The Audit Commission issued an audit report earlier, criticizing the damage to many footpaths in Hong Kong, but the contractors failed to repair them within the time limit of the "7-day inspection", and some situations even posed a danger to pedestrians.
The Public Accounts Committee of the Legislative Council started a public hearing on the report today (17th). Deputy Director of Highways Ng Wai-keung said that inspections would focus on situations with immediate danger, but also mentioned: "(For example) every time I see a If it is damaged, it will be enclosed and repaired, which will have a considerable impact on shops and pedestrians.”
Chen Fan, Secretary for Transport and Housing, said that the digital management system will be upgraded to preserve all repair records. It is expected that this year The fourth season is gradually used.
The Audit Commission issued a report earlier, stating that during the first inspection of the pavement at the end of July last year, 189 items of damage were found, including pavement, railings, signs, and uneven pavement. Among them, the paving bricks were uneven and the recesses were more than 10 mm deep. , cracks more than 2 mm or gaps, seams more than 10 mm wide.
Audit pointed out that contractors are required to conduct routine inspections every seven days, but when the Audit Office inspected again after seven days, there were still 183 damages, accounting for 97%, of which 14 may pose a danger to road users. , it must be repaired immediately.
In his speech at the Public Hearing of the Account Committee today, Chen Fan said that he agreed with the recommendations made by the Audit Commission. The Highways Department has followed up and repaired the damaged locations mentioned in the report. The inspection report submitted by the dealer, while upgrading the digital system to keep all repair records, is expected to gradually use the system in the fourth quarter.
Deputy Director of Highways Ng Wai-keung (file photo/photo by Leung Peng Wai)
Chen Pai Ming: If the contractor's work is not satisfactory, the contract amount of the contractor may be deducted
Wu Weiqiang said that the previous damage was not immediately dealt with because there was no immediate danger, and it has now been completely repaired, but he also said: "(For example) every time I see damage, I go to enclose it and go to repair it. It will have a considerable impact on shops and pedestrians.”
The Director of Highways, Chen Pai-ming, pointed out that if the road damage does not pose an immediate danger, it can be repaired only during a detailed inspection once every six months.
He also pointed out that the department will randomly check the inspection reports submitted by the contractors. If the contractors are not performing well, they will review them every three months, and may deduct the contractor's contract amount or even issue a notice of breach of contract.
Director of Highways Chan Poi-ming (file photo)
Trade Union Union Luk Chung-hsiung questioned the use of the word "glaring" to describe the anti-amendment protests in "large-scale public events"
In addition, the audit report described the anti-amendment demonstrations in 2019 as "large-scale public events".
Luk Chung-hsiung, a member of the Legislative Council of the Federation of Trade Unions, criticized the use of the word "glare" and believed that the most appropriate words were "black violence" and "riot".
He believes that "large-scale public events" should refer to activities such as flower markets, carnivals, or sports games. It is difficult to understand the current words. "It would be strange to understand that large-scale public events would lead to the railings being buried?"
Lu Songxiong.
(file picture)
Director of Audit Chu Naizhang said that the original text of the Highways Department was written in English and used "Public order events" at that time, so the Audit Commission translated it as "large-scale public events", and pointed out that it would pay attention to how to express it in the future.
Chen Paiming responded that he would pay attention to the Chinese translation of the words in the future.
Audit Report | Highways Department delays footpath maintenance for up to a year, "counting errors" more than twice the estimate ICAC sues Highways Department's outsourced staff for exaggerating lift construction costs of $120,000 by using false quotations Work resumes Zeng Lei Kai Tak Tunnel next to road subsidence exceeds standard Highways Department's road maintenance cost reached 1.65 billion this year The chief engineer said that the bad weather caused road wear and tear, the road surface is uneven, and the road is trapped. Over 3,400 complaints in the first eight months of road maintenance cost of 1.65 billion
