HCM City to use loans for kindergartens

The HCM City People's Committee has approved the use of bank loans to build 72 public kindergartens worth a total of more than VND 2.7 trillion (US$128 million).

The public kindergartens will be built by the end of the year.

Of the public kindergarten projects, Cu Chi District accounts for the largest number (14), followed by Binh Tan District (nine) and Binh Chanh and Can Gio districts (seven each).

To speed up the progress of building public kindergartens, the HCM City People's Committee has decided to start a bank loan programme to build public kindergartens.

The move represents the city's determination to speed up the progress of building kindergartens, according to Nguyen Dinh Thai Chau, the municipal Department of Education and Training's Finance and Planning Division.

Phan Thi Thang, deputy director of the municipal Department of Finance, said last year the city had 117 public kindergarten projects that needed capital for construction but the city faced difficulties to allocate a budget for the projects.

The city recently proposed connecting banks to public kindergarten projects, she said.

Under the city programme, the projects would be given loans with a terms of up to eight years.

Nguyen Ngoc Thao, head of the city Department of Finance's Investment and Repair Division, said project investors should select the consultants carefully to avoid construction errors that would have to be corrected at a later date.

The investors of public kindergarten projects will be the Investment and Construction Project Management Board of each district.

Many investors have petitioned the HCM City People's Committee to have preferential policies for public kindergarten projects in major areas, and in other areas where there is a severe shortage of kindergartens, as well as those that have a large number of ethnic pre-school students.

The city currently has more than 870 public kindergartens which teach more than 309,000 children.

The public kindergartens can serve about 85 per cent of children. The remaining 25 per cent of children of this age group study at private kindergartens and family-based daycare facilities.

New rule tightens fire safety controls

Construction sites and all public transportation vehicles—buses, boats and trains— must have their fire prevention and control designs approved and rechecked before going into operation.

This new policy is just one of Circular 66/2014/TT-BCA's regulations, issued by the Ministry of Public Security and to be put into effect on February 6.

Those wishing to start construction projects or manufacture automobiles for public transport must send their fire prevention and control designs to the Fire Prevention and Control Police Department to be approved before they can begin.

Once the construction site or vehicle product is set up, the police department that had censored their design must perform a check to make sure the submitted designs were executed. The police reviewers must arrive within seven days after receiving notice.

The circular will also demand that universities and schools with areas of more than 25,000sq.m; hospitals with more than 100 beds; and performance halls and cinemas with more than 800 seats must also submit and get their fire prevention and control designs approved.

Machinery and tools used for fire prevention and control will also be checked to make sure their kind, design and quality are sufficient. Each tool must be checked at least once and upon passing the test will be stamped by the authorities.

At a recent meeting held in Ha Noi, Colonel Hoang Quoc Dinh, deputy director of the Ha Noi Fire Prevention and Control Police Department, said that dissemination of information about the issue should be improved, praising cases of well executed prevention and denouncing ill-prepared sites and vehicles.

Senior Lieutenant-General Bui Van Nam, Deputy Minister of Public Security, told the Kinh te&do thi (Economic and Urban Affairs) newspaper that fire prevention and control forces should work hand-in-hand with local authorities to manage safety conditions.  

Dak Lak faces New Year crisis as kumquats wilt

Kumquat growers in Hoa Thang Commune in Buon Ma Thuot City in the Central Highland province of Dak Lak are not looking forward to Tet.

They are facing disaster as disease sweeps through their crops of ornamental kumquats, an auspicious tree in Vietnamese households around the time of the lunar new year.

Nguyen Thi Loan, chairwoman of Hoa Thang Commune People's Committee, told Tien Phong (The Vanguard) newspaper that kumquats had been a stable source of income for 20 farm households at this time of year.

However this year, they expect to lose 50 to 70 per cent of their crops and income due to a disease that wilts the leaves and shrinks the fruit.

"Gardeners are trying their best to save the remaining trees in hope of making some cash," Loan said.

Duong Danh Bo, a farmer with 15 years' experience in growing the lucky orange citrus tree in the commune's Hamlet 11, admitted that he had lost his battle to combat the disease that wreaking havoc on kumquat crops.

"I found many of my kumquat trees were diseased as early as November. I tried all I could to save them, but failed. I had no choice but to discard hundreds of them. Worse still, the remainder are hard to sell as their fruit do not ripen equally," Bo said.

Bo said that other households suffering the same problem wanted to increase the selling price of their remaining trees to compensate for the losses, but felt that even if this was done, he would still suffer a big loss.

Nguyen Xuan Truong, another kumquat grower in Hamlet 4 with 1,000 kumquat trees usually makes about VND500 million (US$20,000) from his trees, but this year he has already lost about half.

Truong attributed his bad crop to changing weather patterns at the time the fruit was appearing, not disease. "Prolonged rain for months made the roots rotten," Truong said.

Quach Thuy Duong, president of Hoa Thang Commune Farmers' Union, added that kumquat trees were the most difficult ornamental trees to tend because they were highly sensitive to water and humidity.

"If it rains for many days, photosynthesis in the leaves can be affected, resulting in a reduced number of fruit and poor quality," he said.

The solutions Duong has suggested include applying organic fertilisers and changing the tree posture from the shape of a pyramid into other bonsai forms for continued tending in preparation for the next season.

"Local kumquat growers have agreed to push the price of kumquat trees up by 10 to 20 per cent, but we remain worried that by so doing we will not be able to compete with neighbouring Binh Dinh and Phu Yen provinces which are also bringing their kumquat trees here to sell for Tet.

No first prize for Khanh Hoa contest

The contest for an idea for the administrative centre of Khanh Hoa, which was organized by the FLC Group and the Khanh Hoa Department of Construction has declared a winner.

The Viet Nam Institute for Urban and Rural Planning won the second prize (there was no first prize), which is worth VND300 million ($14,000).

Based on idea of the winner, the next steps will include the construction of the centre, which will be executed by the relevant agencies. The FLC Group is an investor in the project, which is located at the Quan Truong riverside in the Vinh Thai Commune of Nha Trang City and spread over an area of 126 ha.

This is the first project to be built under a build-transfer (BT) form, with a total investment of VND7 trillion ($327 million), which is also the largest BT project in the province so far.

New waste incinerator model poised to take off in Ha Tinh

Residents of Thanh My Village in Loc Ha District, Ha Tinh Province welcomed new waste burners placed at the gates of their homes.

They were portable and saved people time travelling to landfills to dump waste, said Phan Tien Dung, chairman of the People's Committee of Phu Luu Commune, where the burner was invented.

"Frustrated by the fact that villagers have been throwing nylon bags, bottles and other solid waste away on the streets, but at the same time complaining about environmental pollution, the commune's administration established the Phu Luu Commune Environmental Co-operative, which collects rubbish and charges fees," Dung said.

However, even with the waste collectors, the situation didn't change much.

"People still kept throwing rubbish away wherever they found convenient, especially into ponds and low-lying areas," he said.

After several awareness campaigns failed to inspire people to keep the environment clean, the commune decided it would stop just talking and take action, Dung said.

"We decided to join hands with the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment's Department of Environmental Protection to select an area in our commune to demonstrate our model for cleaning up the environment and also engaging local civil society," he said. "We heard there was a new model of solid waste burner in Nam Dan District's Nam Kim Commune in the neighbouring province of Nghe An. We visited the place and found out that it was a brick-built burner."

However, many thought that burner was out of the question financially, especially if they were going to have to build one for every home.

"While everyone was at a loss what to do next, Le Tu Khuong, chairman of Phu Luu Commune's Environmental Co-operative, came up with the idea of using cement and rock to cast a cylindrical burner, which would be cheaper and also convenient for villagers if they want to roll it around, " Dung said.

The burner Khuong designed is 1.1m high and 30cm in diameter. A steel net is placed on the bottom, and a small square window on the side is just big enough to fit in fire-igniting material. When waste is burned, trash falls down through the net. Each burner costs VND350,000 to 400,000 (US$17 to $20).

Impressed by the new burner, the Department of Environmental Protection decided to set aside VND100 million ($4,700) to promote its use. The commune contributed VND30 million ($1,500) to produce about 200 for households in Thanh My Village, which was chosen as a pilot site for the project, Dung said.

Phan Thi Chau, a Thanh My Village resident, said that when they started using the burners, she and her fellow villagers stopped leaving waste on the roadside and started throwing it in the burners instead.

Dung said he hopes to collect positive reflections on burner use – like Chau's – for a meeting next year on the burners' performances during their first year. He said that if the pilot burner project was proven effective, his commune would need more funding to finance their use in the rest of the commune.

Warmer Tet comes to poor children in Hanoi

Youth organisations and the Red Cross in Hanoi presented gifts to needy people in the suburban districts of Ba Vi, Me Linh and My Duc on February 1, on the occasion of upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet).

In particular, gifts worth 700,000 VND (33USD) each were delivered to 35 ethnic minority children from Hop Nhat Village, the poorest village in Ba Vi District where one fourth of the households live under the poverty line.

The charity activity was organised by the municipal chapters of Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Youth Union in collaboration with the Vietnam Red Cross Society and the Hanoi Association of Young Entrepreneurs.

Canon expands Friendship School Chain project

Canon Vietnam Company handed over 90 new sets of tables and desks and other gifts to Canon-Yen Lap primary school in the northern province of Tuyen Quang on January 31 in the first activity under the company’s “Canon Friendship school chain” project this year.

On February 3, the company is scheduled to complete a fresh water system it builds for Ngu Mai primary school in Da Bac District, the northern province of Hoa Binh, where water is a scarce resource. In addition, the students will be presented with gifts including clothes, blankets, scarfs and hats donated by the company’s staff.

Later in March, the project will deliver 12 student desks, three bookcases and 700 gifts to Dai Xuan primary school in Dai Xuan commune, Que Vo district, the northern province of Bac Ninh.

Since 2007, Canon Company has supported 82 primary schools nationwide via the construction of 100 new classrooms, two teacher rooms and  

14 qualified toilets and washing areas. The company also equips the project beneficiaries with cameras, printers, computers, bookshelves and bunk beds with a view to improving teaching and studying environment for teachers and students in disadvantaged areas.

The company affirms that the project represents Canon’s strategic commitments for long-term development in Vietnam.Bac Ninh: War invalids given Tet gifts

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan visited war invalids who are being cared for at the Thuan Thanh Centre, northern Bac Ninh province, on February 1 on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet).

On presenting gifts to the war invalids, the VFF President expressed his utmost respect and gratitude to the wounded and ill soldiers who had shed their blood to defence the country.

He encouraged the veterans to follow the late President Ho Chi Minh’s words of wisdom “Being wounded doesn’t mean being useless”.

He also listened to their feelings, wishes and proposals on the improvement of government policies for those who render services to the homeland.

The Thuan Thanh Centre is taking care of 100 wounded and sick soldiers and is the largest of its kind in the country. Since its establishment 50 years ago, the facility has cared for around 1,000 war veterans.

Children get disease due to bad weather

Since the beginning of the year, hospitals have received some children in the Northern provinces suffering Pertussis, Tran Dac Phu, head of the Health Ministry's Preventive Health Department, said on February 1.

Children in Hanoi, Vinh Phuc, Hai Phong, Ha Nam, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh in the North Vietnam were suffering the disease and even nine of them were hospitalized in Central Children Hospital.

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease. It is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Pertussis most commonly affects infants and young children and can be fatal, especially in babies less than 1 year of age.

People with whooping cough usually spread the disease by coughing or sneezing while in close contact with others, who then breathe in the bacteria that cause the disease.

Though it is contagious disease, Dr. Phu assured parents should not get into a panic. It is not likely that the disease will re-occur and become an epidemic as many children have been vaccinated with the rate of immunization of over 90 percent.

In addition to children with whooping cough, more children were taken to hospitals for treating pneumonia and diarrhea due to cold weather. Of them, 60 percent have pneumonia. Currently, Bach Mai Hospital receives over 100 children inpatients and around 200 outpatients everyday.

Gov’t provides rice to poor residents in five provinces

As per the Vietnamese Prime Minister’s direction, the Ministry of Finance yesterday distributed 5,778 tons of rice for five provinces.

Poor residents in three central provinces of Quang Tri, Binh Dinh, Nghe An, and northern provinces of Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang will be given rice on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet holidays).

The PM ordered provincial authorities to provide rice to poor people. If any province needs more, it should report to the Ministries of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and Finance to submit for PM’s approval to further provision.

Currently, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs received VND24 billion from all sources to take care of disadvantaged people during Tet holidays.

Fake seasoning factory raided ahead of Tet

Police in Thanh Hoa Province have pulled off the biggest ever raid on a food seasoning and additives factory using MSG and other seasonings of dubious origin and rebranding it through fake packaging aimed at the Tet holiday market.

The factory of Nguyen Thi Cam Huong on Dinh Le Street, Thanh Hoa City, raided on January 29, is believed to be the largest illegal factory yet found, with police seizing 1,000 packs of fake monosodium glutamate (MSG). They also found 80 25kg bags of MSG, as well as other kinds of food seasonings and additives for fried foods and hot pots.

Police allege Huong bought MSG of unknown origin and repackaged it under well-known brands such as Ajinomoto, Miwon and A-one. Dozens of kilograms of seasoning packaged as Knorr was also found. The packaging was sophisticated and the labels near perfect.

The factory went into operation in early 2014 and was producing 0.5kg packs of MSG at a cost of VND10,000 for sale at triple the price. Police alleged Huong bought 2.5 tonnes of MSG of unknown origin for repacking and sale ahead of this year's Tet holiday.

Investigators said they were acting on complaints and information from the public about the factory.

Ho Chi Minh City aims to modernize rural areas

Ho Chi Minh City will focus financial sources to help all its 56 rural communes fulfil the criteria of the national programme on new-style rural areas within 2015, municipal officials said at a February 2 meeting.

The programme was initiated by the Government in 2010 with 19 criteria on construction of infrastructure and public facilities, improvement to production capacity, protection of landscape and environment, and promotion of cultural identities, among others.

In 2014, the city mobilised nearly 4.8 trillion VND (220 million USD) from the State budget and the community for implementing the programme, Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Phuoc Trung reported at the conference.

Local authorities also collaborated with businesses to encourage agricultural restructuring and open farming and vocational training courses for farmers, he added.

The department is asking the municipal People’s Committee to recognise 18 additional communes as satisfying all criteria of building new-style rural areas.

Currently there are five communes meeting all standards, with average annual per capita income of 37.6 million VND (1,750 USD), up 2.3 times than the level at the start of the programme.

One commune has met 18 criteria and the remaining 50 have fulfilled 16 out of the 19 criteria.-

Vietnam, Cambodia boost religious cooperation

The Vietnamese Government’s Committee for Religious Affairs and Cambodia’s Ministry of Cult and Religious Affairs held talks and signed a cooperation agreement on religious work for the 2015-2020 period in Ho Chi Minh City on February 2.

The document replaces the memorandum of understanding in the field between the two agencies in 2007.

During the talks, Pham Dung, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and head of the Committee for Religious Affairs, spoke highly of two agencies’ cooperation on religious affairs in the past, saying that the two sides obtained achievements in the field via exchanging delegations and mutual support in organising international religion-related events in each country.

Meanwhile, Cambodian Minister Min Khin stressed the need to promote the cooperation agreement via meetings on religion between border-sharing provinces.

The increased cooperation on religious affairs will benefit the two countries’ people, helping them understand their traditions, culture and customs, Minister Min Khin said.

Host and guest shared experience in state management on religious affairs and assessed the results obtained in the implementation of the 2007 MoU.

The two sides agreed to step up delegation exchange, cooperation in personnel training in religious work, supporting cooperation between the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam and the Cambodian Buddhist Sangha.

Tay Ninh: First six new rural communes recognised

First six communes in the southern province of Tay Ninh were recognised as new-style rural areas on February 2.

The qualified communes, which met all 19 criteria for new rural areas, are Phuoc Trach, An Tinh, Ben Cui, Binh Minh, Long Thanh Trung, and Thanh Binh.

In 2015, Tay Ninh plans to spend over 900 billion VND (42.8 million USD) to implement the national programme on building new rural areas across the locality.

The province hopes to have seven more communes that become new-style rural areas this year.

The National Target Programme on New Rural Development, launched in 2010, sets 19 criteria for new rural areas, covering infrastructure, production, living standards, income and culture, among others.

Hanoi programme to promote consumer rights

An action programme to protect consumer rights was launched in Hanoi on February 2.

The programme, the fifth of its kind, calls upon customers to speak out against violations of their rights to businesses or relevant agencies.

The purchasers themselves should be fully aware of their rights, said Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade Phan Tien Binh.

The programme, which runs from March 1 to July 31, will host various activities including a meeting in response to World Consumer Rights Day on March 15, a workshop, and other campaigns to raise public awareness of the issue.

March will be celebrated as a consumer rights action month, offering opportunities for customers to buy high-quality essential goods at reasonable prices.

For further information, call 04.1081.

Labor demand increases sharply in Dong Nai

About 500 enterprises in the southern province of Dong Nai need to recruit over 44,000 workers in 2015 due to operation expansion, according to the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The Department revealed that actual demand for laborers is higher than reported, estimating at over 60,000, and apparel, footwear, and mechanics industries require the highest employment.

The Dong Nai Garment Corporation (Donagamex) and the Hwaseung Company, for example, need to hire 2,000 and 1,000 workers, respectively.

Deputy Director of the Department Lam Duy Tin advised enterprises to offer preferential policies on wage and other welfare with a view of avoiding shortage of workers after the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival which falls in mid-February.

To date, Dong Nai has 1,131 valid foreign projects with a total investment of nearly 21.49 billion USD.

It is home to 31 industrial zones covering nearly 9,560ha, with the land occupancy rate of 66.77 percent, according to the Managing Board of the Dong Nai industrial zones

Dong Nai, together with Binh Duong, Tay Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Long An and Tien Giang provinces and Ho Chi Minh City, form Vietnam’s southern key economic region.

Binh Phuoc’s drive to keep ethnic traditions alive

Southern Binh Phuoc province has conducted a promotion campaign for the traditional cuisine and costumes of the local S’tieng ethnic minority people in a bid to preserve those values in the context of invasive modern culture.

The campaign has received significant attention for its genuine insight into indigenous life.

Event participants had the opportunity to learn the S’tieng technique for weaving brocades as well as the preparation of special dishes and drinks, such as bamboo-tube rice and local wine. They were able to take a closer look at how the ethnic group has long maintained its traditional way of living through generations.

Local artisan Thi Gion from Thanh An commune, Hon Quang district, shared that the construction and use of the traditional brocade has evolved over time. In the past, it was made from wild plants and used daily, but now the materials are mostly fabricated and the final products themselves have become commodities, she added.

Craftsman Thi Loi said that despite the community’s efforts, the young generation has shown a lack of interest in the traditions, necessitating campaigns like this to foster their appreciation.

According to Huynh Thanh, head of the provincial Board for Ethnic Groups, practical promotion programmes can raise awareness and encourage creativity in harmonising economic growth with traditional cultural preservation and development.

Binh Phuoc is home to 40 ethnic minority groups with half of its population identifying as S’tieng.

Republic of Korea assists medical training in Vietnam

The Republic of Korea will sponsor a three-year training programme for central Thua Thien-Hue province’s general hospital to improve the quality of its staff.

The programme will be financed by non-refundable aid worth 3.5 million USD from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), which covers the expenses of courses not only in Vietnam but also abroad.

Thua Thien-Hue general hospital was built on loans from the RoK government and began operation in January 2013. With 500 beds and fully equipped with modern technologies, it serves as a satellite facility of the Hue Central Hospital, contributing to easing its problem of overload.-

Tourists to Da Nang increase in January

The central city of Da Nang, one of Vietnam’s popular tourist destinations, saw a jump in the number of tourist arrivals in January.

Around 263,000 travellers visited the coastal city last month, up 13.3 percent against January in 2014.

Of them, 112,000 were foreigners, a slight increase of 3.5 percent and 151,000 were local holiday-makers, jumping 21.9 percent from the same period last year.

The revenue also rose 20 percent from one year ago to 765 billion VND (35.832 million USD).

Da Nang recently joined with central Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Nam provinces to unveil a campaign to promote tourism in their central region, home to numerous renowned beaches and world heritage sites.

The programme will focus on introducing new tourism options from all three localities in 2015, including a number of fascinating events, festive activities and tourism packages.

The city will introduce new river tours, the Helio entertainment complex, a French village, the Asia Park, a night market on Han river, Vincom commercial centre, and more.

Red Cross initiatives bring Tet to the poor

The Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) has put forth several initiatives to join the Party’s and nation’s efforts to care for disadvantaged groups, including the poor, Agent Orange victims and homeless elders and children, especially during the lunar New Year (Tet) holidays.

This year, the VRC continues launching the “Tet for the poor and AO victims” movement with a hope of collecting at least 1 million gifts from domestic and foreign donors and organisations.

Held annually from 1999, the event has so far mobilised over 3 trillion VND, assisting nearly 14 million poor households and AO victims. Notably, last year, the organisation collected 1.7 million gifts worth 635 billion VND.

Additionally, during this Tet festival, the VRC Central Committee will also provide 3,900 blankets for households in northern and northwestern areas which are severely hit by cold spells.

At this time, around 7,000 pairs of shoes, funded by the Korean Red Cross, will be presented to needy people.

The organisation has also succeeded in implementing the “Cow Bank” project, which is designed to provide cows for indigent districts and border communes.

Workshop promotes women’s participation in politics

A workshop to enhance women’s involvement in politics was held in central Ha Tinh province on February 2.

Speaking at the event, Vice National Assembly Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong said that today, more and more women pursue learning to improve themselves and have important contributions to the nation’s socio-economic development.

She spoke highly of the organisation of the workshop as it offered a forum to discuss measures to increase the participation of women in political issues and a chance for the NA Standing Committee to listen to delegates’ opinions about contents relating to the draft Law on Election of Deputies to the NA and the election of People’s Council members.

Participants also proposed several solutions to help women promote their capacity as a contribution to speeding up industrialisation and modernisation and achieving gender equality goal.

After discussions, they proposed the Party Central Committee’s Politburo and Secretariat issue documents on gender equality in personnel planning and appointments.

By 2020, Vietnam aims for women to fill at least 25 percent of posts in Party committees at all levels and 35-40 percent of seats in the National Assembly. The State and Governments agencies should have females occupying at least 30 percent of key leadership positions.

Illegal sand mining rampant in Son La

Along the Ma River in the northern mountainous province of Son La's Song Ma District, ships are illegally exploiting sand. The sand is transported away by enormous trucks, leaving dust that affects passers-by and nearby houses.

The problem has worsened in recent years despite efforts by local authorities.

About 20 ships illegally exploit sand and gold along the 80km stretch of river passing through Song Ma District, said Hoang Minh Luoc, chairman of the Chieng Khoong Commune. The commune People's Committee penalised violators, but they only stopped for a short time and then resumed their violations.

Vi Duc Tho, chairman of the Song Ma District People's Committee, said that households living along the Ma River in the district owned about 70 sand-sucking ships.

Chieng Khoong Commune, with 14 households, had 20 ships –the most ships in the district. Chieng Cang Commune had 21 households with 33 ships.

Most of the households did not have permits to exploit sand. The district had penalised them many times, but the households continued to exploit sand, Tho said.

Luong Van Quan, a resident of Tien Son Village, Chieng Khuong Commune, said that he knew that sand exploitation violated the law and had sent letters to district and provincial people's committees to ask for the permits, but did not receive any reply.

"I spent hundreds of millions of dong to buy a ship to suck sand, so I was forced to take the sand while waiting for a reply from local authorities to avoid losses," he said.

Sand in the river could only be exploited from July to December so the income from sand exploitation was not high, Quan added.

Illegal sand exploitation also happened in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai's Chu Pah District. At four individually owned sand exploitation shops along Ia Doal Stream in Hoa Phu Commune, each shop has thousands of cubic metres of sand piled up, according to Lao dong (Labour) newspaper.

A local resident said that the sand shops had eroded more than 2,000sq.m of land owned by his family.

Le Xuan Dung, head of the Chu Pah District Division of Natural Resources and Environment, said that illegal sand exploitation had happened in the district during the past five years.

However, the division did not have enough inspectors to control it.

Under regulations, the district People's Committee chairman must be blamed for illegal sand exploitation, according to Ho Mau Long, head of the Mineral Division under the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

However, Chu Pah District does not currently have a chairman because the former chairman was appointed to another position in the provincial Department of Planning and Investment.

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