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problem of itinerant hawkers, not only do we have to take back their licences, but also to provide stall spaces in fixed pitch hawker zones for them to bid. There are at present not too many licenced itinerant hawkers. When the Council, as a matter of policy, allocated stalls in markets for them to bid, response was not so good because of the location of the stalls. There have been many successful examples of the demarcation of certain places in various areas for hawkers. We should continue to do so. Such examples have helped to improve municipal appearances and control hawking activities.
The present weak economy has made it difficult for licenced hawkers to switch jobs, even if they want to. So they continue to engage in hawking activities as a way out. I think we need to consider as soon as possible the setting-up of hawking areas in different localities, or the provision of more fixed pitches for hawkers to bid and choose from. A fellow Member already made suggestions on the locations, I am not going to repeat. If possible, we can mark out small areas in parks, amusement grounds or tourist areas for hawkers to sell popsicles, ice-cream, souvenirs or items bearing the special features of Hong Kong. That should solve part of the problem in hand. All in all, I think under present circumstances, it is undesirable to take back all licences at once as it may not solve our problem. Enlarging hawking areas or providing more fixed pitches may be a way to solve it expediently. So, again, may I say I support Mr. Daniel WONG's motion.
MR. ERIC WONG CHUNG-KI (in Cantonese): I am speaking on behalf of Mr. LEUNG Kam-to in support of Mr. Daniel WONG's motion.
Mr. Chairman, the Council went about cancelling itinerant hawker licences in 1993. According to Departmental statistics, up to 12 March this year, a total of 1966 licences were taken back, of which 1607 hawkers accepted ex-gratia payment, 237 chose fixed stalls, 119 chose vacant stalls in Council markets and three chose snack kiosks. In other words, 82% of hawkers accepted ex-gratia payment instead of continuing to be itinerant hawkers. The reasons are varied. Some hawkers are old and have to retire. More important still, many of those who refused to hand over their licences for ex-gratia payment or choose from fixed pitches indicated to us that existing vacant fixed pitches offered little choice.
From the point of management, the Department will find it easier and more efficient to manage itinerant hawkers after they have switched over to become fixed pitch hawkers. No matter whether or not we do away with itinerant hawkers in future, we should continue to find suitable stalls to resite existing itinerant hawkers so that they won't be everywhere to affect municipal appearance and environmental hygiene. For a long time, enforcement officers of the Department did not trust each other. As a result, the implementation of the policy was affected. Both myself and Mr. Daniel WONG hope the Department will find suitable streets in which to demarcate spaces for resiting itinerant hawkers so that they can continue their business.
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problem of itinerant hawkers, not only do we have to take back their licences, but also to provide stall spaces in fixed pitch hawker zones for them to bid. There are at present not too many licenced itinerant hawkers. When the Council, as a matter of policy, allocated stalls in markets for them to bid. response was not so good because of the location of the stalls. There have been many successful examples of the demarcation of certain places in various area for hawkers. We should continue to do so. Such examples have helped to improve municipal appearances and control hawking activities.
The present weak economy has made it difficult for licenced hawkers to switch jobs, even if they want to. So they continue to engage in hawking activities as a way out. I think we need to consider as soon as possible the setting-up of hawking areas in different localities, or the provision of more fixed pitches for hawkers to bid and choose from. A fellow Member already made suggestions on the locations, I am not going to repeat. If possible, we can mark out small areas in parks, amusement grounds or tourist areas for hawkers to sell popsicles, ice-cream, souvenirs or items bearing the special features of Hong Kong. That should solve part of the problem in hand. All in all, I think under present circumstances, it is undesirable to take back all licences at once as it may not solve our problem. Enlarging hawking areas or providing more fixed pitches may be a way to solve it expediently. So, again, may I say I support Mr. Daniel WONG's motion.
MR. ERIC WONG CHUNG-KI (in Cantonese);-I am speaking on behalf of Mr. LEUNG Kam-to in support of Mr. Daniel WONG's motion.
Mr. Chairman, the Council went about cancelling itinerant hawker licences in 1993. According to Departmental statistics, up to 12 March this year, a total of 1966 licences were taken back, of which 1 607 hawkers accepted ex-gratia payment, 237 chose fixed stalls, 119 chose vacant stalls in Council markets and three chose snack kiosks. In other words, 82% of hawkers accepted ex-gratia payment instead of continuing to be itinerant hawkers. The reasons are varied. Some hawkers are old and have to retire. More important still, many of those who refused to hand over their licences for ex-gratia payment or choose from fixed pitches indicated to us that existing vacant fixed pitches offered little choice.
From the point of management, the Department will find it easier and more efficient to manage itinerant hawkers after they have switched over to become fixed pitch hawkers. No matter whether or not we do away with itinerant hawkers in future, we should continue to find suitable stalls to resite existing itinerant hawkers so that they won't be everywhere to affect municipal appearance and environmental hygiene. For a long time, enforcement officers of the Department did not trust each other. As a result, the implementation of the policy was affected. Both myself and Mr. Daniel WONG hope the Department will find suitable streets in which to demarcate spaces for resiting itinerant hawkers so that they can continue their business.
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