Policy Address

District Administration

188.         At the Summit on District Administration held some two months ago, I proposed to strengthen the role of District Officers (DOs) to enable them to co-ordinate the work of different departments at the district level with District Councils (DCs), and respond actively to public aspirations having regard to the district situation.  I have decided to introduce a pilot scheme in Sham Shui Po and Yuen Long, providing the District Management Committees chaired by DOs with the decision-making power to tackle the management and environmental hygiene problems of some public areas.  The DCs will advise on the work priorities.  The Government will provide additional manpower and resources to implement the pilot scheme, which will help consolidate our experience and shed light on effective ways to progressively take forward the concept of “addressing district issues at the local level and capitalising on local opportunities” on a larger scale.

189.         From this year, the Government has increased the expense reimbursements for DC members, including an increase of 34% in real terms in the Operating Expenses Reimbursement.  Moreover, we will review and announce the honorarium arrangement for DC members within this year.

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