HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
245
A Member has just said that with an establishment of 16,000 strong, any assessment will involve the use of a lot of resources. Let me point out specifically that for the Central Government, a much larger establishment, each time a Governor comes to office, a consultancy firm is appointed to conduct a large-scale overall review, prepare a report and suggest reforms to boost efficiency. In Western societies, there are a lot of studies on how to improve operational efficiency within the government structure. The focal point of our debate is that if we adopt the traditional method and rely on the Department to give suggestions, on the one hand, the Department will have constraints as far as work and perspective are concerned because it is itself within the system, and on the other hand, the situation of 'incestuous reproduction' will arise just as I have mentioned before.
With clear service quality standards, we need assessment codes to match and formulate the process of assessment so as to let different branches and divisions understand the focus of assessment, so that they can carry out self-assessment and enhance operational efficiency. This whole system of review plan and establishment of standards of assessment will need much further studies and discussions. The knowledge required in these aspects is exactly why we need to appoint a consultancy firm to assist.
Many of my colleagues have pointed out that there seemed to be no review in the last ten months and that no suggestions on the administrative system were given. Let us not forget that since the formation of a fully elected Council in April 1995, we have been involved in various reviews of different scales and a lot of the reviews are connected with staff establishment. As we see it, not many items were initiated by us. Very often, the results were not so desirable. Is the crux of the matter really so superficial as put forward by the Department?
Let me quote the example of our great concern about the annual deficit of $120,000,000 reported for the Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir. After the review, a very thick report was circulated to Members stating that there was no way to solve this problem and the best way out was to tolerate the deficit until a new abattoir was in operation.
Another thing I want to bring up is the Council's resolution in 1989 for performing companies to move towards independence and privatization. Six years later when we read that report again, we can see that apart from manpower increase, there has not been any progress in other items.
Fellow Members, today's motion and amendments are actually pointing towards the same direction. We feel that a review is necessary. The question is whether we should follow the footsteps of the past in allowing the Department to take the lead, or whether we, as policy makers, should stand by our commitment and decide today to appoint a consultancy firm to present objective opinions as a third party and assist us in formulating our policy and evaluating the suggestions of the Department.
Page 250 of 498
Page 250 of 498
Page 250 of 498
Page 250 Page 251
Page 250 of 498
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
245
A Member has just said that with an establishment of 16 000 strong, any assessment will involve the use of a lot of resources. Let me point out specifically that for the Central Government, a much larger establishment, each time a Governor comes to office, a consultancy firm is appointed to conduct a large scale overall review, prepare a report and suggest reforms to boost efficiency. In Western societies, there are a lot of studies on how to improve operational efficiency within the government structure. The focal point of our debate is that if we adopt the traditional method and rely on the Department to give suggestions, on the one hand, the Department will have constraints as far as work and perspective are concerned because it is itself within the system, and on the other hand, the situation of 'incestuous reproduction' will arise just as I have mentioned before.
With clear service quality standards, we nced assessment codes to match and formulate the process of assessment so as to let different branches and divisions understand the focus of assessment, so that they can carry out self- assessment and enhance operational efficiency. This whole system of review plan and establishment of standards of assessment will need much further studies and discussions. The knowledge required in these aspects is exactly why we need to appoint a consultancy firm to assist.
Many of my colleagues have pointed out that there seemed to be no review in the last ten months and that no suggestions on the administrative system were given. Let us not forget that since the formation of a fully elected Council in April 1995, we have been involved in various reviews of different scales and a lot of the reviews are connected with staff establishment. As we see it, not many items were initiated by us. Very often, the results were not so desirable. Is the crux of the matter really so superficial as put forward by the Department?
Let me quote the example of our great concern about the annual deficit of $120,000,000 reported for the Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir. After the review, a very thick report was circulated to Members stating that there was no way to solve this problem and the best way out was to tolerate the deficit until a new abattoir was in operation.
Another thing I want to bring up is the Council's resolution in 1989 for performing companies to move towards independence and privatization. Six years later when we read that report again, we can see that apart from manpower increase, there has not been any progress in other items.
Fellow Members, today's motion and amendments are actually pointing towards the same direction. We feel that a review is necessary. The question is whether we should follow the footsteps of the past in allowing the Department to take the lead, or whether we, as policy makers, should stand by our commitment and decide today to appoint a consultancy firm to present objective opinions as a third party and assist us in formulating our policy and evaluating the suggestions of the Department.
Page 250 of 498
Page 250 of 498
Page 250 of 498
Page 250Page 251
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