Plenary | Another Hato debate at the AL, gov’t claims no others responsible

Ng Kuok Cheong proposed the debate

A debate proposed at the start of the legislature by lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong was finally held yesterday on the consequences of Typhoon Hato. Similar to a debate held last week, the responsibilities of government officials in the wake of the catastrophe were discussed.

“We have to ascertain responsibilities!” said Ng, referring both to the executive as well as at a political level.

The Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, and the interim director of the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), Raymond Tam, remarked that the government has already assumed new responsibilities and has begun taking concrete measures to tackle the issues at hand.

Wong said, “We draft plans [for the] short, mid and long-term. And one plan for the short-term that I can say has already been concluded is to improve the services of Civil Protection through buying several [pieces of] equipment… We already concluded this,” he said.  Tam then continued, stating that the SMG would pay attention to key factors in storms; not only strong wind levels but also any rise in the tides. In such a way, SMG could guarantee that, “[In the future] we will issue [a] timely warning.”

In one of the very few new measures advanced by the Security Chief at yesterday’s session, Wong said that in addition to acquiring any the equipment that was lacking during the Hato’s rescue operations, SMG will also broadcast SMS messages to media outlets and “install megaphones in vehicles that would circulate around the city to transmit information to the population.”

Tam also said that the government is changing two executive orders that will add two more categories for typhoon severity (strong typhoon and super strong typhoon), add two new levels for storm surge warnings (from three to five), and increase the frequency of the wind analysis procedure from every hour to every 10 minutes.

Tam also reaffirmed that the new ‘typhoon approaching’ warnings will give three hours’ notice from now on.

Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário then replied to a question of lawmaker Au Kam San, saying “we will raise our electricity production by resorting to Natural Gas plants in Ka Ho. I believe we should have this system in operation during this year.”

Lawmakers Pereira Coutinho, Au Kam San and Ho Ion San, questioned the government about the responsibilities of senior officials.

Wong, the director of the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau, Eddie Kou, and the Secretary noted in response that a committee had already been created and had already presented its report, which stated that some people had violated their duties and that the appropriate disciplinary procedures had been followed.

Replying to Pereira Coutinho’s doubts about the retirement of the former director Fong Soi Kun, Kou replied that the law establishes that every civil servant “with over 30 years of service and over 55 years of age can request early retirement submitting a request more than 90 days prior to the retirement date.”

Not satisfied with the explanation, Coutinho said, “Put[ting] all the blame on the [former] director of the SMG is an unacceptable escape,” adding, “The report of CCAC (Committee Against Corruption) pointed out the problems about which I had warned before and the Secretary [for Transport and Public Works] didn’t care at the time and continues to not to care now.”

As for Ho, he noted that the current disciplinary measures that apply to Civil Servants involve their removal from their duties, with a potential suspension from salary earning for four years. The lawmaker considered these unfit. Kou replied, “the government on the policy address for 2018 had said already that it would regulate in different ways the evaluation from the Civil Servants. We are reviewing this regime to see if there is a margin to improve it.”

Questioning a different issue were the lawmakers from the Worker’s Association, Ella Lei and Leong Sun Iok, who were asking about a mechanism to be established regarding rules for the non-circulation of people during severe storms, specifically preventing them from going to work.

Leong further reminded the room that the “Labor Law does not establish anything on this matter.”

This fact was acknowledged by both secretaries, while Wong said, “rules do not force the suspension from work of private entities and we do not have a way to force them to do that.”

Rosario stated, “In fact, that’s the situation. All we can do is to recommend that people do not leave their houses, when that is possible.”

Lei remarked that such lack of rules “is a threat to the safety [of the workers]. If the public services and the schools can stop, the government should think about this for the others [private entities] too,” noting that during and in the aftermath of Hato, “many workers were forced to go to their jobs but upon arrival there was no electricity or water supply and many just stayed there seated without doing anything,” thus further urging the government to create a mechanism “to respond to these situations.”
In the end, lawmaker Ng showed dissatisfaction with the outcome of the debate, calling for more accountability of the Chief Executive (CE). “The government continues to say that the CE was there coordinating, but the feeling of the population is different. The CE should say what he really did, what instructions [were] provided and if the Public Services followed such decisions. He must justify [his actions] to society because there are many inconsistencies [in this case].”