Hong Kong Housing Department promises to hold contractors accountable for lead-in-water scandal
Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung asks department to learn from the episode at special meeting
The Housing Department promised in a special meeting with the housing minister on Friday that it would hold its contractors accountable for the lead-in-water scandal in accordance with their contracts.
Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung asked the department to learn from the episode. He said a culture that emphasises safety, quality control and being conscious of risks should be encouraged and all management staff should work to improve communication within and with other government departments.
Cheung’s informal meeting with about 20 members of the Housing Authority, which implements the government’s public housing policies, was held days after a judge-led commission of inquiry into the scandal released its findings on Tuesday. An independent report by the commission concluded all stakeholders had collectively failed to guard against the use of non-compliant lead solder in freshwater plumbing systems.
About three dozen residents of affected public housing estates protested outside the meeting venue at the authority’s headquarters in Ho Man Tin, demanding the government hold the individuals involved accountable.
They also asked that rents and water tariffs be waived.
Authority member and lawmaker Kwok Wai-keung said after the meeting that many members were concerned about the timetable for replacing pipes and raised questions about holding contractors accountable.
He said they were told the department would pursue the issue of responsibility after the pipes were replaced and when there were improvements in water quality.
“I’ve asked if that would be too late since there isn’t even a timetable for replacing pipes,” he said. “The management said it does not have a timetable but it has promised that it will definitely pursue the relevant contractual responsibilities through legal channels.”
Another member, legal sector lawmaker Dennis Kwok, said the report found there was “no doubt” the four contractors had breached contractual and legal requirements.
“This is a problem that concerns taxpayers and public funds so the Housing Department must pursue this. The authorities have said they will figure out how they will do so through legal channels,” he said.
The Housing Department said it was analysing the report and would collate the relevant documents for the authority’s Tender Committee to decide if follow-up regulatory action was needed.
The authority’s Building Committee chairman Bernard Lim Wan-fung said architects were looking towards the establishment of a local water quality standard as soon as possible for industry members to follow.
This would help the government decide how the retesting of drinking water in all public housing estates should be conducted, if the commission’s recommendations were adopted, he said.
Lim expressed concerns over the delegation of patrol, inspection and supervision duties among architects, and recommended the department review such assignments based on the respective professional expertise of those employed.
