours in high technological products. Continuing reinvestment is a must to survive in the highly competitive global marketplace of today, for sluggish reinvestment will quickly lead to the erosion of our competitive edge over our major trade opponents.
Of even greater concern to me is the future outlook of our small business operators. While billionaires can simply resolve to stack away overseas 10% of their wealth on which their posterity can live comfortably for generations, petty entrepreneurs lack the resource of erecting parallel contingencies to cope with the shaded future. Surely, they are neither powerful enough to raise a political lobby comparable to the super rich. Nor do they enjoy the attention of and social benefits available to the grass-roots strata of our community. In a sense, they are light-weights as a political force let alone the difficulty for them to secure widespread public sympathy for their cause. Yet, it is obvious that they constitute the very backbone of our economy on which Hong Kong became an industrialized city, a financial centre, a trading port and a world economic power. There is ready evidence of their initiatives, hard working habits, enterprising zeal and adaptable ability, especially in the development of new markets. These qualities are the basic ingredients of our success that we can scarcely afford to lose grips of. Despite their ineffective part in political lobby, this precious minority stands as one of the silent pillars of our pluralistic economy. What this group valued is the stability of our present system. If they feel insecure, they will seek refuge abroad with their limited capital. At a time when we stress the significance of the grass-roots class let us not underestimate the importance of such an effacing group. For what goes with them is not capital alone but entrepreneurial expertise and the markets they have developed. Amidst this political un-
Page 122 of 194
Page 122 of 194
Page 122 of 194
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
211
210
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Hong Kong. She was Madame YIU Kam, of 107 years and was
duly honoured
by the Council. One could see her family members beaming with pride, joy and
ceremony. I
respect when accompanying this senior lady to the presentation hope such a meanful event could be carried on so that the virtue of honouring
the aged can be maintained forever.
Since the Centenary Committee has completed its work and will be dissolved next year, what remains, as perhaps the most important task for me, is to thank the members of the Centenary Committee for their hard work and never
failing support. I hope members of the Council will excuse me if I add, for selfish reasons yet out of good intentions, that I hope the Committee, will have another chance to work together in the next occasion, after another hundred years, and we all survive for that important date.
Increased Private Sector Participation
Thriving with a system of free enterprise economy, Hong Kong has been the focus of study for leading economists who are generally fascinated by our city's private sector. As a way of helping to stimulate its activities, I suggest that the Council should examine the possibilities of the enhanced participation of private enterprises in governmental operations. An interesting proposition for testing the efficacy of the invisible hand is to privatize our cleansing service. The Urban Council delegation to the United Kingdom last September was able to observe the privatization of cleansing services in the Borough of Wandsworth. The innovation whereby private contractors were engaged for the cleansing function, contributed to reduced expenditure by 40%.
While it may be hasty to conclude that similar measures will necessarily benefit the city of Hong Kong, such savings are evidently attractive to set an inspiring model for our reference. Some may argue that it is essential for a responsible government to provide sanitation services. But for the man in the street, he is simply more concerned with whether the services provided are efficient and at low costs, than with whatever body performing it.
However, it is equally dangerous to accept the motion of privatization on face value. Instead, important management devices must be laid down to regulate the working of the new system. I would like to suggest four important criteria. First, we need clearly stated objectives linked to a defined time scale. Second, standards of performance, albeit subjective, must be established. These have to be complemented, in the third instance, by a system of regular evaluation backed by adequate sanctions of reward and punishment. Fourthly, channels must be established whereby public complaints can be expeditiously tackled. In the United Kingdom, the council delegates have witnessed the application of management tools that utilize extensively quantitative techniques, supported by a centrallized database. Given the obvious merits of such a system, it is advisable for the Council to put it on trial in one district before considering the wisdom of its city-wide application.
The Future
Indeed, management in the future cannot rely on a single facet of administra- tion. There must be a total approach that entails the integration of various control systems built on the many disciplines of arts and sciences. It is important for us to be equipped with this perspective when we look ahead to the future. In retrospect, the past year was beset by our political uncertainty, the dwindling dollar, and the property and banking industries trapped in their recessions. I must confess that the note of alarm which I sounded out last year unfortunately materialized. However, I am not one of those who are consistently pessimistic. Given a satisfactory political solution, I have every faith in the resilence of Hong Kong and its market economy. Nevertheless, I am concerned about the conspicuous slowdown of investment in plant and machinery, which the Financial Secretary estimated at a real rate of zero growth.
Discussions about the future of Hong Kong have centered on the importance of the rule of law, the flight of capital and the exodus of professionals. Yet in my mind, none is more disheartening than a sustained brake on reinvestment. Hong Kong needs to compete with our neighbours in high technological products. Continuing reinvestment is a must to survive in the highly com- petitive global marketplace of today, for sluggish reinvestment will quickly lead to the erosion of our competitive edge over our major trade opponents.
Of even greater concern to me is the future outlook of our small business operators. While billionaires can simply resolve to stack away overseas 10% of their wealth on which their posterity can live comfortably for generations petty entrepreneurs lack the resource of erecting parallel contingencies to cope with the shaded future. Surely, they are neither powerful enough to raise a political lobby comparable to the super rich. Nor do they enjoy the attention of and social benefits available to the grass-roots strata of our community. In a sense, they are light-weights as a political force let alone the difficulty for them to secure widespread public sympathy for their cause. Yet, it is obvious that they constitute the very backbone of our economy on which Hong Kong was become an industrialized city, a financial centre, a trading port and a world economic power. There is ready evidence of their initiatives, hard working habits, enterprising zeal and adaptable ability, especially in the development of new markets. These qualities are the basic ingredients of our success that we can scarely afford to lose grips of. Despite their ineffective part in political lobby, this precious minority stands as one of the silent pillars of our pluralistic economy. What this group valued is the stability of our present system. If they feel insecured, they will seek refuge abroad with their limited capital. At a time when we stress the significance of the grass-roots class let us not underestimate the importance of such an effacing group. For what goes with them is not capital alone but entrepreneurial expertise and the markets they have developed. Amidst this political un-
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