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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, speaking to the media after the Housing Authority's regular open meeting today (January 18):
Reporter: Professor Cheung, how do you think the review of the Task Force Report can restore public confidence on the Housing Authority, and how would public officials be held responsible over the scandal?
Secretary for Transport and Housing: First of all, the Housing Authority has attached great importance to the excess lead in water incident and that is why very early on the Housing Authority decided to set up its own Review Committee to conduct what we called a "body check" of all our systems in relation to the construction of public housing blocks. The Review Committee has spent half a year, a large number of meetings, site visits and meeting various stakeholders including contractors, worker organisations and so on, to arrive at the current Report, which is very detailed. All the main papers considered by the Review Committee in arriving at this Report are also made public so that the public would know what has been discussed and why the Committee has concluded the way it has. Now we hope that the fact that the Housing Authority has been very willing to review itself, to admit any inadequacies, and to implement improvement measures to reassure the public including our tenants that the Housing Authority takes it very seriously what we do in order to foster a healthy, a safe living environment for our tenants.
Now as to whether any officials will be accountable for this incident, the Review Committee actually considers that the main problem lies with the system. It lies with the fact that in the past the possibility of excess lead in water was not rated a high risk and there were many reasons for that as explained in the Report of the Review Committee. On the other hand, we know that the Government has established an independent Commission of Inquiry into the incident. So I'm sure after completing its work, the Commission of Inquiry will come up with various observations and recommendations and we'll see what the Commission will say. If any conduct of public officials is to be considered as in question, then of course the Government will have to follow up such observation strictly in accordance with our established procedures.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Monday, January 18, 2016
Issued at HKT 19:57
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