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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
PROFESSOR LEUNG PING-CHUNG (in Cantonese):- Mr. Chairman, I will be most willing to answer this question. In relation to private contractors responsible for refuse collection, ever since Mr. Paul YOUNG raised that question, the Department has been working for the preparation of a paper. If I am more adamant it will be faster and I am attempting to strengthen it myself.
MOTIONS
1. DR. RONALD LEUNG DING-BONG, CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL moved the following motion:-
'RESOLVED that the audited Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Statement of Receipts and Payments of the Urban Council for the year ended 31 March 1993 be adopted.'
He said (in English): In accordance with Section 36(4)(c) of the Urban Council Ordinance, I move the adoption of the audited Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Statement of Receipts and Payments of the Urban Council for the year ended 31 March 1993.
Members will note that the Director of Audit's Certificate on the Statements is not qualified by any observation on the manner in which the Council's accounts have been kept and rendered. The Department is to be congratulated for their keeping the Council's accounts in good order.
Also in accordance with Section 40(4) of the Urban Council Ordinance, one copy of the certified statements will be forwarded to His Excellency the Governor.
I am pleased to report that the financial accounts showed a surplus of $979 million for the year ended 31 March 1993. I do not intend to comment on the results as full details were provided to Members in early April this year.
With regard to the current financial year, based on the latest available financial data, a surplus of somewhere around $27 million is expected which if realised would increase the Council's total reserve to $1,754 million as at 31 March 1994. On the face of it, this represents a very considerable figure, but when looked at in the cold light of day this is equivalent to approximately only 18 weeks' expenditure at current price levels in the running of this most demanding city of ours. Therefore, it should be seen in the light of a prudent 'cushion' against the unknown exigencies for the future.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI, CHAIRMAN OF THE FINANCE SELECT COMMITTEE (in English): I have much pleasure in seconding the motion.
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The question was put.
The motion was carried unanimously.
2. DR. RONALD LEUNG DING-BONG, CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL moved the following motion:-
'RESOLVED that the Council's Annual Report 1992-93 be approved.'
He said (in English): Copies of the Urban Council's Annual Report for 1992-93 are tabled at this meeting.
This year's Report is a very special one for more than one reason. To begin with, it includes the first definitive history of the Council and its predecessor municipal bodies to be compiled - a history that had its beginnings in 1883 when a Sanitary Board was set up to act against the scourge of what was then known as 'Hong Kong Fever', but was in fact what later turned out to be recognised medically as malaria.
Later came other epidemics which had to be conquered - cholera, typhoid fever, smallpox, tuberculosis, and no doubt worst of all, bubonic plague.
It is a fascinating story, and one that shows that from the outset, Hong Kong's municipal authority had accepted and discharged with great efficiency its vitally important responsibilities.
I commend this history to you all.
Another reason that this Annual Report is a landmark one in that it commemorates the Urban Council's 110th anniversary, showing how the Council has fully kept pace with the growth of Hong Kong into one of the world's most modern and dynamic cities.
Also, the publication records another year of hard and effective work by the Council's executive arm, the Urban Services Department. As we have become accustomed to, the Department has kept its finger on the pulse of our city, ensuring that the heartbeat of municipal services has never been flagged and required services provided.
Additionally, through its many other Council-funded activities, the Department has smoothly provided for the sporting, recreational and cultural needs of Hong Kong. In fact, one of its most recent innovative ideas, the 'Symphony Under the Stars' which drew 50,000 people to The Happy Valley Sports Ground, has appropriately taken its place as the cover photograph.
Finally, the price of this Annual Report has been kept down to $20, and I can assure you that in these times, this splendid full-colour Report abounding in vivid photographs is a great value for the money.
I now move the motion for the Urban Council's Annual Report for 1992-93 to be formally adopted. I beg to move.
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
115
114
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
PROFESSOR LEUNG PING-CHUNG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I will be most willing to answer this question. In relation to private contractors responsible for refuse collection, ever since Mr. Paul YOUNG raised that question, the Department has been working for the preparation of a paper. If I am more adamant it will be faster and I am attempting to strengthen it myself.
MOTIONS
1. DR. RONALD LEUNG DING-BONG, CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL moved the following motion:-
'RESOLVED that the audited Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Statement of Receipts and Payments of the Urban Council for the year ended 31 March 1993 be adopted.'
He said (in English): In accordance with Section 36(4)(c) of the Urban Council Ordinance, I move the adoption of the audited Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Statement of Receipts and Payments of the Urban Council for the year ended 31 March 1993.
Members will note that the Director of Audit's Certificate on the Statements is not qualified by any observation on the manner in which the Council's accounts have been kept and rendered. The Department is to be congratulated for their keeping the Council's accounts in good order.
Also in accordance with Section 40(4) of the Urban Council Ordinance, one copy of the certified statements will be forwarded to His Excellency the Governor.
I am pleased to report that the financial accounts showed a surplus of $979 million for the year ended 31 March 1993. I do not intend to comment on the results as full details were provided to Members in early April this year.
With regard to the current financial year, based on the latest available financial data, a surplus of somewhere around $27 million is expected which if realised would increase the Council's total reserve to $1,754 million as at 31 March 1994. On the face of it, this represents a very considerable figure, but when looked at in the cold light of day this is equivalent to approximately only 18 weeks' expenditure at current price levels in the running of this most demanding city of ours. Therefore, it should be seen in the light of a prudent 'cushion' against the unknown exigencies for the future.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI, CHAIRMAN OF THE FINANCE SELECT COMMITTEE (in English): I have much pleasure in seconding the motion.
Page 54 of 132
The question was put.
The motion was carried unanimously.
2. DR. RONALD LEUNG DING-BONG, CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL moved the following motion:-
'RESOLVED that the Council's Annual Report 1992-93 be approved.'
He said (in English): Copies of the Urban Council's Annual Report for 1992-93 are tabled at this meeting.
This year's Report is a very special one for more than one reason. To begin with, it includes the first definitive history of the Council and its predecessor municipal bodies to be compiled a history that had its beginnings in 1883 when a Sanitary Board was set up to act against the scourge of what was then known as 'Hong Kong Fever', but was in fact what later turned out to be recognised medically as malaria.
Later came other epidemics which had to be conquered cholera, typhoid fever, smallpox, tuberculosis, and no doubt worst of all, bubonic plague.
It is a fascinating story, and one that shows that from the outset, Hong Kong's municipal authority had accepted and discharged with great efficiency its vitally important responsibilities.
I commend this history to you all.
Another reason that this Annual Report is a landmark one in that it commemorates the Urban Council's 110th anniversary, showing how the Council has fully kept pace with the growth of Hong Kong into one of the world's most modern and dynamic cities.
Also, the publication records another year of hard and effective work by the Council's executive arm, the Urban Services Department. As we have become accustomed to, the Department has kept its finger on the pulse of our city, ensuring that the heartbeat of municipal services has never been flagged and required services provided.
Additionally, through its many other Council-funded activities, the Department has smoothly provided for the sporting, recreational and cultural needs of Hong Kong. In fact, one of its most recent innovative ideas, the 'Symphony Under the Stars' which drew 50 000 people to The Happy Valley Sports Ground, has appropriately taken its place as the cover photograph.
Finally, the price of this Annual Report has been kept down to $20, and I can assure you that in these times, this splendid full-colour Report abounding in vivid photographs is a great value for the money.
I now move the motion for the Urban Council's Annual Report for 1992-93 to be formally adopted. I beg to move.
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