Gov’t department ridiculed for using Microsoft Paint to present pictures during district council meeting

Sham Shui Po district councilor Kalvin Ho asked officials with the Water Supplies Department, who were delivering a presentation about the preservation of the Bishop Hill reservoir, if they could “make a PowerPoint next time.” Photo: Facebook/民協深水埗團隊
Sham Shui Po district councilor Kalvin Ho asked officials with the Water Supplies Department, who were delivering a presentation about the preservation of the Bishop Hill reservoir, if they could “make a PowerPoint next time.” Photo: Facebook/民協深水埗團隊

Representatives of the city’s Water Supplies Department were ridiculed during a Tuesday district council meeting for using Microsoft Paint to open a series of pictures.

Addressing members of the Sham Shui Po district council, one speaker displayed images with Microsoft Paint to show the department’s work in rehabilitate the Bishop Hill reservoir, a century-old Roman-style structure discovered last December.

Kalvin Ho, a lawmaker and a councilor in the district, pointed out the department’s choice of the primitive software.

“Do me a favor. Next time don’t use Microsoft Paint, make a PowerPoint,” he said, waving his hands in exasperation and asking that if the team is capable of producing something “higher quality.”

A senior engineer with the Water Supplies Department, Victor Lam, apologized and said he only opened the pictures with Microsoft Paint because he was “not familiar” with “this computer.”

Read more: Hong Kong century-old reservoir reimagined with 3D renderings and virtual reality

The colonial-era reservoir was put in the spotlight late last year when authorities, unaware of its cultural significance, slated the reservoir for demolition.

Amid public outcry, the dismantling was halted, and the Water Supplies Department said it would undertake a three-month effort to strengthen and tidy up the structure, with an aim of opening up the heritage site for public viewing.



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