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HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
the Director of Urban Services' and that the Council shall discharge its functions through the Urban Services Department which shall (Would Members please note), under the direction of the Director of Urban Services, do all acts and things necessary for implementing the decisions of the Council'.
The obvious problem is, how are we going to monitor the work of a person who is our principal executive officer? Strange enough, under Section 2, Chapter 1 of the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangements (1973) between the Council and the Government, 'As the head of a Government department, the Director of Urban Services continues to be responsible to the Chief Secretary (Please note that he/she is not responsible to the Council) on matters concerning his/her Department while the Department of Urban Services continues to operate in the form of a Government department.'
In other words, as we can see from the Urban Council Ordinance and the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangements, both of which regulate the Council's work, there is not any mechanism which enables the Council to directly monitor the performance of the Director of Urban Services as our principal executive officer.
Let me make an allegory. A representative body with decision-making power which has direct control over its executive arm is like a man riding his horse. If the horse was obedient, the rider might push, whip, coerce or command it. If not, the horse would be destroyed for humanity, have its meat made sashimi and then replaced.
However, it seems that the Council is not riding a horse. It is riding a camel, which has a lot of ideas of its own. When ordered to move forward, it obeys only when it pleases. If it does not, it paces or simply stands still and then argues back. What pinches is that the camel is hired. It has its own master and when its master calls it, it throws itself into his arms. The camel knows very well that it is not being maintained by the Council. The Council is probably only a passer-by, who will soon be replaced.
May I ask, with such a constitutional weakness, how the Council is going to monitor the performance of the Department of Urban Services in implementing its policies? Every one of us has witnessed the contradictions between the Council and the Department in a series of incidents in the past, such as the Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir, the Central Library and more recently, the central duck and goose slaughtering scheme. We therefore wish to take the first stride forward by introducing some reforms within the constitutional parameter. It is hoped that through a question-and-answer session for the Director at the monthly meetings, we may monitor the Department's performance in implementing the policies formulated by the Council.
Some may argue that queries may be raised at the meetings of the various Select Committees, but actual working experience indicates that even the individual branches of the Department do not have much knowledge of each
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654
8 000 01 654
596
HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
the Director of Urban Services' and that the Council shall discharge its functions through the Urban Services Department which shall (Would Members please note), under the direction of the Director of Urban Services. do all acts and things necessary for implementing the decisions of the Council'.
The obvious problem is, how are we going to monitor the work of a person who is our principle executive officer? Strange enough, under Section 2. Chapter 1 of the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangements (1973) between the Council and the Government. 'As the head of a Government department, the Director of Urban Services continues to be responsible to the Chief Secretary (Please note that he/she is not responsible to the Council) on matters concerning his/her Department while the Department of Urban Services continues to operate in the form of a Government department.'
In other words, as we can see from the Urban Council Ordinance and the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangements, both of which regulate the Council's work, there is not any mechanism which enables the Council to directly monitor the performance of the Director of Urban Services as our principal executive officer.
Let me make an allegory. A representative body with decision-making power which has direct control over its executive arm is like a man riding his horse. If the horse was obedient, the rider might push, whip, coerce or command it. If not, the horse would be destroyed for humanity, have its meat made sashimi and then replaced.
However, it seems that the Council is not riding a horse. It is riding a camel. which has a lot of ideas of its own. When ordered to move forward, it obeys only when it pleases. If it does not, it paces or simply stands still and then argues back. What pinches is that the camel is hired. It has its own master and when its master calls it, it throws itself into his arms The camel knows very well that it is not being maintained by the Council. The Council is probably only a passer-by, who will soon be replaced.
May I ask, with such a constitutional weakness, how the Council is going to monitor the performance of the Department of Urban Services ir implementing its policies? Every one of us has witnessed the contradictions between the Council and the Department in a series of incidents in the past. such as the Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir, the Central Library and more recently. the central duck and goose slaughtering scheme. We therefore wish to take the first stride forward by introducing some reforms within the constitutional parameter. It is hoped that through a question-and-answer session for the Director at the monthly meetings, we may monitor the Department's performance in implementing the policies formulated by the Council.
Some may argue that queries may be raised at the meetings of the various Select Committees, but actual working experience indicates that even the individual branches of the Department do not have much knowledge of cach
Page 606 of 654
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