Chairman's Review
Sustaining Reforms for Excellence 1999/2000 has been another eventful year for the Housing Authority. Having taken over from the Hon Rosanna WONG Yick-ming as the Chairman in October 2000, I am pleased to give a summary in this Review of the very solid achievements made by the Authority during the year under the leadership of my predecessor. I would also like to set out my vision on the various challenges and opportunities facing the Authority and the way on-going reforms could be sustained to bring the best service to the community.
Meeting Community's Housing Needs In close tandem with rising public expectation, the Housing Authority has made remarkable achievements in the past years. In the last decade, the Authority has provided a total of 210 000 Public Rental Housing (PRH) units, which has significantly reduced the average waiting time for people in housing needs from nine years to five. At the end of March 2000, there were 108 000 live applications on the General Waiting List, which was at its lowest in 20 years. When the Government published its Long Term Housing Strategy in 1998, the Housing Authority's target was to reduce the average waiting time for PRH to three years by 2005. This target has now been brought forward to 2003. Furthermore, with the introduction of better and improved PRH designs and the implementation of the Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme, the Authority has also been able to steadily improve the overall living conditions of PRH households. Over the last decade, the average living space of our tenants has been increased by over 25% and the proportion of overcrowded families has been substantially reduced from over 17% of all households to below 4%.
The Authority has also gradually introduced multi-strata schemes that greatly enhance the prospect of both existing PRH tenants as well as those in line to become home owners. A variety of affordable and diversified home ownership schemes such as the Home Ownership Scheme, Private Sector Participation Scheme, Home Purchase Loan Scheme, Buy-or-Rent Option, Mortgage Subsidy Scheme and Tenants Purchase Scheme, have significantly widened the choice of prospective home owners and expanded the tradable stock of subsidised housing in both the primary and secondary public housing markets. As at March 2000, the home ownership rate in the public sector has risen to 33% from 18% a decade ago.
Quality Housing : Partnering for Change The unfortunate substandard piling incidents happened in 1999/2000 has marred the hard-earned reputation of the Housing Authority and posed perhaps the greatest challenge to the Authority in its 27-year history. However small may be the number of such incidents, in either absolute terms or in comparison with the number of
construction projects that are being undertaken by the Authority at any one time, the Authority fully appreciates the gravity of such issues and the extent to which public confidence in the works of the Authority could be shaken. Long before these problems were unveiled to the media or the public, the Authority had already taken the initiative with firm determination to track down the housing quality problems, initiate rigorous investigation and finally confront such problems with remarkable courage. While I fully understand the public dissatisfaction, I believe that the Authority has already done its best in dealing with this crisis.
The Authority also involved the community in finding a solution through a wide public consultation exercise on "Quality Housing: Partnering for Change" in late 1999 and early 2000. The result of which was a consensus reached among the construction industry, relevant professional institutes and the community on a reform package comprising a total of 50 quality housing initiatives. The latter was subsequently approved by the Housing Authority in April 2000. A Quality Task Force has been formed to oversee the implementation of the initiatives in stages. Those relating to building safety and service quality have already been implemented as a matter of priority. Others regarding sustaining improvements in the construction industry and building closer partnership amongst all stakeholders have also been rolled out since June 2000 progressively. The key to the success of these longer term goals lies in a change of mindset which could only take root with time and seasoned cultivation.
Improvement in building quality of public housing requires concerted efforts not only
within the Authority, but also from all concerned parties in the construction industry. We need to strengthen communication and mutual trust and have an open mind to appreciate the importance of a fair share of responsibilities and an equitable balance between gains and risks. As we proceed with the building quality reform, it is equally important to ensure that improvements in the service-wide construction industry can be sustained. In this connection, the Authority would co-operate fully with the Government on the implementation of the recommendations to be put forward by the Construction Industry Review Committee chaired by the Hon Henry TANG.
Greater Private Sector Participation in Estate Management Another major area of reform launched by the Housing Authority during the year under review is the phased implementation of the Private Sector Involvement (PSI) in the Estate Management and Maintenance (EMM) services. Traditionally, the Authority has relied more heavily on the private sector on the
construction side and a few selected areas of out-sourced services. In pursuit of greater cost
effectiveness, the Authority has explored expanding the scope of PSI to other areas of its work. The need for greater PSI in EMM services has been further precipitated by the progressive
implementation of the Tenants Purchase Scheme resulting in an increasing number of
tenants-turned-owners who would be entitled to choose private management companies to look after their property. A well planned and managed outsourcing EMM services early in the days is the only effective means to forestall redundancy situation should public housing owners eventually choose to exercise their legitimate right.
In January 2000, the Authority endorsed the strategy of outsourcing EMM services in a phased approach and set the target of transferring the management of not less than 75 000 of the existing units to Property Services Companies (PSCs) in the years 2000/01 and 2001/02. I am pleased to note the good progress made so far in the implementation of this strategy. Since October 2000, PSCs have started providing EMM services to over
12 000 existing and 20 000 new residential units. The Authority would carefully review the PSI strategy in 2001 before deciding on the scope and pace with which to take PSI forward. The views from staff, tenants and the building management industry as well as the performance of PSCs would be fully taken into account in the review.
The Authority fully appreciates the impact of PSI on the long term career prospect of staff of Housing Department (HD). In order to minimise any adverse impact and to provide staff with as wide a range of choices as possible, the Authority unveiled the Voluntary Departure Scheme (VDS) in March 2000. The scheme offered staff a reasonable release package and the right to 'stay' or 'go', absolutely on a voluntary basis, over a three-year period. The objective is to streamline the Department in line with the progress of PSI. Furthermore, the Authority has also provided staff with the opportunity to take ownership of their management work through the setting up of Management Buy Out (MBO) companies among themselves. Staff interested have been invited to submit MBO proposals any time until February 2003. In August 2000, the Authority approved the transfer of the management of 34 000 units to MBOs up to the year 2001/02.
For staff who choose to continue their public service within Housing Department,
we will put in more resources on a wide spectrum of training opportunities. Through training, we hope that they would be better equipped to handle new challenges as well as to take advantage of
redeployment opportunities within the civil service that come our way.
Staff Commitment and Contribution 1999/2000 has been a year of strain and stress for staff of Housing Department. To the seemingly ever-increasing workload in a high
production year and the various morale hitting incidents, I am glad to note that the majority of HD staff have responded with their usual unfaltering commitment and dedication. I was particularly impressed by the sense of responsibility, swift action and team spirit exhibited by HD staff over the Shek Kip Mei landslide incident.
In the evening of 25 August 2000, a massive slope at the back of Shek Kip Mei Estate
collapsed, causing 406 families to be evacuated. Over a hundred of our staff rushed to the scene and sprang into action and many others hurried there voluntarily to see how they could help. Shelters for affected families were set up and registration of all affected tenants was completed overnight. Through working
closely with other Government departments and voluntary agencies, all affected families were resettled in their new homes in the three nearby estates within just six days. This is most commendable
and I am so proud to have become the leader of this very professional team.
The good work of HD staff has also received international recognition at the 20th International Union of Architects Congress by winning an Honorary Mention in the 1999 Sir Robert Matthew Prize, which pays tribute to architects for outstanding achievement and distinguished service to man and society. Our submission, entitled 浣rom Shelter to Home - Meeting Hong Kong's Housing Challenge*, summarised the Housing Authority's efforts in solving Hong Kong's housing problems over the past 45 years and the initiatives taken to improve standards of living and the quality of life for the community. You will find few parallels of such achievements around the world.
Vote of Thanks Finally, I wish to record my sincere thanks to all Members of the Housing Authority who have given me unreserved support and encouragement. Two Members, Mr LEE Wing-tat and Dr Joseph CHOW Ming-kuen, left us in 1999/2000. On behalf of the Housing Authority, I would like to thank them for their advice and contributions in the past years and wish them every success in their future endeavours. I would also extend my warm welcome to Mr Cheng Yan-kee who joined us to serve the community.
I also wish to give special thanks to my predecessor, the Hon Rosanna WONG Yick-ming, for her invaluable contributions during the past 7 years as Chairman of the Housing Authority. The new ideas and insights she has injected into the public housing arena have benefited, in varying degrees, over half of Hong Kong's population. Her noble spirit to serve the community will be there for the people of Hong Kong to remember. Together with all Members, we will build on the solid foundation established by our predecessors and continue the pursuit of excellence.
Chairman CHENG Hon-kwan
Partnering at work on site.