A FREE ECONOMY and fair competition, these are concepts which have long been close to the hearts of most people in Hong Kong. Indeed, lawmakers, especially those from the Democratic Party, have spent years pushing for legislation to ensure open competition, arguing this would bring down prices and improve the quality of services.
But it is a different story when it comes to social welfare, a service industry which costs the Government more than $6.4 billion each year.
Legislators, social workers and academics argue that introducing competition in this area would not cut costs and, instead, would adversely affect the quality of services, including those provided to the most vulnerable in society such as children, the elderly and the disabled.
This contradiction is why Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the Director of Social Welfare, looked so agitated and frustrated last week. The Government is now trying to open to the private sector the market for residential-care services to the elderly but is facing strong opposition. A Legco panel even passed a resolution last week opposing the scheme.
'I came from the Finance Bureau, and we believe in the free economy. That's why some people say I am not suitable to be the Director of Social Welfare,' Ms Lam joked.
At present, most social services are delivered by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) through the provision of subsidies. There is almost no competition among these groups, and the price paid by the Government is fixed.
