The government-appointed Central District Community Service Consultative Council held its regular monthly meeting yesterday, where councillors raised concerns about fire safety in residential buildings.
The first part of the meeting was open to the media, during which committee members raised various issues in their speeches. The meeting then proceeded behind closed doors. It included Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) Students Comprehensive Development Division Chief Lei Im Kei and Bairro do Hipódromo Activities Centre Chief Loi Mei Tim who introduced the bureau’s “Dynamic School Programme”.
The two-and-a-half hour meeting was held at the Patane Activity Centre on Avenida de Demétrio Cinatti (爹美刁施拿地大馬路).
In the first part of the meeting, councillors Lam Wai Hou and Leong Kim Kio voiced concern over fire safety in residential buildings.
Lam said that last week’s inferno in Hong Kong’s Tai Po District has triggered serious concern from all sectors in Macau. Lam suggested that with over 5,000 ageing buildings in Macau that are over 30 years old – many of which are located in the city centre – the authorities should enhance inspections of fire safety facilities in older buildings and regularly organise community fire drills to improve residents’ emergency response and evacuation efficiency.
Leong also said that the government should promote fire prevention knowledge and provide evacuation advice through multiple online and offline channels. Leong also proposed that building management staff should register residents with special rescue needs to facilitate assistance during emergencies.
In the post-meeting press briefing, the council’s deputy convenor Chang Ka Wa cited a DSEDJ statement, which was released to the councillors during meeting, as saying that the bureau has launched its “Dynamic School Programme” aimed at promoting the physical and mental health of students. Chang also said that the programme includes six key measures such as ensuring that students engage, on average, in 40 minutes of physical activity per day, creating physical fitness achievement tasks, establishing individual physical fitness reports, funding schools to purchase sports equipment and intelligent sports systems, supporting inter-school competitions, and complementing these with health education and teacher training.
According to fellow councillor Yp Weng Keong, for the 2025/26 academic year, the bureau’s goal is to extend the programme to 65 schools, fund over 1,400 facility enhancements, and increase participation in academic sporting events to over 10,000 students, with the objective of fostering a sustainable culture of physical activity on campus.
Central District Community Service Consultative Council Deputy Convenor Chang Ka Wa (right) and fellow councillor Yp Weng Keong pose during yesterday’s press briefing after the government-appointed council’s closed-door meeting at the Patane Activity Centre on Avenida de Demétrio Cinatti. – Photo: Armindo Neves
