HK$20 billion plan to buy private property for care facilities ‘could result in collusion’, say Hong Kong lawmakers
- Legislators across spectrum slam move as waste of taxpayers money
- Financial Secretary Paul Chan dismisses concerns, accusing critics of ‘blurring line between right and wrong’
Hong Kong lawmakers on Thursday questioned the government’s plan to spend HK$20 billion (US$2.55 billion) buying private properties to convert into care facilities, saying the move could result in collusion or benefit only greedy flat owners.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po dismissed such concerns during a two-hour meeting in the legislature to answer questions about his latest budget blueprint, unveiled on Wednesday. He accused his critics of “blurring the line between right and wrong”.
In the plan, HK$150 billion was earmarked to offer immediate relief to the city’s overstretched health care and welfare services while helping businesses survive amid a slack economy.
Legislators across the board had reservations about the initiative to allocate HK$20 billion for the purchase of 60 commercial properties that would be used to set up more than 130 centres providing day care services for children and the elderly.
NeoDemocrat lawmaker Gary Fan Kwok-wai said it would cost up to HK$300 million in taxpayers’ money for each property. He added the buildings were likely to be underused shopping centres.
“The government has sold shopping malls to Link Reit before, which failed to provide sufficient welfare services for the public,” he said. “And now the government is using a sky-high price to purchase the malls from the property investors again. What is this if not collusion?”
Fan was referring to the real estate investment trust that took over shopping centres and wet markets from the Housing Authority in 2005. Link Reit, a listed company, was often accused of giving small tenants a hard time by raising rents after acquisition.