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 the 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 and set up counters, start distributing subsidies or relief supplies. This makes the affected residents queue up at multiple counters,” she said, addressing complaints from affected residents on the chaos and long queues they had to endure in seeking assistance.
While expressing gratitude to the NGOs, Mak urged them to liaise with the Social Welfare Department to improve coordination.
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“The best approach is for all organisations to contact the Social Welfare Department and keep the residents informed about the available subsidies, allowing the department staff to assist residents with the applications all at once, without having to queue multiple times,” she said.
Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing also appealed to members of the public to halt donations for now to avoid wastage given resources were now sufficient.
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He said the government would set up a manned central supply station in the 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.