The Housing Authority yesterday announced that average waiting time for public rental housing (PRH) now came to four and half a years, one month less than the four years and seven months as at the end of last year.
One month less is of course a very small reduction.But for the over 270,000 applicants for PRH on the waiting list, even a little bit faster is better. Being able to move into a PRH flat one month earlier is something worth celebrating .
In July 2012 when Leung Chun-ying took his office, the average waiting time for PRH was three years. Today, the waiting time as just announced is four and half a years, nearly one year and a half longer than five years ago, which sets a "new record high" in 17 years. Moreover, according to Wong Kwan, the just-retired Chairman of the Federation of Public Housing Estates, the waiting time is likely to further extend to six years in a couple of years. The situation is worrisome.
The average waiting time for PRH becomes increasingly longer. Should Leung Chun-ying be blamed for "breaking his word" and demanded to "pay back"? The answer can only be that "you can't make bricks without straw". During his tenure as CE, Leung Chun-ying has devoted his greatest effort on the housing problem. The crux of the problem that the average waiting time for PRH becomes longer instead of shorter lies in shortage of land supply. It's really not because of "the sin of being unable to fight competently".
As a matter of fact, the increasingly longer waiting time is caused by two factors. One is insufficient land supply, and the other is the increase in the number of applications. Again, to compare with that at the beginning of Leung Chun-ying's term, the number of applications for PRH has increased 44 per cent in past five years. Among the applicants there are grass-roots households unable to afford private housing due to hiking rentals, new immigrants and households living in sub-divided flats, and even fresh school graduates and university students. As supply falls short of demand, demand cannot be met even if supply remain the same .
The problem of PRH remains unsolved with the waiting time becoming longer and longer. This becomes one of the sources of growing resentment and hostile sentiment in society. An ancient poem says: "Where can thousands of shelters be found, so that all poor people under Heaven can share with smiling faces?" Once the housing problem is solved, other living problems and even the problem of young people moving up the social ladder can be handled. Otherwise, it will only labour hard to little avail.Leung Chun-ying has not been able to sleep well for the housing and PRH problems in these five years. Can Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor who will take the office on 1 July be exceptional?
To deal with the housing problem, the government unveiled the Long Term Housing Strategy at the end of 2014, which sets out main housing-building targets for 2017-2027: total supply of housing units in upcoming 10 years will be 460,000. Of the total, public housing units account for 280,000, of which PRH units will be 200,000.
At a glance of the figures, annual supply of 20,000 PRH units no doubt is worth cheering and celebrating. However, Secretary for Transport and Housing Anthony Cheung Bing-leung admitted at the end of last year that the housing-building goals were clear-cut, but the land needed was not in government's hands. In other words, annual supply of 20,000 PRH units simply remains a "target figure".
At a meeting in January, the Housing Authority also revealed that this year's goal for PRH building was 19,000 units which however might not be able to be attained in the end, as only 13,300 units could possibly be built this year. The reason is also due to shortage of land.
Right now, a plan to develop Wang Chau for building a large number of PRH units is put on the agenda, including being gazetted and posting land resumption notices. But opposition lawmakers are ready for fight. Some local villagers also insist on their objection to land resumption and clearance. As things go like this, who shall be blamed for the increasingly longer waiting time for PRH?
12 May 2017
