Q&A Session of the Chief Executive ( 14 October 2004 )

DR RAYMOND HO (in Cantonese): Madam President, I am glad to hear Mr TUNG mention the 160-odd projects of the two former Municipal Councils and instructed the Secretary for Home Affairs to submit a report to the Legislative Council in three months just now. In fact, during the past four years, the term of the previous Legislative Council, these hundred or so projects had been followed up by a committee headed by Mr Fred LI. However, there does not seem to be much progress. Actually, I personally have mentioned this to Mr TUNG many times. I have explained to him the crux of the entire problem lies with recurring consequences (sic). If the internal circular issued by Secretary Frederick MA on 30 August 2002 was not cancelled, the projects mentioned by Mr TUNG, as well as many other projects of departments other than works departments, would not be able to start. This is the crux of the problem. In fact, I had explained to Mr TUNG that some 300 000 people were now engaging in the construction industry, including workers, technicians and professionals. If their family members are included, around a million people are involved. In a place that has a population of 6.8 million, if a million people become unemployed ……

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr Raymond HO, what is your question?

DR RAYMOND HO (in Cantonese): …… the problem will be very serious. Will Mr TUNG consider getting to the root of the problem and find a solution to it? Thank you.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE (in Cantonese): I did not put this on just now, for I knew what you were probably asking. First, I have to stress that, in each of the past three years, our investment on infrastructure exceeded $30 billion, above the figure of $29 billion provided by us. This is the first point. Second, I would like to emphasize that provisions for the recurrent expenditure of Category B and Category C projects have already been earmarked. After our last meeting, I checked this up with Secretary Dr Sarah LIAO who confirmed that such provisions had been set aside. Therefore, you do not have to worry about this for us, we do have such provisions. Third, I really hope that we can give an account on these projects of the former Municipal Councils — the number of which we do not know, and the relevant Secretaries are checking it up — to Members within three months.

DR RAYMOND HO (in Cantonese): Madam President, I said just now that a million of people are involved in the construction industry. According to the figures provided by the Government, the current unemployment rate of the industry is 16.3%, while the overall unemployment rate of Hong Kong is only 6.8%. If one out of seven persons in a place is involved in an industry, while the unemployment rate of that industry is so high — a double of the overall unemployment rate, I hope Mr TUNG will consider addressing the unemployment issue in terms of creating job opportunities. We do not bother how much the Government has spent on the projects implemented, but the unemployment rate is a very important factor affecting the stability of society. Will Mr TUNG propose some radical solutions to address the unemployment problem?

CHIEF EXECUTIVE (in Cantonese): The unemployment rate of the construction industry is the highest. The construction industry is the hardest hit in terms of unemployment. We all know this and are concerned about this. This is also an obvious consequence of economic restructuring. The investment of the Government in infrastructure, as well as the picking up of the property market, will help the construction industry of Hong Kong . Therefore, we will do our level best to stimulate demand from the economic perspective. At the same time, you may also be aware that we have conducted many retraining programmes. We will try our best in this respect, but the industry is actually the hardest hit.