Consultative Committee on Municipal Affairs visits multiple associations to widely collect public opinions for optimisation of municipal development

MACAU, May 21 - To further listen to and collect opinions from associations and the different industrial sectors, Hoi Lok Man and Kou Ngon Fong, the Chairwoman and Vice Chairman of the Consultative Committee on Municipal Affairs, led the four focus groups under the Committee in visits to multiple associations and industry organisations in Macao in May this year and eight opinion exchange sessions were held. The visits and exchange sessions focused on four livelihood issues, i.e. the optimisation of the resource centres managed by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM), development of markets, city appearance and environmental hygiene, and planning of leisure space. They were carried out with the aim to widely collect the actual opinions and suggestions from the public and professional organisations. Enthusiastic exchanges were conducted during these visits and sessions, and the opinions collected were specific and practical. The visits and sessions achieved their expected results.

During Hoi Lok Man’s introduction to the functions of the Consultative Committee on Municipal Affairs, she stated that in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, the Committee’s main function and duty are to collect opinions on municipal affairs from the different sectors of the society and provide consulting advice to IAM. To widely listen to and collect the opinions of different groups, the Committee has always launched efforts to collect opinions through different channels, so as to facilitate municipal policies that are closer to the public’s expectations and in fulfilment of actual needs.

In terms of the improvement of city appearance and environmental hygiene, the environmental greening and hygiene focus groups visited the Macao Chamber of Commerce and The United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macao to especially collect the sector’s opinions on the arrangements of commercial garbage handling, hygiene and cleanliness of streets, greening and maintenance of green resources and measures on beautification of the community.

As for the planning of facilities and service content of community resource centres, the integrated service, cultural and education focus group and the environmental greening focus group visited The Chinese Educators’ Association of Macau and União Geral das Associações dos Moradores de Macau to collect the opinions of teaching staff and the public about their needs regarding the hardware facilities and the software and ancillary facilities of the centres, and the cultural, recreational and popular science activities and channels of civic education from the perspective of professional educators and public service.

Regarding the direction of future development of markets, the food and hygiene focus group visited Macao Federation of Trade Unions and Associação de Auxílio Mútuo de Vendilhões de Macau to exchange opinions and learn about the needs of the stall vendors and the challenges they face during operation. Meanwhile, the focus group also held meetings with Macao Youth Federation, Macao New Chinese Youth Association and General Association of Chinese Students of Macau to discuss the younger generation’s views on the products sold in markets and the innovative model of providing diverse services in markets, in hopes to bring vitality to traditional markets.

With respect to the urban construction and planning of leisure spaces, the urban construction focus group and the Macao Construction Industry Development Concern Group carried out professional exchange. The focus group also visited The Women’s General Association of Macau to discuss issues like the reasonable layout, safety of facilities, barrier-free access and parent-child friendly installations of public spaces from the perspective of urban planning professionals and family users. They exchanged opinions about the issues in detail to jointly promote the construction of an inclusive community.

Hoi Lok Man thanked the representatives from the associations and professional sectors for their enthusiastic participation and provision of valuable opinions. The opinions collected during this series of visits are in depth and cover a wide range of topics. The Consultative Committee on Municipal Affairs will analyse these opinions systematically and submit advice to IAM to facilitate the enhancement of “more efficient, more meticulous and more professional” municipal service, so as to jointly create a safer, cleaner and more comfortable urban living environment.