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inspections and assessments of cleansing contractors. However, the assessments are not made public. Let me go into the merits of having open criteria for assessment on a regular basis.
1. Objective standards. We know that in any effective management system, there is a set of basic standards to which to improve on. What one considers not up to standard may not be considered the same by another. If we have objective standards in place, we can make comparisons and we can get to know of the concern of the public.
2. If the Urban Services Department is asked to make the assessment, it will be an objective, open and fair one because daily management of the estates are not involved. A grading system not only encourages improvement, but also instills a sense of cohesiveness. It makes residents on the alert, builds up their civic awareness and draws them into competition. If the estate I live in is rated below standard time after time, I will certainly become unhappy. I will urge my area representative to fight for my rights. I am sure many of us here agree. The only thing is whether to take the matter into our own hands or ask the Housing Authority to do so.
In fact, the amended motion proposed by Mr. Christopher CHUNG Shu-kan supports in principle the spirit of the original motion. The only difference lies in that Mr. Chung's amendment is a gentleman's amendment. I mean he speaks instead of acts. He suggests to urge the Housing Authority to act, not to take action ourselves. If we invite work, how can we cope? I understand the logic in this. The thing is, if urging the Housing Authority can achieve anything, then 'pigs can climb trees'. Members of all three tiers of our representative government have been meeting Housing Department officials to talk about improvements to housing management. If there are improvements, they are short lived. The same problems surface shortly afterwards. We do not doubt the capabilities of Housing Department officials, we question the Department's management culture. They are of the attitude that 'public estates are second class places, their residents and the environment are second class and people who do not like the environment buy flats of their own'. This attitude is common at the management level. So, I feel that if we continue to speak rather than act and urge the Housing Authority to act, our efforts will be useless and to no practical effect. Rather than urging the Housing Authority, we may be able to do better by complaining to the Office of the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints.
I think the amendment motion has not taken this point into consideration. It adopts a peaceful, courteous attitude. It believes words can bring about substantial improvements. My original motion opposes that attitude. I believe "we should take pro-active measures and answer to our electorate as well as residents of public estates. We are concerned about the state of cleanliness and hygiene in estates and we seek to do something about it. We are not just asking
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inspections and assessments of cleansing contractors. However, the assessments are not made public. Let me go into the merits of having open criteria for assessment on a regular basis.
1. Objective standards. We know that in any effective management system, there is a set of basic standards to which to improve on. What one considers not up to standard may not be considered the same by another. If we have objective standards in place, we can make comparisons and we can get to know of the concern of the public.
2. If the Urban Services Department is asked to make the assessment, it will be an objective, open and fair one because daily management of the estates are not involved. A grading system not only encourages improvement, but also instills a sense of cohesiveness. It makes residents on the alert, builds up their civic awareness and draws them into competition. If the estate I live in is rated below standard time after time, I will certainly become unhappy. I will urge my area representative to fight for my rights. I am sure many of us here agree. The only thing is whether to take the matter into our own hands or ask the Housing Authority to do so.
In fact, the amended motion proposed by Mr. Christopher CHUNG Shu-kan supports in principle the spirit of the original motion. The only difference lies in that Mr. Chung's amendment is a gentleman's amendment. I mean he speaks instead of acts. He suggests to urge the Housing Authority to act, not to take action ourselves. If we invite work, how can we cope? I understand the logic in this. The thing is, if urging the Housing Authority can achieve anything, then 'pigs can climb trees'. Members of all three tiers of our representative government have been meeting Housing Department officials to talk about improvements to housing management. If there are improvements, they are short lived. The same problems surface shortly afterwards. We do not doubt the capabilities of Housing Department officials, we question the Department's management culture. They are of the attitude that 'public estates are second class places, their residents and the environment are second class and people who do not like the environment buy flats of their own'. This attitude is common at the management level. So, I feel that if we continue to speak rather than act and urge the Housing Authority to act, our efforts will be useless and to no practical effect. Rather than urging the Housing Authority, we may be able to do better by complaining to the Office of the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints.
I think the amendment motion has not taken this point into consideration. It adopts a peaceful, courteous attitude. It believes words can bring about :substantial improvements. My original motion opposes that attitude. I believe "we should take pro-active measures and answer to our electorate as well as residents of public estates. We are concerned about the state of cleanliness and Ihygiene in estates and we seek to do something about it. We are not just asking
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