Non-cooperation hurting HK
Updated: 2014-11-07 08:17
(HK Edition)
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According to media reports on Thursday, an extra HK$5 billion may be needed to complete the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge project.
This estimate is based on the latest construction cost index compiled by the Civic Engineering and Development Department, which covers only wages and raw materials, but doesn't factor in possible extra costs from unforeseen factors. As such, while a stricter budgetary control mechanism is required to make budget control more predictable, a series of recent public infrastructure projects have understandably exceeded their budgets.
Inevitably the next step is for the government to seek additional finances from the Legislative Council (LegCo) to bridge the funding gap. Sadly, this comes at a time when opposition lawmakers have pledged to launch a campaign of all-out non-cooperation as a bargaining chip to advance their political agenda over "genuine democracy". The administration should therefore prepare for an uphill battle.
The public will remember that owing to a judicial review of the environmental assessment - brought up by a Civic Party intrigue - the bridge project saw delays from 2010 to 2011. This undeniably contributed to the rising cost of the 50-km project - one of the longest bridges in the world.
Indeed, in recent years, certain contemptible LegCo politicians have increasingly taken pleasure in using their powers of veto to reject government funding requests, resulting in many livelihood-related products being delayed or aborted. Such insidious tactics - opposing everything for the purpose of objection - seem intended to make Hong Kong ungovernable, and this at the expense of the city's well-being.
The private business sector together with public infrastructure projects are traditionally the two driving forces propelling Hong Kong's once vibrant economy. What is worrying is that while government-pioneered projects are increasingly hampered by the opposition, the outlook of the private sector is also gloomy due to the prolonged "Occupy Central" campaign that has already taken a heavy toll on people's livelihoods. The latest released survey conducted by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong - the city's biggest political party - revealed that three-quarters of the people have been adversely affected by the "Occupy" movement.
Still more worrying, as Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah wisely pointed out, the ongoing protests, if they don't end soon, could severely harm Hong Kong's long-term competitiveness. The public sincerely hope the opposition will stop their excuses for messing up Hong Kong.
(HK Edition 11/07/2014 page10)