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HOUSING

efficiently the Long Term Housing Strategy. The aim of the strategy is to provide adequate housing for every family in Hong Kong before the turn of the century. It is geared towards optimising resources in both the public housing and private sectors to meet the demand for rental housing, and the growing aspiration for home ownership.

The role of the authority has expanded, following the re-organisation. It advises the Governor on all public housing policy matters and, through its executive arm (the Housing Department), plans and builds public housing estates, Home Ownership Scheme courts and temporary housing areas for various categories of people as determined by the authority with the approval of the Governor. It also manages public housing estates, Home Ownership Scheme courts, temporary housing areas, cottage areas, transit centres, flatted factories and the ancillary commercial facilities throughout the territory, and administers the Private Sector Participation Scheme and the Home Purchase Loan Scheme. On behalf of the government, the authority clears land, prevents and controls squatting, and plans and co-ordinates improvements to squatter areas.

The authority meets quarterly to review the work of nine standing committees on building, commercial properties, development, establishment and finance, home owner- ship, management, operations, complaints and tenancy appeals. In addition, there is a special committee responsible for overseeing the clearance of the Kowloon Walled City.

Prior to April 1, 1988, the authority was chaired by the then Secretary for Housing and comprised 19 non-official and seven official members. Following the re-organisation, the chairmanship has been assumed by a non-official member. The authority now comprises 20 non-official members, including the chairman, and four official members. All members are appointed by the Governor. There are also 23 co-opted members, who sit on one or more of the committees. Many of the members of the authority also serve the community as Legislative, Urban or Regional Councillors, or as members of the New Territories Heung Yee Kuk, district boards, area committees and mutual aid committees. Together, they have a broad range of experience and representation and are able to apply a critical and conscientious perspective in determining public housing policies.

The authority is responsible for its own finance and management. Following the authority's re-organisation, new financial arrangements with the government came into effect on April 1. Under these revised arrangements, the government will have a capital structure in the authority comprising permanent government capital, contributions to domestic housing and non-domestic equity. The new arrangements will enable the government to continue to provide the authority with the funds required to meet the housing programmes as set out in the Long Term Housing Strategy. For its part, the authority will continue to pursue financial efficiency in a manner consistent with providing accommodation at affordable and realistic rents and prices.

The authority's accounts for 1987-8 were prepared on the basis of the old financial arrangements agreed upon with the government in 1976. On March 31, 1988, the government's contribution stood at $38,288.9 million, which included, among other subsidies, $33,575.3 million for free land and $2,952.3 million for interest foregone. On the same date, the authority had an outstanding loan of $13,488.8 million with the government which was provided on concessionary terms for financing construction programmes.

In the 1987-8 financial year, recurrent expenditure on the authority's domestic rental properties - covering mostly management and maintenance costs - totalled $2,656.4 million, while income from domestic rents was $2,632.2 million, resulting in a deficit of $24.2 million. This deficit was due to the fact that the low rents in old estates were insufficient to cover management expenses and the high cost of maintenance and