Hong Kong ombudsman investigation finds ‘serious’ delays in repair of public outdoor recreational venues
An investigation by Hong Kong’s ombudsman has revealed “serious” delays in the repair of outdoor recreational venues managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, finding that contractors have failed to finish half of the projects on time between 2018 and 2022.
The Office of the Ombudsman attributed the hold-ups to a lack of monitoring of the contractors and urged the department to improve efficiency and avoid awarding projects to just one service provider.
“The office’s investigation found that some frontline staff [from the department] had failed to discover during day-to-day inspections some prolonged or serious damage in facilities and report it in a timely manner,” Ombudsman Winnie Chiu Wai-yin said on Thursday.
According to the investigation, the department took on average two-and-a-half to three months to finish repairs for the outdoor facilities in question between 2017 and 2021, much longer than the time limit of 14 to 60 days.
About a quarter to a half of repairs were postponed each year between 2018 and 2022.
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The ombudsman also found that 300 to 400 repair works were put on hold each year, with some projects postponed for six months, while the venues remained open to public use.
The arbiter has asked authorities to compile a watch list for such cases and devise a follow-up system to regularly inspect the damage for better risk control, and help prevent omissions and delays.
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The office also called on the department to devise practice guides which would outline a list of routine inspections to help frontline staff assess damage and the need to implement temporary safety measures.
The department should also improve staff training to enhance their safety awareness and ensure they understood guidelines, it said.
