ENG-1986 — Page 39

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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Within the urban area, the Urban Council also constructs and manages all public sporting facilities such as swimming pools, parks, playgrounds, indoor and outdoor stadia, tennis courts, football grounds, squash courts, basketball courts and promotes a large number of sports at district level. The council manages museums, public libraries and several major cultural venues and multi-purpose facilities, including the City Hall, Queen Elizabeth Stadium and Hong Kong Coliseum. It is currently engaged in planning for the construction of a major Museum of Science and Technology. Meanwhile, a new Museum of Art is also currently under construction within the Kowloon Cultural Complex area, which will also contain a new concert hall, opera house and theatre to complement facilities already being run by the council elsewhere in the urban area. It promotes cultural performances and runs a comprehensive programme of public entertainment throughout the urban areas.

The council consists of 30 members, 15 elected from district constituencies and 15 appointed by the Governor. It meets in public once a month, when it passes by-laws, deals with finances, formal motions and questions on its activities. The routine business of the council is conducted by 13 select committees and 16 sub-committees. The council's Standing Committee now conducts most of its business in public, and the Liquor Licensing Board and the Libraries, Food Hygiene and Clean Hong Kong Committees have opened their meetings to the public.

The council's chief executive is the Director of Urban Services, who controls the operations of the Urban Services Department with a staff of 18 000. The director is charged with carrying out the council's policies and implementing its decisions.

The council has been financially autonomous since 1973, and during 1986–7 will be spending about $2,000 million on council-controlled activities and projects. The council is financed by a share of the rates which provides about 75 per cent of its income, with the balance coming from various licence fees and other charges.

The council has individual or collective ward offices spread throughout the urban areas where councillors deal with and answer complaints from the public on a great variety of matters. Although the majority of matters raised lie outside the council's jurisdiction, councillors are often able to assist and obtain redress where appropriate from the various government departments and public bodies.

Regional Council

The new Regional Council, established on April 1, 1986, is the statutory municipal authority for the area outside the jurisdiction of the Urban Council comprising the new towns of Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung, Sha Tin, Tuen Mun, Tai Po, Fanling/Sheung Shui and Yuen Long and their hinterlands, together with the rural areas of Sai Kung and the Islands. Like the Urban Council, the Regional Council is responsible for all matters concerning environmental hygiene, public health, sanitation, liquor licensing and the provision of recreation and cultural facilities and services within its jurisdiction - the Regional Council area, where 1.8 million people live.

The Regional Council comprises 36 members. Twelve of the members are elected directly from the 12 constituencies in the Regional Council area. Nine representative members are elected from the nine District Boards in the same area, 12 are appointed by the Governor and the remaining three (the Chairman and two Vice-Chairmen of the Heung Yee Kuk) are ex-officio members.

The Regional Council's policies are implemented by its executive arm, the Regional Services Department, which has a staff of 8 500.