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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

shows that only 20-30% of cases handled fall within the urban services, while the other 70-80% are related to matters which the Urban Councillors either lack the real power or the expertise to deal with.

Since an Urban Councillor has his Council's committee work and personal profession to attend to, he generally lacks the time and resources to make his own investigations thoroughly on a regular basis. In addition, the Councillor has neither access to government documents nor power to call upon civil servants. Short of expertise, the Councillor, as a usual practice, would refer the case to the department concerned. However, referral alone could not in all circumstances guarantee an impartial investigation as naturally the department being complained of is likely to justify its case.

The impact of the Ward System is never institutionalized. The extent of its success and effectiveness in rectifying complaints depends largely on the diligence and initiative of individual Councillors. As reflected from the statistics of consultation in the Ward Offices, the number of cases by districts reflected only the popularity of certain Councillors rather than the problems of different geographical areas. It is not the merit of the Ward System itself but the commitment and hard work of individual Councillors that win the confidence of the public.

4.

Improvements on the Present Ward System

Although the Ward System has intrinsic defects to act like a Commissioner for Administration in redressing grievances arising from maladministration, it does, however, play an indispensable role in dealing with a wide range of day-to-day problems encountered by the public. The large number of cases handled by our Ward Offices each year best illustrates this point.

With the increasing involvement of the Council in aspects of environmental hygiene, cultural and recreational affairs etc. that attract wider public concern, the Ward System should continue to function as a bridge between the Urban Councillors and the public. To this end, several improvements to the existing system are essential. First, the Ward System is to be institutionalized, second, wider publicity on the Ward System is needed with focus on urban services and third, we have to strengthen the supportive system, such as secretariat to the Ward Office, liaison assistance and follow-up work.

5.

Recommendation for the Setting Up of a Commissioner for Administration

Provided the government is genuinely concerned with the redress of grievances arising from administrative injustice and maladministration, the above suggestions are some of the improvements of the existing channels recommended, but they are in no way to supersede the set up of a Commissioner for Administration. The Ward System and the Commissioner for Administration play complementary roles. They can coexist to help upgrading government administration and guarding the basic rights of the citizens at large.

MISS VICTORIA Y. CHAN (in English):—Mr. Chairman, Colleagues of this Council, I support the motion. I am for widening the existing channels of

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reviewing complaints from the Public. The existing modes of complaints are by letters in writing, by petitions or by applications to the court. We are living in an era of high-technology, and automation should play a bigger part in this complaint system. I suggest that telephone ‘open lines' be installed and the public be encouraged to phone in to air their grievances. All calls and complaints will initially be recorded on tape and each caller will be asked to give their full name, address, HKID Card No. and telephone number. The lines will be operational 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Two or more senior civil servants will sieve through the calls on tape and only complainants with valid complaints will be invited to substantiate their complaints in person. Thereafter, the complaints will be referred to the appropriate departments or authorities to be further dealt with. All complaints, however, whether valid or invalid will be acknowledged in writing. The advantages for utilizing such telephone recording system are as follows: (1) the service is open at all times; (2) manpower is limited to office hours and as a result expenses are limited; and (3) it will be convenient for the public, who will always find a way to air their grievances, whatever the hour of the day.

CHAIRMAN (in English):—That is the total number of Members who wish to speak and I now give the proposer of the motion, Mrs. Tu, the opportunity to exercise her right of reply, Mrs. Tu.

MRS. ELSIE TU (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I would like to reply very briefly to a few of the points made. Mr. CHEONG-LEEN praised the document as being well prepared and wants us to wait for more information on political developments. In fact, it is exactly this lack of concrete information as pointed out by Mr. LAM Chak-piu and Mr. TONG Kam-biu which makes the document, as Mr. SZE said, a sham. For once I agree with everything Mr. SZE said. However, if and when we do have a Commissioner for Administration, I do warn him that he will need an extra secretary to deal with letters of complaint from Mr. SZE. I think Mr. FUNG Kin-kee, Mr. Samuel WONG, Mr. MAN and Miss CHAN made some valuable proposals which should be noted by the Government. Mr. CHAN's proposals sounded expensive to me and I think they could be a cause for complaint to the Ombudsman. Miss YEUNG, Dr. CHAN and Mr. Stephen LAU seem to think that the Urban Council's ward offices and other channels are already adequate. Well, I am not boasting when I say that I have more experience probably than anyone on the Council in dealing with complaints, and I have been frustrated by the lack of power in dealing with those complaints. If Miss YEUNG, Dr. CHAN and Mr. LAU can do any better, I would be very happy to choose those impossible cases and send them to their offices to see what they can do about them. But I am quite sure that no Urban Councillor can deal with those problems. I get the feeling, generally speaking, that those of the Councillors who did speak were in favour of a different system which will be independent, and I hope all your opinions will be considered by the Government. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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