COC members deal with a wide range of financial matters, from review of budgets, to award of contracts, to relations between the developer (HKR), the Manager (CM) and the Owners (you and me).

Millions of dollars are involved. According to the audited accounts, the total income received by the Management Fund in 2013-14, mainly from management fees, was $169 million. This excludes renovations, which are billed separately. It also excludes internal transfers of some $19 million.

Some COC members have long considered it advisable that COC members sign a Declaration of Interest, given the duty that they have to other Owners.

For many years CM objected, stating that there was no such requirement in the Deed of Mutual Covenant (DMC). In 2011, the representatives of the Villages on the COC finally agreed to prepare a Declaration of Interest form, and encourage both COC and VOC members to sign the form on a voluntary basis. It was also decided that any COC member who wished to join a COC working group involving a major contract award would be required to sign the Declaration.

The approved form may be found here.

It has largely been left to the individual VOC chairpersons (who are all COC members) whether or not they inform VOC members of the Declaration of Interest. CM takes a hands-off attitude.

Indeed, both CM and HKR refuse to sign the Declaration of Interest. When challenged about possible conflicts of interest, HKR representatives have repeatedly said that no one has the right to prevent HKR from voting at a COC meeting.

This misses the point. A Declaration of Interest is not about depriving anyone of a vote. It is aimed at improving transparency and accountability at the COC, where many issues that impact the operation of Discovery Bay and charges levied upon Owners are discussed.

The Declaration of Interest has been been raised at a number of COC meetings since adoption, specifically at Item 3.4 on 28 March, 2012, at Item 4 on 7 November, 2012 and at Item 5.8 on 12 February, 2014.

It may be noted from the meeting on 28 March, 2012 that COC member Amy Yung sought transparency in the handling of the COC Register of Declaration of Interests, while COC member Francis Chiu raised privacy concerns.

At the meeting on 7 November, 2012, the COC Chairman confirmed that public release of the COC Register of Declaration of Interests would not contravene the Privacy Ordinance.

Nonetheless, the Register has never been incorporated in COC minutes, even when it has been presented by Powerpoint at COC meetings. Why is there such reluctance to release this information?