Hong Kong minister urges NGOs to work more closely with government over fire aid
Secretary Alice Mak also rejects claims that care teams had asked police to disperse volunteers and rumours members were rude to residents
Hong Kong’s home affairs minister has called on NGOs to better coordinate with the government on their support for residents displaced in the city’s deadliest fire in decades following reported confusion on the ground.
Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen on Saturday also rejected accusations that government-backed care teams had called police to disperse volunteers manning makeshift stations offering supplies to affected residents near the scene of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.
“Many charitable organisations and NGOs want to offer help immediately. They rush to the temporary shelters, set up counters and start distributing subsidies or relief supplies. This makes affected residents queue up at multiple counters,” she said, addressing complaints about chaos and long queues people had to endure while seeking assistance.
While expressing gratitude to the NGOs, Mak urged them to liaise with the Social Welfare Department to improve coordination.
“The best approach is for all organisations to contact the Social Welfare Department and keep residents informed about available subsidies, allowing department staff to assist with applications all at once, without residents having to queue multiple times,” she said.
Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing also appealed to the public to pause donations of supplies for now to avoid wastage given resources were currently sufficient.
He said the government would set up a manned central supply station at Tai Po Community Centre to manage the collected resources and allocate them.
Donors should first register their information and the supplies they have through WhatsApp number 9213 2388, he said.