For Sai Kung District Council Meeting on 8 March 2016 SKDC(M) Paper No. 20/16 Information Paper Brief Introduction on the Work of the Sai Kung District Office This paper aims at providing a brief introduction to the new term of the Sai Kung District Council (SKDC) on the main areas of work of the Sai Kung District Office (SKDO) in facilitating district administration. (I) Coordinating the District Work of Government Departments 2. Good district administration relies on government departments performing their respective roles. For district affairs that involve inter-departmental purview and functions, close discussion and cooperation among a number of departments are often required. Regarding various issues that call for inter-departmental cooperation, the SKDO has been serving as a bridge between departments, striving to coordinate various departments in their work and service within Sai Kung. Regular and timely joint operations are also coordinated to combat illegally parked bicycles, illegal recycling activities on the street, illegally placed transit skips, etc. 3. In 2016-17, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) will implement the District-led Actions Scheme in all 18 districts to address district issues based on the local situation. Under the supervision of the District Officer, the District Management Committees (DMC) will lead departments to solve local problems that require more attention. After taking into account the actual needs of the district as well as the opinions collected from the SKDC, the SKDO will decide on the specific details and the implementation arrangements of the Scheme and coordinate with the relevant departments. SKDC Members are welcomed to provide comments on the direction of the Scheme. (II) Liaising with the Community and Encouraging Community Involvement 4. The SKDO has been working closely with the three area committees of Sai Kung, namely the Tseung Kwan O South Area Committee, the Tseung Kwan O North Area Committee and the Sai Kung Area Committee. Members are consulted through regular meetings on various local issues. A series of community activities were also co-organized with a view to enhance the cohesiveness and sense of belonging of residents. These include: Cantonese opera for the elderly, gold songs concert and parent-child carnival by the Tseung Kwan O South Area Committee; Cantonese opera for celebrating the National Day, Christmas ball and colouring / 1 slogan competition by the Tseung Kwan O North Area Committee; visiting the elderly and clean-up day at country parks under "Hong Kong: Our Home" by the Sai Kung Area Committee. The purposes of these activities are to provide residents with a variety of cultural and entertainment programmes as well as community involvement activities. The new term of the area committees (2016-18) will commence in April 2016 and will last for two years. 5. The SKDO will continue to maintain close connection with local organizations, voluntary groups, kai fong associations, owners' corporations, mutual aid committees, etc. and listen to their views regarding the policy implementation at local level and by the Government. At the same time, the SKDO will spare no effort in assisting various district committees in liaising with the community and in community building work. These committees include the Sai Kung District Fight Crime Committee, the Sai Kung District Fire Safety Committee, the Sai Kung District Youth Programme Committee and the Sai Kung District Civic Education Promotion Committee. We will continue to co-organize activities with these organizations. Recent activities include: Sai Kung District Fight Crime Sea-Safety Guarding Angels Scheme Committee Law education on the usage of web for teenagers Smart Elderly Deception Prevention “Pure Rural” Promotion Programme Sai Kung District Youth Sai Kung Outstanding Youth Programme Programme Committee New Youth Star Contest Arts Creation and Exhibition for Youths in Sai Kung Ethnic Minorities Volunteer Service Sai Kung District Fire Safety Fire drill at buildings and schools Committee Promoting fire safety at home Promoting fire safety during Chung Yeung and Ching Ming Festivals Visit to the Chek Lap Kok Fire Station Sai Kung District Civic Speech contest on moral education Education Promotion Basic Law Orienteering Fun Day Committee National Day Flag-raising Ceremony and Civic Education Variety Show Visit to the Anti-Japanese War monuments in Sai Kung 2 (III) Improving Local Facilities and the Environment District Minor Works 6. The Works Section of the SKDO will continue to assist the District Facilities Management Committee under the SKDC in implementing various district minor works in order to improve local facilities and the environment. Examples of district minor works include: the provision of leisure facilities at Ap Tsai Shan of Tseung Kwan O, repair works at the hiking trail on Sharp Island of Sai Kung, etc. The district minor works projects completed during the previous term of the SKDC (2012-15) are listed in Enclosure I. Rural Public Works 7. The rural area of Sai Kung covers an extensive area with as many as 91 villages. Through rural public works projects, the SKDO improves the infrastructure and living environment of the villages. Projects implemented to improve the ancillary facilities for villagers include: reconstruction of the footbridge at Sha Kok Mei, repair works at Ha Yeung Road of Clear Water Bay, etc. The 21 rural public works projects completed between 2013 and 2015 are listed in Enclosure II. (IV) Youth Development 8. Apart from co-organizing the above-mentioned Outstanding Youth Programme and various youth development activities with the Sai Kung District Youth Programme Committee, the SKDO set up the Sai Kung Young Ambassador Scheme in August 2014. Through a variety of activities (including seminars, visits, participation and service), young people can deepen their understanding regarding the situation in the community, district administration, the operation of the District Council and the Government, and even the actual conditions of our country. 9. In the previous year, the SKDO organized various training activities under the Young Ambassador Scheme. These include exchange tour to Guangzhou and Xining of Qinghai (including visit to the Atomic City, talks on the culture and religion of the ethnic minorities, meeting with Mainland youths from the ethnic minorities); one-day learning tour to Qianhai of Shenzhen (including visit to DJI Technology Company Limited (on unmanned aircraft systems), learning about the new Qianhai Development Zone and how the State provides support to young people involved in the creative industries); workshop hosted by experienced media worker to learn more about the media and enhance their understanding about new media; various volunteer service opportunities (including collecting old books for 3 poor students in Guizhou and Guangxi mountain area, visiting the elderly, visiting government departments and organizations, participating in SKDC activities such as the Spring Reception and National Day activities, as well as serving as volunteers and masters of ceremony of local activities). Besides these, the Young Ambassadors had also participated in the Sai Kung Dragon Boat Race as a team and assisted in organizing local activities such as music contest, youth Cantonese Opera, etc. to have their teamwork and coordinating skills trained up. 10. The Young Ambassadors are young people aged between 14 and 25 years old who live, study or work in the district. As at January 2016, the number of Young Ambassadors has almost reached 170. The SKDO will continue to work with various organizations and organize learning tours to other places, leadership training camps, volunteer services, etc. though this Scheme to provide young people in the district with meaningful extracurricular activities and training opportunities. (V) Building Management 11. From time to time, the SKDO provides assistance to the 143 owners' corporations, 28 owner's committees and 69 mutual aid committees in Sai Kung District. With the assistance from the SKDO, one of the buildings at Yee Ming Estate with residents moving in recently had set up a mutual aid committee. The SKDO will continue to provide assistance to the remaining two buildings of Yee Ming Estate to set up mutual aid committees within this year. 12. In the past few years, the SKDO had organized a number of talks on building management covering a variety of topics including the maintenance of fire service equipment, the improvement in building facilities to increase energy efficiency, mediation skill, bid-rigging and bribing problems that may be encountered when conducting large-scale maintenance work, important things to note when handling asbestos, etc. At the same time, the SKDO had invited members of the corporations to participate in the LEAD Programme for Members of Management Committee of Owners to deepen their knowledge in building management. The SKDO will continue to provide support to the owners and residents to enhance their communication with each other and to solve building management, maintenance and other problems in accordance with the relevant ordinances. 13. In order to further the understanding of the public on building management, the SKDO set up the Sai Kung District Building Management Promotion Committee early this year to provide a platform for the relevant parties in the district to share their experience in management and maintenance as well as to hold publicity and educational activities featuring