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The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, today (September 18) met with representatives of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committees under the 18 District Councils (DC) to discuss how to harness and build on the spirit permeating the two-month "Keep Clean 2015@Hong Kong: Our Home" campaign and make keeping the environment clean an integral part of our internalised routine.
At the meeting, representatives of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Home Affairs Department and the Environmental Protection Department briefed participants on how they had gone about tackling thorny environmental hygiene problems during the campaign including private streets, rear lanes, "three nil" buildings, and shoreline refuse and construction waste. The Lands Department and the Drainage Services Department also sent representatives to attend the meeting and exchange views with the DC members.
Dr Ko said, "The 'Keep Clean 2015@Hong Kong: Our Home' campaign has received strong support from the 18 District Councils and different sectors since it was rolled out in August. The work on cleaning up hygiene blackspots and keeping the environment clean is beginning to bear fruit. The campaign has also helped arouse public awareness of the cleanliness issues. We will focus on how to leverage on this foundation so that the momentum of our efforts to keep Hong Kong clean can be carried forward. This cannot be achieved without the participation of the districts and support from the public and various sectors."
The District Council members taking part in the discussions made a number of suggestions to the Government on how to improve district environmental hygiene, such as stepping up enforcement actions as well as publicity and public education, and improving the procurement, management and supervision mechanisms of cleaning work contracts. They also agreed that the Government's environmental hygiene measures and surveillance will yield better results if there is active involvement by DC members and district personalities who are familiar with the circumstances on the ground.
Dr Ko said, "To this end, I plan to meet with the Chairmen and Vice-chairmen of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee of the District Councils every six months, through which a clear picture about the latest environmental hygiene situations, including key areas requiring attention, can be obtained. That will allow us to review and adjust our strategies in a timely manner to derive, through better use of scarce resources, greater synergy from the concerted efforts that the Government and the DCs are making to keep Hong Kong clean."
The Government launched the two-month "Keep Clean 2015@Hong Kong: Our Home" campaign on August 1. During the campaign, various events have been organised in the 18 districts to improve environmental and home hygiene. The participating bureaux, departments and public organisation have been stepping up cleaning work in areas under their purview. They have also been working closely with the District Councils, owners' corporations, mutual aid committees, community organisations and stakeholders in different sectors to strengthen promotion and public education reminding the public to keep the environment clean. Footage of events organised by various districts under the campaign has been uploaded to the Internet (www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQBMLTGe99g).
Ends/Friday, September 18, 2015
Issued at HKT 19:19
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