Appendix I

PROPOSAL BY THE HONG KONG YOUTH CONCERN GROUP ON HOUSING POLICY TO REFORM THE CONSTITUTION OF THE HOUSING AUTHORITY

Introduction

After careful consideration of the two proposals with regard to the amendments to the Housing Ordinance put forward by the two Legislative Councilors, Hon. Lee Wing Tat and Hon. Liu Sing Lee respectively, we find that we could not adopt either of them in their entirety. With our understanding that members of the Housing Authority shall ensure their accountability and creditability to the public, we would like to put forward a separate and independent proposal.

Our proposal is as follows:-

(1) Composition of the Housing Authority

To start with, the number of the members of the Housing Authority shall stay at twenty-five. The public officers of the Authority shall still consist of the Director of Housing, the Secretary for Housing, the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, and the Secretary for the Treasury.

(2) Open Nomination

With regard to the remaining twenty-one members, they shall be chosen from a combined process of public nomination and designation. By this process, the primary recruitment procedure is open to the public so that all permanent residents in Hong Kong who are interested and competent are entitled to apply by themselves or to be nominated as members of the Housing Authority.

(3) Nomination Committee

The Legislative Council shall elect a nine-member Nomination Committee from amongst the members of the Legislative Council according to rules regulating such elections at meetings of the Legislative Council as prescribed by the Council. Subject to the condition that members of the Nomination Committee are not eligible to be considered as candidates, the Nomination Committee shall be empowered to exercise its discretion in nominating a list of twenty-one candidates (Nomination List) from amongst all applications and nominations from the first stage of open recruitment in accordance with clear, open and fair nomination criteria pre-determined by the Legislative Council.

(4) Governor’s Endorsement

Upon completion of nomination, the Nomination List shall be submitted to the Governor for his endorsement. The Governor may, nevertheless, exercise his veto power over the entire Nomination List, and request the Nomination Committee to re-submit a new one. The Governor may only veto up to a maximum of three times over the entire Nomination List(s). Upon the Governor exercising his veto power for the third time, the Nomination Committee shall be dissolved and a new Committee shall be elected by the Legislative Council in accordance with paragraph (3) above.

(5) The Constitution of the Housing Authority

Upon the establishment of the Housing Authority, the Authority shall elect a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman from those members of the Authority according to rules regulating such elections at meetings of the Authority as prescribed by the Authority.

Conclusion

To sum up our position, a simplified flow chart is attached. Further elaboration will be provided during the actual discussion on the 29th of July, 1996.

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FLOW CHART: THE CONSTITUTION OF THE HOUSING AUTHORITY

STEP FOURThe entire list of 21-nominated candidates shall be endorsed by the Governor who may nevertheless exercise his veto power up to a maximum of three times after which the Nomination Committee will be dissolved and re-elected.STEP FIVEAfter the establishment of the Housing Authority, the 25 members shall vote amongst themselves the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman.

Date : 20th July, 1996. Prepared by
Hong Kong Youth Concern Group on Housing Policy (HKYCGHP)

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