6 Jan 2010
Members' Motions 'Promoting the sports development in Hong Kong’
Deputy President, in the East Asian Games which was completed not long ago, Hong Kong players have achieved outstanding performance by winning 26 gold medals. Hong Kong people are particularly excited about the performance and achievement of our soccer team, and this demonstrates the strong sense of belonging and pride shared by members of the public when the Hong Kong team performs well in large-scale international competitions.
Whenever Hong Kong players have outstanding performance and won top honours in the international arena, we will join in one accord to openly call on the Government to deploy more resources so as to better develop local sports. Similar requests were made in 1997 when our "Windsurfing Queen" LEE Lai-shan won the first-ever Olympic gold medal for Hong Kong, and today again when our soccer team became the Champion in the East Asian Games. It can be seen that the resources deployed by the Government to promote sports are inadequate, and the problem does not emerge only today. Even elite athletes selected for focused training have time and again expressed in public their dissatisfaction.
While one of the important objectives of my proposing today's amendment is to address the issue of insufficient resource input in sports by the Government, the other is to address the issue of whether the funding for sports programmes is fair, just and reasonable, and whether public money has been used properly and effectively. The Director of Audit released Report No. 53 at the end of last year, the first chapter of which is about "Administration of the Sports Subvention Scheme". It discloses the deficiencies of different national sports associations (NSAs) in the deployment of resources allocated, corporate governance, accounting and compliance with rules and regulations, as well as the Government's inadequate monitoring. These are issues of wide public concern and the Government should therefore tackle them in a practicable manner. Rectifying the situation is the only approach that the Government should take that will not let members of the public and the athletes down.
Deputy President, concerning the Director of Audit's report, as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is still preparing the relevant report, so in the following speech, I will only substantiate the concerns highlighted in my amendment with points from the Director of Audit's report and the concerns raised during the PAC public hearings.
In recent years, there have been criticisms from the sports sector that the criteria of funding for the NSAs lacks transparency, and it is worried that funding will be provided automatically to the subvented organizations year on year, thereby jeopardizing the development of new sports programmes and new NSAs. Furthermore, the Director of Audit's report also pointed out that while the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has adopted two different approaches in determining the funding amount, it failed to explain specifically why different approaches have been adopted to determine the funding amount for various sports programmes. These are worthy of consideration by the authorities with a view to ensuring that funding applications for sports programmes organized by different NSAs would be approved equally in a fair and just manner.
The Director of Audit's report also reveals the NSAs' lack of an awareness of compliance with rules and regulations, hence resulting in deficient internal control. For example, the budget submitted by the LCSD for the new financial year has failed to list the actual expenditure of the same programme for the preceding year, which has therefore become an unspent expenditure. And yet, funding was again provided to the LCSD.
Another example is the massive delay in the submission of quarterly and assessment reports by some NSAs over an extended period of time. Flaws and non-compliances were also found in the reports. What is more, unspent subvention of cancelled sports programmes was not reported, leaving the money in the pockets of the NSAs concerned. Furthermore, the NSAs did not submit their annual accounts on time. While some have not complied with the required procurement procedures, some failed to properly manage their fixed assets, not to mention cases of expenditure claims ineligible for subvention, as well as expenditures exceeding the spending limits and omissions in reporting income. Such a chaotic and messy situation is really disappointing and should be rectified.
Being the department responsible for controlling subvention, I think that the LCSD should better perform its role as a controller. Apart from enhancing the transparency of the funding policy and the funding approval process, it should also assist various NSAs in enhancing their discipline in corporate governance, accounting and compliance with rules and regulations, so as to ensure that the resources allocated to them are utilized in an appropriate and effective manner.
Deputy President, I suggest that in case the same NSA applies again to the LCSD for subvention for a similar programme, even though the expenditure and income accounts for the previous programme have yet to be finalized, it should be required to provide a reasonable estimate to serve as reference for the authorities before the funding amounts are determined. Furthermore, instead of allowing the NSAs to identify or develop computer software to process financial accounting information on their own, the LCSD should assume the co-ordinating role in identifying or developing suitable software for the application of the NSAs. Not only is this cost-effective, but would also facilitate the LCSD to carry out on-site inspections of various NSAs in the future. In other words, we can kill two birds with one stone.
Deputy President, as the Government has laid down three objectives for the development of local sports, namely promoting sports for all, cultivating elite athletes and organizing large-scale sports events, it should examine various NSAs' funding applications for the new financial year to see if their performance in the preceding year was up to the standard. There must be carrots and sticks to show that resources are properly and effectively allocated, through which the transparency of the funding policy and the funding approval process can be enhanced.
On the other hand, the Government should also promote in the schools the importance of sports, so that students will understand that participation in any kind of sports is good for their health and fun. There is no need for every student to become an athlete. What is more important is that they should learn the spirit of sportsmanship, that is, "fair play and strive for excellence", be able "to get back on one's feet" and "never give up".
I noted that as advised by the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Mrs Betty FUNG in a public hearing, a working group would be formed within this month to comprehensively review the Sports Subvention Scheme. I hope that the working group concerned will consider my abovementioned views.
I support the original motion and amendment moved by Mr IP Kwok-him and Mr LEE Wing-tat respectively. As for the amendment moved by Miss Tanya CHAN, it proposes to review the structure and management mechanism of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF & OC) and various NSAs, so as to further improve the governance standard of these organizations. According to a paper previously submitted by the Home Affairs Bureau, the SF & OC is responsible for the co-ordination of local sports organizations and the development of sports in Hong Kong, whereas the NSAs are responsible for governing sports groups in their respective sports. It is only reasonable that Miss Tanya CHAN proposes a review to enhance the governance of those organizations, which I believe would be welcomed by the Government and members of the public.
Nonetheless, I have reservation about Miss CHAN's amendment in respect of the proposed deletion of the words "actively consider bidding to host the 18th Asian Games in 2019" from the original motion. I think that the original motion merely proposes to "actively consider bidding to host the 18th Asian Games in 2019", rather than calling on the Legislative Council to support the hosting of the Asian Games at this point in time. We should give the Government and the sports sector some margin to make careful consideration, with a view to providing more detailed information and analysis before a decision is made, instead of flatly rejecting it at this stage.
While I support Miss CHAN's proposal on a review, I do not agree with the deletion of the part that is intended for our consideration. Therefore, I would abstain from voting on her amendment. In the same vein, I will withdraw my amendment if her amendment is passed.
Deputy President, I so submit.
