Bastien Gonzalez, a leading nail expert, has just organized a workshop on nail care and treatment at the Intercontinental Da Nang Sun Peninsula resort.

On this occasion, Gonzalez trained Vietnamese & foreign clients exclusive treatments for their feet, nails and hands.

Three Vietnamese celebrities Huyen Ny, Bui Thi Thanh Nhan and Phan Thi Thanh Nga attended also the event.

Bastien Gonzalez is internationally well-known artisan and becomes the world’s most nail artisan. He designed and launched many exclusive treatments for the feet, nails and hands, focusing on beauty and healthcare methods.

The changing lives of women in Vietnam

According to TNS’s research, while there are more opportunities available for women today than in the past, this also leads to additional stress and responsibilities.

Women are now much more able to prove their abilities and succeed in the workplace, especially in urban areas, however traditional family and household responsibilities still remain. This means busier lives and better time management are required to maintain their personal and professional lives.

Women today are attempting to balance both tradition and modernity, while enjoying the best of both.

In today’s Vietnam, women feel more able to experiment and define themselves how they want as norms evolve and change.

Increasingly, women are engaging with a range of activities previously considered uncommon. For example going to beer clubs with friends or colleagues, where old stigmas attached to drinking have all been removed. In addition, women today are much more likely to be meeting up with friends at events, traveling for work and dating more casually than in previous generations.

Today’s woman feels more empowered to express herself in thought and action. However, more traditional values around caring for a family and respecting elders continue to be upheld and remain a core part of their identity.

At the same time as maintaining social traditions, women still face pressure to be up to date and informed.

With much greater access to information than in the past via new media and the Internet, as well as through the ever-present influence of friends and relatives, women are expected to use this information in their important role as nurturers.

For example, as the Vietnamese market becomes increasingly flooded with new products, there is growing awareness of health and safety threats in food and other household items. Being well informed is an important part of fulfilling a woman’s responsibilities, and so the modern Vietnamese woman is expected to make smart decisions for herself and her loved ones.

As the main food shoppers, for women with families, balancing the budget is also important. However as the economy changes, increasingly they are seeing less and less in their baskets for their money. It therefore follows that it is women who are becoming more and more discerning in terms of the brand value choices they make every day.

The role of digital media and the way it has shaped women’s behavior in Vietnam are significant. With increasing engagement online, searches for information about worldwide trends, products and services are commonplace, as is the need to connect socially and express themselves via social media.

The rapid growth in smartphone ownership, with 72 percent of urban women currently owning smartphones, has been an influential factor in the evolution of modern Vietnamese women, keeping them up to date and connected.

Socializing online now takes up more time for young women than socializing in real life. With the growing popularity of social networking, women can now express themselves more easily in public forums, often becoming a cathartic channel to share deeper emotions, challenges and pressures, as well as offering empathy and support to others.

As women become increasingly busy and time poor, convenience and efficiency become more important.

Women value products and services which allow them to complete their daily tasks quickly and effectively, without feeling they are taking shortcuts or neglecting their role.

Compared to the past, women are now more open and receptive to options which free up their time to focus on more important things, including spending quality time with the family or pursuing personal hobbies.

Through this qualitative research, TNS has observed differences throughout the various life stages of Vietnamese women.

For young women aged 18-22, there is a trend towards exploration and a yearning for freedom and self-expression.

For women who are considered young adults (23-30), it is a time for proving themselves in careers and establishing a family. Along with opportunities granted to them in the professional realm, there is also a desire to consolidate their personal image as well as engaging socially with their peers.

Women aged 31 to 45 are focused more on family responsibilities (often combined with work) and experience the most pressure balancing home and work life. This is where the stress of balancing tradition and modernity reaches its peak.

Finally, as Vietnamese women progress beyond age 46 one can see a general trend towards a more health-conscious attitude and a bigger focus on self-actualization, with greater clarity about themselves, their needs and how to express them.

Young women are particularly important in this time of transition, as it is them who change trends and become pioneers in evolving the role of women.

TNS said it expects the modern Vietnamese women to continue to evolve, with greater exposure to information and the outside world, while core Vietnamese values and traditions will also continue to remain relevant and important to their identity.

“The younger generation is important to watch as ‘future shapers’, building on the changes and new opportunities provided by previous generations, but with greater freedom than in the past to forge their own identities,” the research company said.

Improving education-training key to labour productivity: Deputy PM

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam pushed for improving the quality of education and training in order to raise productivity while chairing a seminar in Hanoi on March 7 promoting vocational training amid the changing labour landscape.

Over the past two years, Vietnam has carried out comprehensive reform of the education-training system, of which vocational training is an important aspect, he said.

Statistics showed that among 53 percent of the trained workforce, only 20 percent underwent training for three months or longer. Meanwhile, university graduates fall short of employers’ expectations.

He proposed continuing to study labour incentives, attracting investment in education and vocational training, and improving ties between employers and trainers.

Given the recent birth of the ASEAN Community and Vietnam’s entry into new-generation free trade agreements, the country must overcome manpower challenges amid widespread globalisation and integration, he said.

By 2030, the world needs an additional 50 percent of energy, 40 percent of water and 35 percent of food, heard the seminar. Nearly two thirds of the world population is above 65 and more people are moving to cities.

Reports delivered at the event showed that globalisation, new technologies and longer working times are changing the global labour landscape, which requires each country to devise flexible vocational training development strategies.

Participants also discussed how Vietnam could grasp chances to develop until 2020 and beyond.

Deputy Prime Minister Dam and Lord David Puttnam, special envoy of the UK Prime Minister in charge of trade and culture in Vietnam , co-chaired the event, which was hosted by the Embassy of the UK and Northern Ireland and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Within the framework of the International Skills Partnership, the British Council will host a seminar on March 8 and 9 to establish training quality assurance mechanisms and tools up to UK standards.-

Over 1 million blood units to be collected in 2016

The Vietnam Red Cross Society yesterday said that this year, the National Steering Committee on Voluntary Blood Donation strives to encourage people to donate blood to meet expectation of 1,282,000 blood units.

To get the amount of blood donation, the society must encourage 1.5 percent of the whole country’s population to donate their blood.

Additionally, the charity treatment program plans to provide treatment and healthcare consultation to at least 1.3 million people in the year starting from October 15 to November 15 on occasion of the National Red Cross Society’s 70th establishment anniversary.

According to the Committee, last year, the country collected more than 1,156,600 blood units, an increase of 10 percent compared to 2014. Of the amount, 97 percent was collected from volunteers.

Blood donation networks have formed and blood donation clubs have been established so far with more than 114,000 volunteers across the country.

Metabolic diseases silently affect people’s health

Though metabolic diseases do not spread like infectious ones, they are as dangerous as other; accordingly metabolic diseases and non-communicable diseases are included in the National healthcare program like diabetes, high blood pressure, and blood lipid.

One of the most current popular diseases is disorders of lipid metabolism, said Dr. Phan Nguyen Thanh Binh from the Ho Chi Minh City Nutrition Center. Through a medical investigation, up to 77.8 percent obese people have lipid metabolism disorders and 35.6 percent people suffer disorders of carbohydrate metabolism.

According to Vietnam Heart Association Prof. Pham Gia Khai, researches showed that the rate of those with high level of cholesterol in blood will be two or three time higher than others without it. High level of cholesterol in blood is also the causes of high blood pressure, strokes,  fat in liver, gallstones, diabetes and obesity.

Prof. Khai said that one of every 2 town-dwellers and 2 of every 3 senior people have high cholesterol. Medical experts fretted also about the above-mentioned proportion because high level of cholesterol in blood leads to many other diseases threatening one’s life, especially those who have high blood cholesterol will be able to get coronary heart disease, also called coronary artery disease.

As per the National Nutrition Center’s initial statistic, around 26 percent of people in the age of 25 to 74 have disorders of lipid metabolism.  In big cities including Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, the number of people with high blood lipid is 44 percent-45 percent.

Along with this disease, the number of people with high blood pressure also hikes. Dr. Nguyen Huy Thang from the Vietnam Stroke Association said that if people do not tightly control blood pressure at normal level, they will have stroke because high blood pressure is a major cause of strokes.

Annually, more than 200,000 Vietnamese people get strokes and nearly 11,000 have died of the disease and the rest has suffered physically disability. Even children have high blood pressure, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Nutrition Center’s survey.

As per the survey, the proportion of students of all grades have high blood pressure in 2014 was 15.4 percent; worse, 13.4 percent of primary students got. Dr. Do Thi Ngoc Diep, director of the HCMC Nutrition Center fretted over the number of children with high blood pressure because it showed a risk of diseases which affect their future studies, intelligence and labor capability.

At a meeting of treatment mission in 2015 held lately, Head of the Health Ministry’s Medical Examination and Treatment Department Luong Ngoc Khue, said during past 3 years, the number of people in HCMC with diabetes increased threefold or nearly one million people having diabetes, accounting for 9 percent of the whole city population.

Within 2 years, Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital in HCMC’s district 5 has received nearly 1,000 cases of diabetes per year. Most of people did not suppose to have diabetes until their blood tests showed. Some people even have suffered diabetes complications such as eye problem.

As per the Medical Examination and Treatment Department’s statistics, the rate of diabetes people in urban was 2.5 percent, 4 percent, and 8 percent in 1990, in 2001 and 2015 respectively. Worse, over 65 percent of them did not know to have the disease.

Medical experts said that the unbalanced lifestyle, stress and polluted environment are major factors to cause metabolism disorders.

HCM City police colonel admits to ineffective fight against corruption

Colonel Phan Anh Minh, Director of HCM City Police Department candidly admitted to limited outcomes of the city's fight against corruption despite the apparent obviously increase in the problem.

At a recent municipal meeting on the issue, Colonel Minh said that many corruption cases were brought to light quite late, offering the possibility for violators to hide their assets.

"Most of corruption cases are often related to officials who are party members. However, under the Politburo's Instruction 15, police are not allowed to run investigations over periods which include surveillance of party members. So, corruption uncovered by the municipal police is usually through the inspection of other cases,” he noted.

According to Minh, foreign trade is seen as posing the most latent risk for corruption with half of the cases found to have involved customs officers.

The General Customs Department said that all officials of the department were made to take an anti-corruption pledge, but early this year, a customs official in HCM City was arrested for taking bribes of nearly VND1 billion.

Some days later, a customs official at Tan Son Nhat International Airport was found involved in a smuggling ring that had imported 844 Iphones and Ipads.

The colonel also raised his serious doubt on the report of the Government Inspectorate that between 2007 and 2014, only 20 cases had been detected through inaccurate asset enumeration out the 5.6 million officials made to submit a statement.

By late December 2015, Deputy Chief Inspector of HCM City Nguyen Thi Ngoc Nga had made the rather optimistic claim that no corruption cases had been uncovered in the city in the first nine months of the year.

VND1.4 trillion proposed for anti-flood vehicles in HCM City

The HCM City Anti-Flood Steering Centre has been seeking approval from the people's committee to spend VND1.4 trillion (USD65 million) on a project to buy water pumping vehicles for dealing with flooding.

Of the sum, VND1.2 trillion will be used to buy 63 60 cubic square-metre per minute vehicles which could help clear flooded streets after heavy rain. Meanwhile, the remainder of the sum will be for the construction of a parking lot for these vehicles and a management office.

The vehicles can help to reduce the water level at flooding spots to 8cm.

Around 30 local streets need this kind of vehicle, mostly in Tan Binh, Binh Thanh and Go Vap districts, the centre claimed. The water will be pumped into canals which flow into the Saigon River.

HCM City is calling for raising VND15.9 trillion (USD709.8 million) from private investors for anti-flood works at a recent working session of the HCM City Steering Centre of the Urban Flood Control Programme.

The city plans to carry out a slew of works to prevent flooding, including drainage networks, tide control drains, underground water storage reservoirs, and other improvements, by 2020.

Easing investor procedures must be a top priority

Unsettled incompatibility between the provisions of the Investment Law and other regulations continues to impede investors in the legal setup stage.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)’s Working Group on implementing the 2014 Law on Enterprises and Law on Investment, a consensus has been reached on whether impact assessment will be guided by the regulations outlined in the Law on Environmental Protection or the 2014 Law on Investment.

Accordingly, investors will have to follow the provisions of the 2014 Law on Investment, meaning they are now only required to present a preliminary environmental impact assessment report and measures on environmental protection to receive an investment proposal or investment certificate.

This move significantly reduces the procedural barriers erected by the Law on Environmental Protection, which required an official approval of the report.

“We have been working in close tandem with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in the past months to come to this accord,” said Tran Hao Hung, head of the MPI’s Legal Department.

This is but one of the several incompatibilities between the Law on Enterprises and the 2014 Law on Investment and other regulations that have been tackled. However, the list of incompatibilities on the Working Group’s agenda remains fairly long, covering diverse fields, such as healthcare, education, and industry and trade.

In reality, foreign investors are particularly anxious to see an amendment to governmental Decree 23/2007/ND-CP regulating the trading of goods and other activities related to commodities trading by foreign invested businesses.

A satisfying closure would follow the spirit of governmental Resolution 59/2015/NQ-CP (Resolution 59) on the implementation of the Law on Enterprises and Law on Investment. This task was to be finalised before the end of December 2015, according to the legislature’s agenda.

Following the provisions of Decree 23, business registration agencies must source comments from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and grant investment certificates allowing foreign investors to trade goods and pursue related activities only upon receiving written approval from the MoIT.  The 2014 Law on Investment and governmental Decree 118/2015/ND-CP guiding the implementation of the Law on Investment, however, did not stipulate these requirements.

Localities have been confused in their enforcement efforts, leaving the lion’s share of investor records stuck in limbo.

Similarly, regarding investors in the field of education, several provisions of governmental Decree 73/2012/ND-CP on foreign cooperation and investment in education have yet to be amended. This stalling stymies efforts to ease investment procedures following the spirit of Resolution 59, hampering authorised government agencies to process applications.

Although Clause 4 of the 2014 Law on Investment prescribes its primacy in a clash with other regulations in fields related to forbidden and conditional business activities, as well as investment processes and procedures, enforcement, however, is not so simple.

“My approach is that legal documents need to be enforced in a way that later and higher level documents shall supersede the former, lower-level ones. Only by doing so will investors and businesses feel the conveniences we have touted in the Law on Investment and the Law on Enterprises,” said Nguyen Dinh Cung, head of the MPI’s Central Institute for Economic Management and head of the Working Group’s Secretariat.

Seminar seeks to improve water management in Ninh Thuan

A consulting workshop to enhance water resource management and urban planning to respond to climate change was held in the central province of Ninh Thuan on March 10.

Dr. Robert Mellor from the Southeast Asia Institute for Water Resources and Environment (SAIWRE) said a consulting group from his agency will support Ninh Thuan’s relevant parties in studying causes and impacts of climate change, thus building appropriate plans for long-term urban development and water management in river basins; while fostering links in the field among all-level authorities, the private arena and the community.

SAIWRE expert Dao Trong Tu underlined the necessity to improve the capabilities of water resource management and urban planning, saying that this will help increase development opportunities in the context of scarcity of natural resources and dropped financial assistance, generating a necessary development of technology.

State management agencies and enterprises should have a deeper understanding of water resources to create suitable solutions to effectively manage water in river basins, thus ensuring sustainable socio-economic development in the locality, he remarked.

According to experts and scientists to the event, the daily activities of humans are causing global climate change, and this is a great challenge facing countries worldwide, including Vietnam.

Central localities such Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and Ha Tinh, have been severely affected by El Nino, which causes prolonged drought and saline intrusion that are taking a toll on socio-economic development, they said.

The Ninh Thuan provincial authorities designed a plan of climate change adaptation covering 2011-2020 as part of the National Target Programme to Respond to Climate Change initiated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

However, the locality has yet to build a master plan for the development of water resources, making management and usage of water resources in the locality in dry and rainy seasons ineffective.

Police chase takes wing in the hunt for an official's prized birds

A rapid police response to a series of burglaries has revealed the shockingly luxurious lifestyles of some leading officials.

Nearly VND2.8bn (USD133,000) was stolen from the house of Dang Xuan Tho, head of Kon Tum Province Department of Finance and his wife Tran Thi Xuan Lan, head of Gia Lai Province Taxation Office.

VND1.6bn was stolen from Dao Anh Kiet's house, head of HCM City Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

While VND1.2bn was stolen from the house of Lang Van Hoa, head of Bac Kan Province Department of Transport.

4.1kg of gold was stolen from house of Nguyen Thanh Quang, head of Quang Nam Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The thieves in all these cases were caught quickly. The size of the cash and assets stolen has got people talking given that the average monthly wage of an official is about VND4m. In order for such a public official to have VND1.2bn in cash savings lying around the house they would have had to work for 24 years without spending on any necessities. In order to earn VND2.8bn from saving their salary alone, they would have to work for more than half a century.

In March, another burglary attracted public attention but not because of the money stolen. Three red-whiskered bulbul birds valued at VND9m were stolen from director of Quang Nam Department of Planning and Investment, Le Phuoc Hoai Bao's house. The value in this case may have been small, but the presence of the birds turned the case into a cause celebre.

While the thousands of burglaries that affect people every year often turn cold. It took the police just four days to discover the identity of the thieves, inspiring someone to ironically praise the speed of the case being solved, "I heard the director's birds got stolen. They are found in couple of days."

A lawyer said that the thieves could face from two to seven years of imprisonment for organised crime.

Dan Tri columnist Nguyen Duy Xuan commented that "The 30 year-old director has lost his birds! And he's the son of the former party secretary of Quang Nam Province. This is no joke, it has to be resolved quickly! Immediately, a powerful troop was mobilised to inspect, investigate and search to bring the thieves, who dare to touch the official's birds, to light!”

"After just four days, two thieves were caught. The police detained and prosecuted the offenders. The procuracy also completed the procedures at lightning speed. The court hurried to choose the best date for hearing. Justice was carried out. Security in the director's house was restored and public were left delighted by the amazing success of the case.

"This impressive crime solving crusade should be found in national records book because no other criminal investigation has ever been concluded so quickly."

What admirable results! Xuan's continued his commentary with a frank comment "If only corruption cases could have the same treatment then those committing such crimes would be truly scared. If only other cases were dealt with like that then there might have no falsely-sentenced people like Nguyen Thanh Chan and Huynh Van Nen, who undeservedly served in prison for years."

It's not entirely clear what significant contribution the director has made for his province. But at least he has done something significant in helping save the country's birds, and the act might be a deterrent for other bird thieves.

Thieves, beware. You should never steal birds from a state official.

Biggest traditional festival of A Luoi Mountainous District reproduced

A Rieu Car, the biggest common traditional festival of ethnic minority groups in A Luoi Mountainous District of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, was held in the district on March 10.

The festival attracted more than 50 artisans, actors and actresses from ethnic minority groups in villages and hamlets around the district including Pa Co, Ta Oi, Ka Tu and Pa Hi among others.

The participants reproduced all major rituals of the festival including the opening ceremony, welcoming guests, guests’ dances greeting hosts and hosts’ reception with guests.

The festival offers an opportunity for ethnic minority villages in the district to meet, exchange and strengthen solidarity, creating favourable conditions for together to make a living.

A Rieu Car festival aims to preserve and promote the beliefs and culture of ethnic minority groups as well as introduce the beauty of the mountainous district to visitors, contributing to the development of Thua Thien-Hue province’s tourism.

In addition, through the event, branches and agencies will set orientations to build and develop A Luoi District’s culture and tourism for 2012-2015 period, with a vision towards 2020.

The festival also featured a wide variety of cultural activities including an exhibition featuring handicrafts and culinary festival as well as performances of traditional dances and songs.

Saigon Cyclo Challenge comes back next Saturday

Saigon Cyclo Challenge wi l l come back in its 16th edition at Celadon City in HCMC’s Tan Phu District from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on March 19.

The free entrance event, organized by Saigon Children’s Charity (SCC), will feature veteran teams like Caravelle Saigon, Hoang Long Hoan Vu, Celadon City, Pizza Hut, Schindler, YanTV/Yan News, Atlas and Nutrifort and newbie teams like Great Eastern Life, Guardian and APG UK Alumni.

According to Tim Mullett, SCC’s director, this year’s event has some new features. Teams will participate in challenges that portray the experiences of a disadvantaged family receiving support from SCC and they can join in games that reproduce life in the Mekong Delta region.

There are prizes for winning teams and extra prizes for the best cyclo decoration and cheerleading competition. Spectators can join in activities organized by Saigon Flea Market, a Kid Zone with the participation of KizCiti, Santa Fe Relocation and Jett-Cycles, and a main raffle as well as food and beverage provided by Pizza Hut, Time Bistro, Rou (vegetarian), Magners Cider, La Vie and the Caterers.

Spectators can also contribute to SCC by buying raffle tickets priced at VND50,000 each. Top raffle prizes include two return tickets to Hong Kong provided by Cathay Pacific, a voucher for a two-night stay at the  Banyan Tree Lang Co Resort, a two-night stay at the Salinda Phu Quoc Resort inclusive of return flights on Vietjet Air, and a Jett Cycle bicycle.

Alain Cany, country chairman of Jardine Matheson in Vietnam and chairman of SCC’s board of trustees, said in a statement that the Saigon Cyclo Challenge, which was first held in 2001, has attracted over 21,000 participants and raised over US$720,000 to assist disadvantaged children and young people in Vietnam.

“With the support of various donors including many corporates, we aim to provide 2,500 scholarships and build 16 more schools in Vietnam in 2016.”

People can register for free tickets at ticketbox.vn and exchange the e-ticket with the print ticket from 11:30 a.m. on March 19 at Celadon City.

2030 club to organize caravan tour to Ha Giang

The 2030 Businessmen Club under the Saigon Times Club has announced its 11th caravan tour to Ha Giang Province in the country’s north between April 30 and May 3.

Called “Northeast border,” participants in the tour will donate 300 bicycles and 500 gifts to underprivileged school children in the province’s upland district of Quan Ba, Ha Xuan Anh, head of the tour  organizing committee, said on March 9.

Quan Ba is a poor district where many children lack food and means of transport to go to school, said Nguyen Thanh Phong, a representative of the caravan program. Several members of the 2030 club have come to the area to learn about school children’s lives.

The 1,100-kilometer tour will start from Hanoi and take in Phu Tho, Ha Giang, Cao Bang, and Lang Son.

“Enterprises have contributed more than half the gifts needed for students in Quan Ba, including 240 bicycles, 210 warm clothes and 200 water bottles. The 2030 club is looking forward to getting more contributions from the community to help the needy children,” Phong said.

The caravan tour is an annual charity program of the club and normally takes place on the occasion of Vietnam Reunification Day (April 30) and International Labor Day (May 1).

The club has organized 10 such tours to different parts of Vietnam, and even neighboring countries like Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.

Ho Chi Minh City hotlines prove a good channel for citizens’ complaints

In recent years, hotlines in Ho Chi Minh City have served as a means for residents to voice their grievances and have them addressed in a timely manner.

In an office building on Ton Duc Thang Street in District 1 at around 6:00 am one recent morning, staff operating a hotline to receive reports of infrastructure incidents changed shifts.

From 7:00 am on, phones rang constantly while feedback and complaints were forwarded to the relevant agencies authorized to resolve them.

According to Duong Thi Thuy An, manager of the Customer Care Department at the Ho Chi Minh City branch of state-owned power supplier Vietnam Electricity (EVN), which manages the hotline, the department originally launched the call center to deal with reports of electricity malfunction.

Owing to the good performance of the staff, in April 2013 the center was then tasked by the city administration with running an infrastructure incident hotline, covering traffic, public transport, water supply and drainage, lighting and tree care.

Twenty staff members work four separate shifts to ensure the infrastructure line, which receives around 200 calls per day, operates on a 24/7 basis.

It costs approximately VND 2.1 billion (US$ 93,161) each year to operate the line.

The hotline serves as an effective link between the municipal administration and residents, who report incidents including falling trees, ground subsidence, broken electric or telecom cables, damaged drains, broken water pipes, malfunctioning street lights, and traffic incidents.

Since it was launched on February 21, 2016, the center is also temporarily in charge of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee hotline, (08.88247247).

Ngo Anh Viet, director of the Customer Care Department at EVN’s Ho Chi Minh City branch, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the Party Committee’s line is currently the ‘hottest.’

Within 10 days of its launch, the line received more than 2,000 calls and 9,000 messages.

Feedback and queries, carefully categorized into different areas, are transferred quickly to the Party Committee office.

Residents immediately began calling in to voice their dissatisfaction with their daily lives, including some long-harbored grievances.

Many even waited until the wee hours to get through during the first few days of the hotline’s launch due to an overloaded system.

Phone operator Tran Thi Hoang Thi revealed that she often enjoys callers rambling on for 30 or 40 minutes.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information and Communications said that the infrastructure incident hotline, (08.39.111.333) and the recently established 1022 remain inadequate when it comes to resident notifications of when their feedback is addressed, leading to further frustration.

The department is currently working on an information portal to allow more transparent processing of citizens’ infrastructure reports and feedback.

Relevant agencies will inform residents, ministry and department leaders, as well as the press, of how they are addressing the grievances on the portal.

An official from the department said that the portal is nearly finished and will be in operation soon.

Vo Van Hoan, head of the municipal People’s Committee office, revealed that information technology will be made better use of to address urgent information and complaints.

He added that the committee is poised to take over the hotline of Secretary of the Party Committee Dinh La Thang in a bid to remove unnecessary intermediaries and expedite resolutions.

“There will be no procrastination or waiting, and an office chief will be deputized to work out complaints that need immediate action,” Hoan asserted.

Thugs terrorize seaport on Vietnam’s Phu Quoc

Residents in Phu Quoc, the largest island located in southwestern Vietnamese waters, have been living in fear since a gang of mobsters set up a ‘toll booth’ at one of the busiest seaports a few days after Tet, or Vietnam’s Lunar New Year.

The mob’s primary area of operation is the An Thoi international seaport, located in southern Phu Quoc and one of the island’s busiest sites for both merchants and tourists.

According to locals living near the area, a group of 20 men appeared at An Thoi around four or five days after Tet, which began on February 8 and wrapped up a week later.

The gang marked their occupancy by erecting a barrier to block the entrance to the seaport’s wharf and charging VND5,000-10,000 (US$0.22-0.45) for each entry, fishermen and tourists alike.

An attendant on board a tourist ship moored at the An Thoi international seaport said the gang charged their tourists per person although the tour operator had already paid a ‘fee’ they demanded in advance.

“When we asked them questions about this double ‘fee,’ they shouted at us and simply said we could either pay or get lost,” the attendant recounted.

Nguyen Tan Thanh, 61, was another victim of the violent gang when he was going down the wharf to collect fish as usual on February 23.

“I found the ‘fee’ ridiculously unreasonable, so I refused to pay,” Thanh recalled. “The next thing I knew was that two men jumped at me and tried to attack me. I managed to block a hit to my right hip, but was hit twice on my left shoulder.”

“A friend of mine tried to intervene, but they threatened to beat him,” Thanh said.

Locals said the group, led by a man named Phong, lived in an abandoned warehouse inside the international seaport and called themselves ‘security guards’ in charge of loading and unloading goods as well as collecting ‘entry fees.’

The ring also lured all fishing boats unloading at an old seaport nearby back to the port under their ‘management,’ where they charged their victims many times the usual unloading fee of VND100,000-150,000 ($4.57-6.86).

“We have decided to stop working for a few days to avoid clashing with the gang, seeing how aggressive they are,” the leader of a loading team at An Thoi said.

Following residents’ reports, Phu Quoc police sent undercover officers to the site to observe the group’s activities, and later identified 32-year-old Nguyen Thanh Phong as their leader.

According to Major Tran Huu Chuong, head of the Phu Quoc Police Office’s division for investigating crimes related to public order, Phong had been hired by Nguyen Van Doan, manager of the An Thoi international seaport, since February 11 to oversee a group of security guards and loaders at the wharf.

With the employment contract in hand, Phong gathered a group of ‘followers’ to station at the seaport, some of them having previous criminal records.

Vuong Quoc Khanh, deputy general director of An Thoi Port JSC, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday that his company had won the bid to operate An Thoi for 30 years, but had left it to Doan to oversee due to a lack of personnel.

Khanh said he had just taken over the position for ten days and had just heard about the gang a few days earlier.

“Doan said at a meeting with the board of directors in Ho Chi Minh City before Tet that he had employed a group of guards to reestablish order at the port. Who could have imagined such a thing would happen?” Khanh said.

Phong had been told by police officers to promise not to commit the crime in the future, while his group had been let off by their employers and disbanded.

Tuoi Tre journalists reported from the site on March 10 that the port had returned to its normal routines.

Ho Chi Minh City to relocate 5,800 more households for canal clean-up

Around 5,800 households along canals in Ho Chi Minh City are expected to be relocated in advance of a major aquatic environment improvement project.

The upcoming “exodus” is in preparation for the third phase of an ongoing project to improve the aquatic environment in the southern metropolis.

The project, launched in 2012, is funded by Japanese government’s official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

ODA financing is undertaken by the official sector to promote the economic development and welfare of developing countries.

According to Luong Minh Phuc, director of the city's Urban Traffic Constructions Investment Management Board, over the past few years, the basins of four major canals in Ho Chi Minh City, Tau Hu – Ben Nghe – Doi – Te, have undergone the first and second phases of the project.

Phuc said the project is currently in its prefeasibility phase, with the city’s People’s Committee and JICA recently going on a field trip to inspect the canals in preparation for its third phase.

The primary goal of the third phase is to dredge the Doi and Te canals and upgrade 13.5 kilometers of roadway that run alongside them.  The improvements will aim to allow an unobstructed flow of water to eradicate urban flooding.

The project is expected to affect an area of 1,600ha along the canals that run through districts 4, 7, 8, and Binh Chanh district, relocating 29 offices and 6,200 households, 400 of which have already been relocated as part of phases one and two, Phuc said.

The site clearance compensation is estimated at around VND4,500 billion (US$202 million), and compensation plans are still being sketched.

Answering Tuoi Tre’s (Youth) question on the lives of the affected residents, Phuc said there were a number of difficulties facing the relocation plan, such as the density of households in some areas and the durability of certain houses.

Phuc said discussions were underway among the board, the city’s Department of Construction, and chairman of the People’s Committee of District 8 to combine the relocation plan with the construction of new high-rises in cleared areas for displaced residents live.

This new fashion of relocating, Phuc said, was an answer to the people’s wish not to be moved too far from their old homes, as observed in previous projects.

The ultimate goal of the relocation plan and the whole aquatic environment improvement project is to improve the quality of life for the people, Phuc concluded.

Head of customs department in southern Vietnamese province removed for managerial oversight

A senior customs officer in southern Vietnam has been dismissed for negligence that led to serious rule violations.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs has issued an administrative warning and removed Huynh Thanh Tam, head of the customs department of An Giang Province, from his position for his oversight in office that resulted in wrongdoings regarding value-added tax (VAT) refunding.

During the time Tam took office, over 40 officials and public servants working at the customs department were investigated and arrested for their misconduct.

As a case in point, many customs officers in An Giang were found abetting several businesses to cheat and appropriate hundreds of billions of dong (VND100 billion = US$4.48 million) from the national budget.

They have been probed by the Ministry of Public Security and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Police.

Police reports showed that Le Dung, director of a company based in Ho Chi Minh City, colluded with customs officers at Khanh Binh Border Gate in An Giang to create fake export documents in order to benefit from VAT refunds.

The officers would approve necessary paperwork and were paid sums equal to 0.3 percent of the money illegally gained from the firm in return.

Between November 2012 and April 2013, Dung issued 120 false documents stating that his firm had exported goods worth nearly VND447 billion ($20 million).

A total of 46 suspects were arrested for being involved in the scam, of whom 30 were employees at the An Giang customs department.

In a similar case, directors of two Vietnamese firms were discovered bribing several officers at the customs department in order to have their counterfeited paperwork approved.

The companies prepared many such documents showing that the total value of their exports was VND2.329 trillion ($104.47 million) and were given VND223 billion ($10 million) in tax refund.

Fifteen customs officers were detained by police for abusing their powers that caused serious consequences in this case.

Tran Quoc Hoan, deputy chief inspector at the General Department of Vietnam Customs, has been appointed as Tam’s replacement, according to a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper source.

Tam was supposed to be seconded to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. However, he has requested to work in his hometown due to old age and is expected to assume the post of deputy director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

The former customs official is considered for the position because he was not directly involved in the said violations, while his capacity could still be needed somewhere in the province, Vo Anh Kiet, deputy secretary of the An Giang Party Committee, explained.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri