Political situation
Written by: Zhou Haoyi
2021-05-05 17:30
The last update date: 2021-05-05 17:35
The Legislative Council passed the "Waterworks (Waterworks Regulations) (Amendment) Bill 2021" proposed by the Federation of Trade Unions Mak Meijuan in the third reading. The bill prohibits anyone from selling water to others at a higher charge than the Water Supplies Department to prevent owners For overcharging water fees, offenders can be fined 10,000 yuan.
Many legislators expressed their support for the motion. Mai Meijuan hopes that the amendments can deter individual owners of subdivided houses from overcharging water charges and relieve the burden of grassroots families.
The Secretary for Development, Wong Wai Lun, said that he welcomes the amendments. The government agrees that the amendments can reduce the chance of unscrupulous owners of overcharging water charges, and emphasized that the Water Supplies Department will seriously enforce the law.
The Legislative Council passed the "Waterworks (Waterworks Regulations) (Amendment) Bill 2021" proposed by the Federation of Trade Unions Mak Meijuan in the third reading. The bill prohibits anyone from selling water to others at a higher charge than the Water Supplies Department to prevent owners For overcharging water fees, offenders can be fined 10,000 yuan.
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There are loopholes in existing laws and no owners have been charged
The DAB Cheng Yongshun said that he supports the bill proposed by Mak Meijuan. At present, many sub-divided houses do not have independent water meters. Complaints against the owners for locking up the sub-meters, so that the tenants cannot know the water consumption. Even if someone is not in Hong Kong and has no water, they are charged a fee. But in the past, no owners have been prosecuted for this.
He said that there are contradictions and loopholes in the current law. Although the law states that the sale of water is prohibited, it also specifies how much the owners can charge themselves. In disguised terms, owners can charge more for repairing water pipes.
Chen Jianbo from the insurance industry said that this legislation is of great significance and proves that the Legislative Council can quickly contribute to society without "rabbits."
He said that according to the Water Supplies Department's charges, the first 12 cubic meters of water is free, and thereafter 4 to 9 yuan per cubic meter. However, residents of subdivided houses are generally charged 15 yuan per cubic meter for water, and there is no free allowance. This is ridiculous.
The DAB Zheng Yongshun.
(Photo by Luo Junhao)
"Four mosquitoes at the grassroots level are not willing to eat an orange." Calling owners to have a conscience
The establishment party Liao Changjiang pointed out that some people questioned that even after the regulations were passed, landlords could still charge other miscellaneous fees or even increase rents. However, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor stated that he would submit a bill on rent control in this legislative year, including regulating rent increases. , The introduction of priority renewal rights, etc., I believe it can complement this amendment to provide greater protection for the grassroots.
Mai Meijuan pointed out that even if the bill is passed, unscrupulous residential property owners can still overcharge fees in different ways. I hope that the owners will have a conscience and care for the grassroots. "There are four mosquitoes at the grassroots level and one orange is not willing to eat." The owner’s receipt of a few hundred yuan has greatly helped the grassroots.
Wong Wai Lun said that the government agrees that the amendments can play a deterrent effect, reduce unscrupulous owners' overcharging of water charges, and help the Water Supplies Department to more effectively enforce the law. He emphasized that the Water Supplies Department has always been concerned about overcharging of water charges. When complaints are received , Will quickly follow up complaints, and take the initiative to inspect the sub-houses, if any violations are found, prosecution will be initiated.
Mai Meijuan stated that this time the regulations were passed efficiently and hoped that the Legislative Council would continue to have such a deliberative culture in the future.
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After the passage of the regulations, Mai Meijuan stated that when she proposed a private bill to deal with water charges, some congressmen thought she was just joking, but because the government itself could not reach a consensus on the regulation of overcharged water charges, only Propose a private draft on your own.
She said that this time the ordinance was passed efficiently and hoped that the Legislative Council would continue to have such a deliberative culture in the future.
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