Ha Noi tightens parking lot regulations

Buildings with basements in Hoan Kiem District are being told to allow people working or living there to park their vehicles in the basements.

The city would not allow buildings to use the basements for other purposes while people were being forced to park their vehicles on pavements around the buildings, vice chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee Nguyen Quoc Hung said at a recent meeting with the district authority.

Hung also ordered the district authority to re-arrange parking lots on pavements to ensure space for pedestrians.

The city transport department and the traffic police were asked to demarcate several parking lots on the pavements of Ba Trieu, Phan Boi Chau and 19/12, because these pavements were more than 3.5m in width, he said.

The traffic police have been ordered to inspect and get rid of illegal parking lots, and to strictly deal with parking lots that were overcharging vehicle owners, he said.

The city has about 320,000 cars and four million motorbikes.

NGO highlights plight of migrant workers

A local non-government organisation held a workshop today in Ha Noi for journalists from different city agencies on the limited social security access that migrant workers get.

Earlier, on Friday and Saturday, the Institute for Community and Health Development or LIGHT, a civil society group based in Ha Noi, organised field trips for 30 journalists from television, print and online media to interview street food vendors and waste pickers (scavengers) in the city.

At the workshop, the reporters submitted their fact-finding reports, which showed that the migrant workers, mostly from rural areas, had low demands regarding different social services: 48.1 per cent of the respondents wanted to join a programme on voluntary payments of social insurance premiums; 25.2 per cent wanted to participate in a health insurance programme; 55.2 per cent want access to healthcare services; and 40.5 per cent wanted to get legal and policy consultation.

Though their demands for these services are low, they get even lower levels of access to them. For example, only 11.9 per cent of the interviewed persons said they had engaged in a programme on voluntary payments of social insurance premiums (as compared to 48.1 per cent of those who wanted the service) and only 22.4 per cent had access to healthcare services (as against 55.2 per cent who wanted access).

Nguyen Thu Giang, vice-director of LIGHT, told the workshop's participants that the reporters' findings would be used as inputs for the recommendations LIGHT would make to the concerned agencies that were drafting a law on voluntary payments of social insurance premiums and health insurance for migrant workers.

A survey conducted by the National Statistical Office says 7.7 per cent of the nation's population comprises migrant workers, with 94 per cent of them migrating from rural to urban areas.

Migrant workers are often found to have low incomes and little access to social security.

Eighty per cent live in informal rented housing.

The workshop was held in co-operation with O2 TV channel.

Work on new Hong bridge begins

Work on the new Tuan Quan Bridge over the River Hong (Red) in the northern Yen Bai Province began today.

The bridge, which is one of the province's key projects, is expected to help develop Yen Bai into a larger and more important urban area.

The concrete bridge is being built with a total investment of about VND675 billion (US$31.2 million), of which nearly VND521.5 billion ($21.1 million) will be used for the construction, while the remaining amount will be spent on site clearance, compensation and re-settlement of those who are being displaced from their land.

Once completed, the 16m-wide and 414.6m-long bridge will connect the centre of Yen Bai City with its new urban areas, and link National Highways 37 and 32C and the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway.

The construction of the bridge will be completed by 2019.

Children's hospital to receive second branch

The prime minister has approved a plan to build the second branch of the Central Paediatrics Hospital in Ha Noi city.

The prime minister assigned the hospital to work with investors in building a detailed plan for construction and submit it to the minister of health for approval.

As reported by the Central Hospital, the hospital was built in the 1980s, so it is very old and outdated. Meanwhile, the demand for health care is on the rise, causing the hospital to be overloaded.

Therefore, the launch of a second branch is essential in creating favourable conditions for the hospital to examine and treat children and in helping strengthen research for children's health care.

It is expected that the branch will be built in Quoc Oai District, a suburb of Ha Noi City, with 1,000 to 1,500 beds.

The total investment for construction is expected to be more than VND4.7 trillion (US$223.8 million).

Beware of overseas job scams: Ministry

The labour, invalids and social affairs ministry's Overseas Labour Management Department has warned people about frauds involved in sending people to Saudi Arabia to work as domestic helps.

The warning follows reports received from families of victims in Tay Ninh, Nghe An, Tuyen Quang and Ha Tinh provinces.

Some of the frauds posed as labour export companies to lure those wanted to work aboard. They refused to give signed labour contracts to the victims, saying that the companies' directors were travelling on business and would sign the contracts as soon as they returned.

The Overseas Labour Management Department recommended that people should study and understand the working and living conditions as well as Islamic customs before deciding to work in Saudi Arabia.

They have also been asked to sign labour contracts with companies that have been given labour supply licences by the department.

Baking weather returns to northern, central Vietnam

Scorching weather has returned to both northern and central Vietnam, with the hottest temperature reaching over 39 degrees Celsius, the National Center for Hydro-metrological Forecasting warned on Monday.

After several days with cool air because of Typhoon Kujira that hit the northeastern region last week, the northern and central regions have begun to suffer from hot weather again, and the new heatwave is expected to last from today until Wednesday, the center said.

The heat has returned as a western hot low pressure has continued to develop and expand to the southeastern region, the center said.

High temperatures in the northern region and coastal central provinces will range from 35 to over 38 degrees Celsius from now until Wednesday.

High temperatures in Hanoi will reach up to 39 degrees during the period.

From now to July 1, the Gulf of Tonkin will experience rough seas, with winds of 39-49kph and gusts of up to 74kph. Sea waves will be 1.5-2.5 meters high during the period.

On July 2, the scorching weather will gradually ease in northern provinces, but will maintain and prolong in the central part.

Today, the high temperature in Hanoi will be 38 degrees, while the northwestern region will have highs of up to 37 degrees. The northeastern area will have hotter weather as well, with high temperatures of over 38 degrees. 

In the central region from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien-Hue Provinces and from Da Nang to Binh Thuan Province, the hottest temperatures will be over 38 and over 37 degrees, respectively, today.

Meanwhile, today the Central Highlands region and the southern region will be less hot, ranging from 29 to 32 degrees and 32 to 35 degrees, respectively.

Ly Son's marine resources diminish

The People's Committee of Ly Son Island District has proposed the People's Committee of Quang Ngai central province to ban large boats from fishing along Ly Son Island.

Tran Huu Nguyen, the chairman of the island's People's Committee, said the proposal was to conserve limited marine resources and mark a marine preservation zone here.

According to Nguyen, more and more fishing boats from provinces such as Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, and Phu Yen, and several local vessels have started coming here to catch fish in recent years.

They use nets to catch small and big fish and sometimes resort to explosives as well.

Fishermen on different boats frequently fight over the use of explosives to catch fish, Nguyen added.

Over the past few days, dozens of large-capacity vessels from Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces had come here to fish.

Ngo Van Bong, a local fisherman, said that earlier, fishermen here could catch 5-10kg of fish and squid in a day, but now, they don't get any fish because these vessels use explosives to catch them.

Local authorities have not taken any measure to curb this menace, Bong noted.

"We will soon exhaust our marine resources, while coral reefs are also facing complete destruction. Fish breeding cages set up by farmers are also destroyed by these boats," Nguyen said.

Nguyen Quoc Chinh, chairman of the An Hai fisheries union in Ly Son District, said the proposal is relevant as it is necessary to protect marine resources and the environment along the island.

 Ha Tinh wants $3.6m in drought relief

Central Ha Tinh province has made an urgent request to the Government for 80 billion VND (3.67 million USD) in financial aid to help the locality mitigate drought impacts for this year’s summer-autumn crops.

Lingering heat waves and drought have dried up local reservoirs and rivers while ongoing saltwater intrusion in La River has seriously affected irrigation systems.

The province has more than 1,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice crops suffering from water shortages and another 1,500 hectares that have had to shift to more suitable crops. Many communes also reported serious water shortages for daily use.

Many of Ha Tinh’s irrigation canals are in poor condition, making it a costly undertaking to ensure sufficient water supply for agricultural production this year.

It is estimated that Ha Tinh province will need over 130 billion VND (5.96 million USD) in aid to support the summer-autumn crops.

40 years of Vietnamese integration in Germany

A festival featuring the Vietnamese community’s 40-year integration and development in Germany was held in Berlin on June 28 as part of activities to celebrate the 40 th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties.

Addressing the event, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan thanked the German Government and people for supporting Vietnamese nationals in the country over the past years.

He hoped the Vietnamese people in Germany would continue to respect the host country’s laws and contribute to the bilateral relations.

Head of the German Parliament’s Budget Committee Gesine Lotzsch appreciated the successful integration of the Vietnamese community as well as the excellent learning performance of Vietnamese students in Germany.

European Parliamentarian Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann affirmed her willingness to help Vietnamese nationals in Germany preserve and promote their cultural tradition and integrate more deeply into the country.

At the festival, photos highlighting the lives of Vietnamese as well as their achievements in Germany were exhibited while Vietnamese associations and enterprises in Germany were introduced. The festival also included art and martial arts performances and fashion shows.

The VFF leader then had a meeting with representatives of Vietnamese associations in Germany and visited the Vietnamese Embassy there.

Friendship association delegation visits Philippines

A delegation from the Vietnam-Philippines Friendship Association (VPFA) led by its Chairman Vu Van Tam has paid a working visit to the Philippines to strengthen relations between the two countries’ people.

During the visit from June 15-19, the first of its kind since the establishment of the association in 2014, the delegation held talks and signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation with the Philippines-Vietnam Friendship Association (PVFA) in Manila.

During their talks, the two sides discussed a proposal to establish a cooperative relationship between the Vietnamese province of Quang Ngai and the Philippines’ province of Palawan as well as boosting delegation exchanges in culture, education, economics and trade.

The PVFA also proposed establishing a cooperative relationship between Manila and Hanoi.

The delegation, in collaboration with a mission of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and fishing businesses, held working sessions with Philippine partners from Manila and General Santos city to boost the implementation of the fishing agreement between the two countries.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday called on provinces and sectors to improve the business environment and strengthen the economy's ability to compete regionally.

Dung stressed that sectors and provinces must enhance their competitiveness by increasing technology use, and reforming administrative and tax procedures.

According to Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh, the business environment improved in 2014. Specifically, the registration time for business licences has been cut to three days, just half of the set goal of six days, while time spent on business initiation procedures was reduced from 34 days to 17 days.

The Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) found in a study that Viet Nam reached the ASEAN-6 (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam) average for its ability to protect investors, but it still lags behind the region's average for tax payment and social insurance reforms.

In 2014 and early 2015, the time required for paying taxes was reduced by 380 hours (from 537 hours per year to 157 hours per year) and is set to be cut by an additional 35.5 hours to meet the target set out in Resolution 19 on improving the country's business competition and environment.

The procedure for social insurance payments has been slashed by 100 hours (from 335 hours per year to 235 hours per year), which is still a long way from the target of 49.5 hours per year. The total time for tax and social insurance payments is expected to drop by 480 hours.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Electricity of Viet Nam have issued documents to reduce the time needed to access electricity, which has been cut from 115 days to 85 days and will undergo additional simplification to reach the resolution's goal of 70 days.

The Ministry of Finance and the General Department of Customs reviewed and adjusted policies to address customs procedures for cross-border trade transactions.

Yet Minister Vinh described this as the responsibility of not only the Ministry of Finance and the General Department of Customs but also of related ministries and agencies.

Nguyen The Thao, chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee, said at the meeting that Ha Noi already integrated Resolution 19 criteria into its socio-economic development. HCM City Chairman Le Hoang Quan also said his city's top priorities were improving business environment, tax reform, customs reform and social insurance. HCM City was set to hold a meeting today on the matter.

After hearing Vinh's report, Dung expressed his concern at the small number of sectors and provinces that had established plans for implementing Resolution 19. Just 12 sectors and 12 provinces had submitted plans so far.

"I want to remind everyone that we need to put all our resources into improving the business environment and cutting red tape," he said.

Dung said considering recently improved performance indexes, the 6.2-percent growth target is completely feasible.

He asked for the adoption of technological advances in public e-services and continuing administrative reform. In order to maintain current growth momentum, ministries, sectors and localities needed to fulfill their responsibilities to their best ability, he said.

The leader told officials to scrutinise existing problems and shortcomings, and find efficient solutions to push the resolution forward.

Without national competitiveness amidst a globally integrated landscape, fast and sustainable development is unachievable, he said, adding that macro-economic stability was the first priority. That stability could be achieved by closely monitoring capital and real estate markets.

Relevant units were also asked to keep track of negotiations for economic and trade deals that afforded the public and enterprises new opportunities. Easing hospital overcrowding was also identified as a key task.

Japanese agricultural technology comes to dragon fruit farmers

Vietnamese dragon fruit growers have had a chance to approach Japanese technology in agricultural production and farm produce preservation at a recent conference held in Binh Thuan Province.

The conference held by PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemicals Corporation in association with the Department of Science and Technology of Binh Thuan Province and Vietnam – Japan Business Club aims to help dragon fruit farmers to learn advanced techniques to improve the quality of their produce so as to meet export standards of demanding markets, such as: Japan, the US, and European countries.

The conference attracted more than 100 cooperatives, agricultural officials, and dragon fruit farmers in Binh Thuan Province.

Vietnamese drug addicts still high

The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime yesterday held a meeting to announce 2015 World Drug Report and Vietnam Drug Report.

For Vietnam, it was reported that heroin is still popularly used by most of drug addicts in addition to Methamphetamine. According to a report of  the Ministry of Public Security, by end of 2014, the country has 204, 377 drug addicts and the rate of people using heroin is 72 percent and synthetic drugs is 14.5 percent.

Noteworthy, it was reported in the meeting that the rate of drug addicts living with HIV decreased for years. However, drug addicts living with HIV have been seen most of corners of the country. Northern provinces of Thai Nguyen, Lai Chau, Quang Ninh, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have the highest rate of 32 percent, 27.7 percent, 22.4 percent, 24 percent and 18.2 percent respectively.

In addition, the number of drug addicts access to drug treatment is on upward trend across the country. By May, 2015, the country has 162 rehabilitation centers treating more than 29,000 drug addicts with Methadone in 44 cities and provinces.

As per the plan, the country will open 245 Methadone rehab centers to admit around 80,000 drug addicts to help those who have become addicted to or dependent on methadone stop use of the drug safely

Speaking at the meeting, head of UNODC in Vietnam Christopher Batt said that It was estimated that a total of 246 million people - slightly over 5 per cent of those aged 15 to 64 years worldwide used an illicit drug .

Worse, an estimated 1.65 million of people who inject drugs were living with HIV and men are three times more likely than women to use drugs, while women are more likely to use more pain killers and sedative drugs.

Six companies fined for violating food regulations

Six companies were fined a total of VND150 million (US$6,875) for violating regulations of advertising nutritional supplements, said head of Vietnam Food Administration (VFA) Nguyen Thanh Phong on June 28.

Along with the fine decisions, VFA asked the six companies to stop violations and remove illegal advertisements as well as correct false information.

The six violating companies have operated in production and trade of pharmacy and nutritional supplements. Four of them are located in Hanoi, one in northern province of Hung Yen and one in Ho Chi Minh City.

Pesticides pollute Nghe An

Nghe An Province has 913 areas polluted by abandoned pesticides that threaten the health of local residents.

The provincial People's Committee reported at a conference on environmental management last week that in the last five years, it had removed almost 500 tonnes of polluted soil from Vuc Rong, Hon Tro and Tan Phu. The Global Environment Fund has funded a programme to remove abandoned pesticides in Viet Nam since 2000.

There are over 1,500 spots polluted with abandoned pesticides across Viet Nam.

Con Dao plans to become spiritual, eco-tourism centre

Con Dao Island in the central province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau aims to become an international-standard spiritual and eco-tourism centre by 2030, according to a newly approved plan to develop the island.

Under the plan, the island will develop many areas, including Con Son Town, France Town in Con Son Town, a spiritual area, Ben Dam sea station, a natural beach, the Con Dao mountainous area and a system of small islands.

Tours connecting the main island to nearby sites and tours linking Con Dao Island to other provinces and cities will be organised.

Sitting 185 kilometres from Vung Tau city and 230 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City, Con Dao plays a significant role in socio-economic, defence and security development in the country’s southern seas and islands.

It is also home to important tangible and intangible national cultural heritages presenting substantial potential to develop various forms of tourism such as ecological and spiritual tourism.-

Kien Giang spends big on sea, island development

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has mobilised nearly 2.5 trillion VND (116.8 million USD) for socio-cultural development of its sea, island and coastal areas over the past five years.

Under the programme on marine economic development from 2011-2015, nearly 2.5 trillion VND (116 million USD) has been spent on infrastructure for the education and training sector, with 2,550 new classrooms built, thus putting an end to three-shift schools.

Training courses have been also conducted to improve staff capability and enhance education quality.

As many as 113 kindergartens and 516 schools have been opened, raising the rate of school attendance among the 6-14 age group to 96 percent across sea, island and border areas, said Nguyen Thi Minh Giang, Director of the provincial Department of Education and Training.

The Kien Giang University was established to ensure high quality human resources to fully tap the potential of the locality and the region for marine economic sectors such as fishing, aquaculture, aquatic product processing, marine tourism and transport.

Additionally, more than 422 billion VND (19.7 million USD) has been allocated for building healthcare centres in all communes and districts in remote areas. Health insurance services are also being offered at the facilities.

Some 60 percent of the communal healthcare centres in the province meet national standards, said Ha Van Phuc, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Health.

The Phu Quoc General Hospital has been equipped with hi-tech machines to treat complicated cases, and minimise moving patients to higher level hospitals and fatality rates.

A modern healthcare centre was built on 1,280 square metres in Tho Chau Island commune, Phu Quoc district with total investment of seven billion VND (327,000 USD). The facility has 26 rooms and hi-tech equipment.

Head of the centre Pham Thanh Cong highlighted the role of the facility in ensuring health for soldiers and residents on the island, especially when the locality is far from the mainland with only one ship arriving every week.

Another 100 billion VND (4.67 million USD) has been invested in the telecommunications network to ensure communication, national defence and security on the islands.

More than 43 billion VND (2 million USD) has been used to fund programmes on poverty reduction and job generation.

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Khac Ghi, the province will continue its socio-economic development efforts in sea, island, and coastal areas in the next five years.

Conservation efforts in U Minh Ha National Park stepped up

The southernmost province of Ca Mau has introduced a number of measures to conserve and promote the value of the U Minh Ha National Park.

Accordingly, the province will restructure its administrative system, and devise new models for residential settlement. Reforestation plans and fire prevention plans will also be implemented.

Ca Mau province has also improved the park’s eco-tourism services in a bid to generate income and make the national park attractive to domestic and international tourists.

The cajuput forest covers a total area of 75,000 hectares, with 8,000 hectares of valuable primeval forest. The forest is a key habitat for wetland ecosystem species and others, with many of them listed in Vietnam’s Red Book, such as the king cobra or pangolin.

The park was recognized by UNESCO as one of the three core zones of the Ca Mau World Biosphere Reserve in June 2009.

The park not only preserves the entire ecological system of the cajuput forest, but also acts as an ecological tourism destination and a research site for domestic and international scientists.

Sediment management important for Mekong Delta’s natural resources

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in conjunction with the World Wide Fund for Nature in Vietnam held a workshop on June 26 in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho to raise public awareness of the importance of sediment for the delta’s natural resources.

According to scientists, the delta receives about 79 million tonnes of sediment every year.

However, the construction of hydropower plans and flood-proof facilities together with intensive exploitation of sand and pebbles, deforestation and waste dumping in water resources have hugely impacted sediment sources, experts said.

The declination in sediment quantity and quality has resulted in losses of 500 hectares of land and an additional 30-40 metres of coast every year. As many as 265 erosion sites are visible along 450km of riverbanks.

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen cited the rapid development of hydropower resources and socio-economic infrastructure in Mekong sub-region countries as reasons behind degrading water quality, land erosion and biodiversity reductions.

The workshop created an opportunity for scientists to share experience in effectively managing natural resources and sediment in particular.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment called upon relevant departments, sectors and localities to promote awareness-raising campaigns on the significant role and sustainable management of sediment sources in the delta in combination with preserving and developing submerged areas and ecological services.

Experts suggested enhancing inter-provincial and international cooperation in the field and including sediment management in the national policy system while conducting in-depth research on sediment in the Mekong river and preventing illegal exploitation.

Elderly contribute to new rural development

In response to an emulation movement called “Old age – Bright example”, the elderly nationwide have encouraged their children, grandchildren, and other people, to contribute to the national new rural development program.

Thanks to their encouragement, a total of US$150 million and more than 5 million square meters of land have been donated to upgrade the local infrastructure and support social welfare in rural communities.

Born and raised in President Ho Chi Minh’s hometown, Tran That Cong of Kim Lien commune, Nam Dan district, Nghe An province, has always set an example for others with his moral lifestyle and active social work.

Acknowledging the slow pace of rural development, he and other local elders decided to encourage other people to support the national new rural development program as much as possible.

Thanks to their efforts, 2014 saw positive changes in Kim Lien’s infrastructure. Tran That Cong told VOV, "Actions speak louder than words. We elderly always take the lead in campaigns and movements and encourage other people to follow. For example, my family always comes first in contributing money to a program, although we are not rich. Other people can donate land for roads if they don’t have cash. It’s much easier for local people to get around on new big paved roads."

Elderly Phan At of Tinh Tra commune, Son Tinh district, Quang Ngai province, donated 2000 square meters of his farm land for community houses roads.

He said it’s important that everyone joins hands to make the national new rural development program a success.

"My family donated land to build schools and cultural houses for the public. We are glad we can contribute something to national construction and development. The new paved roads have helped reduce traffic accidents. That was a good deed we could do," At noted.

Cu Thi Hau, President of Vietnam’s Elderly Association, stressed, "We’ll try to improve the association’s activities to take better care of the elderly and encourage them to use their influence in the community, especially in new rural development. We plan to launch an action month for the elderly when they will be given free eye care and check-ups."

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