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personnel movement. Basically, the attitude of our present Government is 'waiting for luck to come'. In other words, once our luck is here, the problems will be solved.
If we project this situation onto the Urban Council, we will see that the Urban Council is in fact a small government. Our terms of reference have a legal basis. We have financial autonomy and the support of the Urban Services Department in the implementation of policies. In all respects, we are a miniature government. What, then, are the problems and crises facing us? In the past few months, we have witnessed debates over matters of design relating to the Central Library, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the redevelopment of Victoria Park. One of our colleagues mentioned just now that the Council will have to face the problem of shortage of resources in the next three years. In the area of public health, there is a host of problems such as E. coli bacteria, Listeria bacteria and bird flu to deal with. All along, the Urban Council has had to face a great challenge and suffer a severe impact. As for the Council itself, the cooperation between the Department and Council Members is also under challenge. In 1998, we have to deal with the problem of redistribution of work among the two Councils and the District Boards. Just now, our colleagues in this Council also pointed out briefly that what the Urban Council lacks is basically a management concept, direction and an effective mechanism. Our five-year plan is implemented only by a few Select Committees but in fact, most of the Select Committees have not started drawing up a five-year plan yet. But even if all the Select Committees have their five-year plans, does this mean that the Urban Council has a management concept, direction and mechanism? Of course not. It is precisely because of these issues that I hope that the Urban Council will face these challenging and highly difficult tasks in the year ahead.
We can tackle this situation in three ways. The first is through coordination and leadership, a point we must never stop emphasizing. It is hoped that the Urban Council can improve its coordination and leadership. The second is to find a reasonable mechanism from among the all-rounders, specialists and representatives of public opinion. Urban Councillors can formulate policies; they can also bring in the opinions of specialists which can be implemented by the all-rounders of the Urban Services Department. This mechanism must be re-established. Once the new mechanism is in place, the Urban Council will have to set up its own management strategy and direction. Some colleagues have attempted, from a cultural perspective, to find out if we have any management strategy, direction and foundation. As a matter of fact, the same situation will appear if we study our own case from any angle.
Mr. Chairman, is the outlook for the Urban Council in 1998 a bright or cloudy one? This will depend on whether we can strengthen our leadership, introduce modern management methods to urban services, set up an effective mechanism, identify our direction and goals and continue to implement and
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HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
525
personnel movement. Basically, the attitude of our present Government is *waiting for luck to come'. In other words, once our luck is here, the problems will be solved.
If we project this situation onto the Urban Council, we will see that the Urban Council is in fact a small government. Our terms of reference have a legal basis. We have financial autonomy and the support of the Urban Services Department in the implementation of policies. In all respects, we are a miniature government. What, then, are the problems and crises facing us? In the past few months, we have witnessed debates over matters of design relating to the Central Library, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the redevelopment of Victoria Park. One of our colleagues mentioned just now that the Council will have to face the problem of shortage of resources in the next three years. In the area of public health, there is a host of problems such as E. coli bacteria, Listeria bacteria and bird flu to deal with. All along, the Urban Council has had to face a great challenge and suffer a severe impact. As for the Council itself, the cooperation between the Department and Council Members is also under challenge. În 1998, we have to deal with the problem of redistribution of work among the two Councils and the District Boards. Just now, our colleagues in this Council also pointed out briefly that what the Urban Council lacks is basically a management concept. direction and an effective mechanism. Our five-year plan is implemented only by a few Select Committees but in fact, most of the Select Committees have not started drawing up a five-year plan yet. But even if all the Select Committees have their five-year plans, does this mean that the Urban Council has a management concept, direction and mechanism? Of course not. It is precisely because of these issues that I hope that the Urban Council will face these challenging and highly difficult tasks in the year ahead.
We can tackle this situation in three ways. The first is through coordination and leadership, a point we must never stop emphasizing. It is hoped that the Urban Council can improve its coordination and leadership. The second is to find a reasonable mechanism from among the all-rounders, specialists and representatives of public opinion. Urban Councillors can formulate policies; they can also bring in the opinions of specialists which can be implemented by the all-rounders of the Urban Services Department. This mechanism must be re-established. Once the new mechanism is in place, the Urban Council will have to set up its own management strategy and direction. Some colleagues have attempted, from a cultural perspective, to find out if we have any management strategy, direction and foundation. As a matter of fact, the same situation will appear if we study our own case from any angle.
Mr. Chairman, is the outlook for the Urban Council in 1998 a bright or cloudy one? This will depend on whether we can strengthen our leadership, introduce modern management methods to urban services, set up an effective mechanism, identify our direction and goals and continue to implement and
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