Political situation
Written by: Peng Zhuowei
2020-10-22 18:00
Last update date: 2020-10-22 18:00
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced in January this year with much fanfare and high-profile the "ten measures to benefit the people," which included lowering the eligibility threshold for the "two-dollar ride concession plan" from 65 to 60. At that time, it was estimated that it would involve additional expenditure of 1.7 billion yuan. About 600,000 people benefited.
The project was originally scheduled to be implemented in the next financial year. The Hong Kong government regarded this as a major achievement. However, it has been suddenly reported that the authorities intend to stop the plan. Why has it turned so big?
The Bureau of Labor and Welfare recently briefed members of the guild that it is reported that the estimated expenditure will increase year by year, due to the sudden increase of 600,000 people who are eligible, and the serious abuse of the elderly Octopus. It is estimated that the first year’s expenditure has reached 6 billion yuan. Under the government's "underwriting", the financial burden is considerable.
The source pointed out that the government may not intentionally reverse the plan. "Never heard the government say nothing about it." However, it is estimated that the problem of the abuse of the elderly Octopus will be solved first, and it will be converted into a personal Octopus. It is estimated that it will not be launched until the end of 2021 at the earliest. It may be postponed to early 2022.
As for whether administrative measures can be increased, such as sending additional staff to "check flying" or increasing the penalty, some members of the guild consider it unfeasible, saying that the MTR and bus companies will not be willing to be "ugly people". "Hengbei are all government subsidies. Why would you want to offend a guest?"
A number of establishment factions expressed their opposition to the government’s suspension of the expansion of the "two-dollar ride concession scheme." In their urn, the DAB will seek to meet with the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Luo Zhiguang, to reflect their concerns, and will write to the Legislative Council Committee on Welfare Affairs. Request a meeting to discuss this topic.
Yi Zhiming advocates the use of real-name system to solve the problem of abuse
Yi Zhiming, a member of the shipping and transportation sector of the Liberal Party, said that the government has long known that the plan will be very expensive and that it should use the real name system to solve the problem of abuse.
He suggested that the elderly can be arranged to apply for a personal Octopus at the ticketing station with an elderly card.
Yi Zhiming also proposed that the plan should be extended to all public transportation systems, including red minibuses, village buses and kaito, to maintain a balanced ecology in the industry.
In addition, he pointed out that it is necessary to solve the cross-harbour bus segment charging to avoid wasting resources.
He also gave an example. In the early years, a green minibus driver used an elderly Octopus and kept tapping the card on the minibus he was driving in order to defraud the subsidy fare difference. He later suggested that the Octopus company recorded that the same Octopus was used more than 5 times a day. As soon as the report was issued to the operator, there has been no similar situation since then, and it is not difficult to solve technical problems.
The DAB will meet with Luo Zhiguang to reflect concerns
Some people in the DAB said frankly that as soon as the news came out, "the calls were almost blown up by others," and they received a lot of opposition in the area. They were dissatisfied with the government's temporary quota. "There is no reason to count the number of items."
This person believes that the expansion of the two-dollar ride concession is not the most expensive, and he asks: "It costs a lot of money to send copper core masks, so do you send it again?" As for how to follow up in the future, the person said that he would seek to see workers and The Secretary for Welfare, Law Chi Kwong, expressed his concern and will write to the Legislative Council's Committee on Welfare Services requesting a meeting to discuss this issue.
Tang Jiahua pointed out that he was worried that the implementation of the plan would result in "one wide and three big". He also pointed out that the government budget expenditure has not yet taken into account the inflation problem, and it is estimated that the expenditure after the implementation of the plan will only increase.
Tang Jiahua has reservations about the plan, causing "one wide and three big"
Tang Jiahua, a member of the guild, pointed out that he could not disclose the contents of the guild’s discussions, but he was personally worried that the implementation of the plan would result in "one wide and three big", that is, in the future, people over 60 years old may be regarded as elderly people. And should the threshold for applying for CSSA be lowered?” He also pointed out that the government budget expenditure has not yet taken into account the inflation problem, and it is estimated that the expenditure after the implementation of the plan will only increase.
Tang Jiahua expressed reservations about the plan, but if the government is willing to postpone the implementation for a year, he thinks it is acceptable.
Looking at the information, the government has launched the "Two-dollar Ride Concession Scheme" in 2012. Elderly people aged 65 or above and eligible persons with disabilities can take public transport for two dollars. Lam Cheng announced in January this year that the eligible age will be planned. The threshold is lowered from 65 to 60.
The Labour and Welfare Bureau told the Legislative Council in July this year that the number of eligible elderly persons aged 65 or above has risen from 980,000 in 2012 to 1.32 million in 2019. The government plans to spend about 1.3 billion yuan in 2019/20.
It is reported that the government recently submitted to the guild an expert research report on lowering the age of concessionary rides. The estimated expenditure part of the plan stated that if the threshold is lowered to 60 years old, it will increase the cost of the warehouse by at least 6 billion yuan per year; and until 2025/26 , The government’s annual expenditure is expected to reach 10 billion yuan.
Expert report estimates that at least 6
billion yuan will increase in expenditure each year
However, it is reported that the government recently submitted to the guild an expert research report on lowering the age of concessions. The estimated expenditure of the plan stated that if the threshold is lowered to 60, it is estimated that about 600,000 more people are eligible and will be used by the warehouse every year. Increase the expenditure by at least 6 billion yuan; and by 2025/26, the government's annual expenditure is expected to reach 10 billion yuan, a significant increase from the 1.7 billion yuan estimated by Lam Cheng at the beginning of the year.
Some organizations pointed out that the government used technology and abuse problems as excuses, thinking that it could be solved by personal Octopus or silver age cards. "If the abuse problem can be solved, the expenditure will not cost 10 billion yuan." This person criticized the government for always adopting "dragging words". Secrets," he has no intention of pushing forward the plan.
Some people in the DAB even pointed out that if the government withdraws the plan due to changes in the financial situation in recent months, the government should also reduce its application to the Legislative Council for additional posts to reduce recurrent expenditure. They also said that in the future they will review government funding more carefully to ensure Public funds are well spent.
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