HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
27
The above three proposals, if adopted, will be conducive to the smooth operation of the Council. Relations between the Department and the Council will definitely improve and the amount of time wasted will be reduced. Thus more time can be spent on studying how to provide better municipal services for the public. This will be beneficial to both the Council and the Department.
Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support the motion.
Mr. Leung Kam-tao (in Cantonese):—
Various Aspects on the Management of Markets
Mr. Chairman, market management is one of the very important duties of the Urban Council. At present, there are 62 markets under our management. However, managing a large number of markets does not mean that the management is good. There are still many areas that require Members to go on putting forward constructive ideas and the Department should keep on improving the management standard as well. That is the only way we can attract the public to our markets.
At present, some of our markets are faced with inherent disadvantages which have resulted in criticisms from both residents and traders. Some of them are located in areas that can be described as remote. Take the Tung Chau Street Temporary Market for instance. In 94/95, the vacancy rate has already risen to 34%. The reason for such a high vacancy rate is simple: traders have no business to do as residents will not go such a long way to shop there. Some markets, such as the Po On Road Market are too large. This leads to keen competition among traders, which in turn causes the obstruction problem as traders display their goods outside their stalls to attract customers.
Nevertheless, these inherent problems can still be overcome by remedial measures. If our management work is up to standard, then the function of those markets can still be maintained at the basic level. However, the real situation seems to be contrary to what we hope. It seems that the Departmental staff stationed at the management offices of the markets have failed to fulfil their duties and have not been thorough in the enforcement of policies. They are tolerant towards difficult traders probably because they are afraid of retaliation or harming the relationship. As a result, market management has fallen into a state of anarchy.
Furthermore, illegal hawkers often hawk outside the markets, seriously affecting the business turnover of licensed hawkers inside the markets. As a result, stall operators become illegal hawkers themselves and sell their goods outside the markets, competing with the illegal hawkers for business, thus turning the whole area into chaos.
To tackle the above problems, I have the following suggestions:
1. The Urban Council should consider formulating a long-term plan for market construction and conduct a comprehensive review, taking into account projected changes in population in various districts in order to
Page 314 of 485
Page 314 of 485
Page 314 of 485
Page 314 of 485
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
27
The above three proposals, if adopted, will be conducive to the smooth operation of the Council. Relations between the Department and the Council will definitely improve and the amount of time wasted will be reduced. Thus more time can be spent on studying how to provide better municipal services for the public. This will be beneficial to both the Council and the Department.
Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support the motion.
Mr. Leung Kam-tao (in Cantonesc):—
Various Aspects on the Management of Markets
Mr. Chairman, market management is one of the very important duties of the Urban Council. At present, there are 62 markets under our management. However, managing a large number of markets does not mean that the management is good. There are still many areas that require Members to go on putting forward constructive ideas and the Department should keep on improving the management standard as well. That is the only way we can attract the public to our markets.
At present, some of our markets are faced with inherent disadvantages which have resulted in criticisms from both residents and traders. Some of them are located in areas that can be described as remote. Take the Tung Chau Street Temporary Market for instance. In 94/95, the vacancy rate has already risen to 34%. The reason for such a high vacancy rate is simple: traders have no business to do as residents will not go such a long way to shop there. Some markets, such as the Po On Road Market are too large. This leads to keen competition among traders, which in turn causes the obstruction problem as traders display their goods outside their stalls to attract customers.
Nevertheless, these inherent problems can still be overcome by remedial measures. If our management work is up to standard, then the function of those markets can still be maintained at the basic level. However, the real situation seems to be contrary to what we hope. It seems that the Departmental staff stationed at the management offices of the markets have failed to fulfil their duties and have not been thorough in the enforcement of policies. They are tolerant towards difficult traders probably because they are afraid of retaliation or harming the relationship. As a result, market management has fallen into a state of anarchy.
Furthermore, illegal hawkers often hawk outside the markets, seriously affecting the business turnover of licensed hawkers inside the markets. As a result, stall operators become illegal hawkers themselves and sell their goods outside the markets, competing with the illegal hawkers for business, thus turning the whole area into chaos.
To tackle the above problems, I have the following suggestions:
1. The Urban Council should consider formulating a long-term plan for market construction and conduct a comprehensive review, taking into account projected changes in population in various districts in order to
Page 314 of 485
Page 314 of 485
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