HCM City wants to improve handling of public complaints

Handling public complaints in HCM City remains a complicated task since many involve large numbers of people and government staff have limited competence, the HCM City People’s Council concluded at a meeting yesterday.

Handling public complaints in HCM City remains a complicated task since many involve large numbers of people and government staff have limited competence, the HCM City People’s Council concluded at a meeting yesterday.

It called on the People’s Committee to instruct the Inspection Department and other relevant authorities to quickly resolve grievances and improve land administration.

People’s Council Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Quyết Tâm said: “There is a tendency of avoiding to take responsibility for resolving complaints by transferring them from one department to others. Local authorities need to properly discuss with the public when there are complaints.”

According to the department, since the beginning of last year there have been 9,400 complaints, a majority related to land compensation and clearance.

“Related authorities have met nearly 100,000 people and 493 groups,” Trần Đình Trữ, head of the department, told the meeting.

Around VNĐ23.4 billion (US$10 million) was paid out to beneficiaries and VNĐ42.2 billion ($18.2 million) was appropriated by the city, he said.

However, the limited capacity of staff in related official agencies and lack of follow-up and oversight caused many cases to drag on for a long time, while the legal framework governing them changed multiple times meantime, he said.

“Co-operation between departments is not close. When one authority sends an official letter to another, it does not insist on a reply and the case remains unsolved ”

Nguyễn Văn Hồng, deputy director of the department of Natural Resources and Environment, said: “The most challenging task for authorities is how to fix a price for land that can benefit owners, investors and the State because the real estate market is not transparent.

“Through discussions and meetings with the public they can acquire more information, and so local authorities should hold more meeting with residents.”

Huỳnh Cách Mạng, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee, said the city had received more than 20 very complicated complaints this year, 70 per cent of them related to land.

“In future the city will often check the roles played by leaders in meeting and resolving public complaints.”

Tâm said, “Related authorities must consider ways to resolve public grievances.

“It is a fact that authorities meet residents but do not provide a fair solution.

“It has eroded people’s trust in the authorities and the People’s Council.

“Members of the People’s Council must enhance oversight of all cases.”

HCM City told to finish anti-flood project

The VNĐ10 trillion anti-flood project in HCM City was suspended for five months.—Photo vov.vn

Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng instructed the HCM City People’s Committee to handle the planned multi-trillion dong anti-tidal- flooding project.

He wants the Committee to be the State agency to decide the investment of the VNĐ10 trillion (US$450 million) project that aims to control tidal flooding and to cope with climate change within the 750 square km of the city for its 6.5-million population.

The Committee is responsible for the overall investment and efficiency of the project, the implementation and solving any problems with the project which is also under the city authority and responsibility of the city government.

The Deputy PM also requested the Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, Nguyễn Thành Phong, ensure the progress and quality of the project.

This is the largest and most expensive anti-flooding construction project ever planned for HCM City. It started in June 2016 and is expected to be constructed over three years.

The project is funded by the Trung Nam Group, however, the construction was suspended for five months due to difficulties borrowing capital.

Additionally, disagreements also arose between the investor and the contract supervisor.

HCM City People’s Committee in late August it proposed to the Prime Minister to consider and chair a meeting with relevant ministries and agencies to solve problems.

The project is intended to solve tidal flooding and urban flooding. Six tide-control gates will be constructed in Bến Nghé, Tân Thuận, Phú Xuân, Mương Chuối, Cây Khô and Phú Định. Three pumping stations will also be built in Bến Nghé, Tân Thuận and Phú Định. Around 7.8 km of the dyke is built along the Sài Gòn River.

Around 300 households with 1,500 people have been removed for the construction.

At present, 60 per cent of HCM City floods at high tide - and 70 per cent of HCM City land is sinking. Climate change, urbanisation, and higher tides on lower lands all make flooding a major challenge for the city. 

Long An takes measures to reduce poverty rate

Phạm Thị Hương in Long An Province began breeding pigs after receiving a soft loan under a poverty-reduction programme. – Photo baolongan.com.vn

The number of poor households in the Mekong Delta province of Long An  fell from 4 per cent in 2016 to 2.9 per cent as of June this year, according to the province’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The province for the last three years has implemented the National Target Programme on Sustainable Poverty Reduction for the 2016-20 period.

It has provided soft loans worth more than VNĐ6.5 trillion (US$280 million) for poor and near-poor households, and students to do business or study, according to the department.

During the period, the province provided vocational skills for 51,300 labourers and jobs for 117,000 labourers.

It has also provided 251,000 poor and near-poor people with free health insurance cards.

The province’s Fund for the Poor has mobilised nearly VNĐ43 billion ($1.8 million) from philanthropists to support poor and near-poor households.

The provincial Women’s Union has carried out several models to help poor women, including providing vocational skills.

In Thủ Thừa District, all poor female-headed households have been provided soft loans to do business.

Phạm Thị Hương, who lives in Thủ Thừa’s Mỹ An Commune, said the commune Women’s Union had helped her family borrow a soft loan worth VNĐ30 million ($1,290) from the Bank of Social Policy to breed pigs. “My family lives are stable now. Besides pigs, I also grow dragon fruit.”

Previously, Hương and her husbands worked as hired daily workers and had difficult lives.  

Bùi Thị Trúc Linh, chairwoman of the Mỹ An Commune Women’s Union, said with the union’s support, many poor women had escaped poverty and improved their lives.

Since the beginning of the year, the commune-level Women’s Unions in Thủ Thừa have developed several models such as piggy banks and charity rice jars to raise money and rice to help the poor.

Mai Thị Hoa, deputy chairwoman of the Thủ Thừa District Women’s Union, said the union managed funds such as micro-credit for poor women and savings for health care.

“The union in co-operation with agencies has provided vocational skills and farming techniques for its members,” she said. 

The district’s women unions have built eight charity houses for poor households so far this year, exceeding the target of two houses this year.

Since 2016 the province has built a total of 942 houses for poor households.

Binh Duong events to share technopolis-related experience

Buildings in Binh Duong New City, Binh Duong province 

The southern province of Binh Duong is making the final preparations to host the 11th General Assembly of the World Technopolis Association (WTA) and related events from October 10 to 12. 

The WTA events this year, which coincide with the association’s 20th anniversary, are themed “Smart City as an Innovation Engine for Sustainable Growth”.

Main activities are the 11th WTA General Assembly, the 15th WTA Hi-tech Fair, and the 2018 Global Innovation Forum.

Notably, the 11th WTA General Assembly will share experience in developing sustainable technopolises and governing technopolises in the world.

Other events include the 16th WTA Mayors’ Forum, the 10th WTA University Presidents’ Forum, a meeting among the businesses, the WTA Promotion Day, and the final round of Binh Duong’s creative ideas for smart city contest.

At a press meeting on October 5, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mai Hung Dung said to push ahead with the implementation of the Binh Duong Smart City project, the province joined the WTA in August 2018. It signed an agreement with the administration of the Republic of Korea’s Daejeon city to co-host the 11th WTA General Assembly.

He noted the hosting of those events will help Binh Duong access advanced technologies, improve its governance and scientific-technological capacity to build a smart city, and introduce local investment potential to international partners.

Khmer people in Soc Trang celebrate traditional festival

Officials of the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang have arranged a series of activities for local Khmer ethnic people to celebrate their traditional Sene Dolta festival (Illustrative photo: VNA)

Officials of the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang have arranged a series of activities for local Khmer ethnic people to celebrate their traditional Sene Dolta festival.

Delegations of the province are paying visits and presenting gifts to 92 Khmer pagodas, esteemed Khmer people and disadvantaged households. 

In addition, the celebration of 2018 Sene Dolta at Som Rong pagoda of Soc Trang city will be broadcast live on October 9.

Ly Soc Pha, deputy head of the provincial committee on ethnic affairs, said the province has enhanced infrastructure as well as provided financial assistance and seedlings to facilitate Khmer people’s livelihood.

Local people have also received technical guidance in agriculture and aquaculture to effectively apply new production models, which in turn improves their lives and reduce poverty rate, he added.

In 2018, about 79 billion VND (3.39 million USD) under Programme 135 was presented to Khmer people in Soc Trang, including 57.3 billion VND for development.

The Government’s Programme 135, launched in 1999 under the Prime Minister’s Decision 135/1998/QD-TTg on July 31, 1998, aims to improve living conditions for rural residents with a particular focus on ethnic minority communities.

A sum worth 60.6 billion VND (2.6 million USD) was allocated to disadvantaged and border communes, from which the localities have worked on total 85 constructions, including rural roads, irrigational works and communal houses.

From the beginning of the year, more than 1,500 households have gained access to electricity. 

About 10,000 Khmer people in the province currently have stable jobs, which helped to lower poverty rate in the province’s Khmer group to less than 15 percent.

The Sene Dolta Festival in the late eighth lunar month is one of the three biggest traditional festivals of Khmer people, along with Chol Chnam Thmay (New Year) and Ok Om Bok (a festival to thank the Moon for good harvests).

During this festival, Khmer people pay tribute to their ancestors and take part in community celebration activities with traditional songs and dances after a hard working year.

Workshop looks to improve vocational, language training quality

A workshop focusing on new solutions and educational technologies to facilitate English teaching in vocational schools was held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 4.

The event was organised by the UK’s Department of International Trade in cooperation with the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs.

Deputy Director of the department Nguyen Van Lam said that English is an important tool for students in vocational facilities, which helps to raise their competitiveness in both Vietnamese and ASEAN markets after graduation. 

The city has launched numerous activities to improve the capacity and quality of English teachers in colleges and vocational schools, he added.

At the event, participants put forward new pedagogical theories and methods to raise the quality of teaching staff towards advanced training programmes.

Experts from the UK also shared solutions towards integrating UK certificates with Vietnam’s current vocational programme.

The UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Vietnam Ed Vaizey suggested the two sides strengthen cooperation in the improvement of vocational training quality, as well as enhance collaboration between vocational facilities to design suitable training programmes for Vietnam. 

He also voiced his hope that increasing ties between Vietnam and the UK will provide a chance for students and entrepreneurs to gain knowledge and skills on global labour markets.

Raising the quality of English teaching and learning in Vietnam’s vocational facilities needs concerted efforts, appropriate measures, and a thorough roadmap, contributing to the target of training skilled labourers to be fluent in English, he noted.

Work on Dau Giay-Lien Khuong expressway to start next year

Construction on a 200km section of Dau Giay-Lien Khuong expressway will begin next year, with total investment of 65 trillion VND (2.8 billion USD) including site clearance costs.

The expressway will ease traffic on National Highway No 20, which is overloaded with more than 15,000 vehicles per day. It will connect the southern largest economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City with Dong Nai and Lam Dong provinces.

The new expressway will have four lanes and a designed speed of 100-120km per hour.

It is divided into three sections: Dau Giay- Tan Phu, Tan Phu- Bao Loc and Bao Loc- Lien Khuong.    

The first section will be invested in the form of Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) with total capital of 7 trillion VND (300 million USD). The 66km section is expected to be completed in 2020.

The second section will have total length of 66km with an investment of 17 trillion VND (729 million USD). The third section will be 73km long, with total investment 13 trillion VND (557 million USD). Completion of the entire project is expected by 2030.

The Dau Giay- Lien Khuong expressway is part of Vietnam’s master plan for an expressway network to 2030.

Quang Ninh promotes “One Commune, One Product” programme

The northeastern province of Quang Ninh said it will be organising a promotional event for its local “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme.

Accordingly, during the third quarter of 2018, there will be a host of three-day-per-week events run across Dong Trieu, Quang Yen, Hai Ha district, Mong Cai, and Cam Pha. 

These events, part of the OCOP promotion week, aim to support local participants of the programme in expanding their markets to traditional wet markets, industrial zones, and residential areas.

The total number of products engaged in the Quang Ninh OCOP programme amounts to 362, of which 179 are categorised as food stuffs, 60 as beverage, 46 herbal medicine, seven handicrafts, and two services. A total of 131 products have been rated with three, four, and five stars.   

Meanwhile there are 44 enterprises, 64 cooperatives, and 56 households taking part in the programme.

OCOP products brought approximately 239 billion VND (10.23 million USD) to Quang Ninh in the first six months of 2018, up 7.4 percent year-on-year. The revenue resulted in a profit of 27.7 billion VND (1.18 million USD), an annual increase of 10 percent against the same period last year. Also during the period, the programme created 3,532 jobs with an average monthly income ranging between 5 and 9 million VND (213 – 385 USD) per person.

In 2013, Quang Ninh was the first locality in Vietnam to implement the programme, which was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2008, following the model of Japan’s “One Village, One Product” (OVOP) drive and Thailand’s “One Town, One Product” (OTOP). 

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Huy Hau said Quang Ninh hopes to leverage its advantages in natural resources, culture, and rural labour through the programme. In turn, boosting the creation of high-quality products, generating jobs and increasing incomes for local residents, and bring the locality closer to its sustainable development aims.

The OCOP programme is designed to help develop and complete production and value chains through production, harvesting, processing, and consumption for local specialties and products, he said.

The OCOP brand is registered as intellectual property and will be printed on all products, according to Hau.

Chairman of Quang Ninh Alliance of Cooperatives Nguyen Van Nghi said the province has encouraged the participation of cooperatives in the OCOP programme, as well as the transformation of cooperatives in line with the 2012 Law on Cooperatives to receive preferential treatment and improve their operational efficiency.

In addition, 29 cooperatives have been established through the OCOP.

Nghi said the law has created a legal framework for cooperatives to develop sustainably and diversify production models, thus contributing to poverty reduction.

The OCOP is an economic development programme for rural areas focusing on increasing internal power and values, contributing to the implementation of the National Target Programme on New Rural Development for 2016-2020. 

The classifications of goods and services defined in the programme include food (fresh and processed farm produce); beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinking); medicinal herbs (products made from herbal plants); fabric and textiles (products made from cotton and yarn); souvenirs, furniture, and decorations (products made from wood, fibres, rattan, metal, and ceramics); and rural tourism services and sales (services for sightseeing, tourism, study, and research). 

The overall objective of the programme is to develop stable and sustainable forms of production for organisations and businesses (with priority given to developing cooperatives and small- and medium-sized enterprises), towards producing traditional products and improving services with high competitiveness on the domestic and international markets, thus promoting rural economy and national agriculture industrialisation and modernisation. 

As of late April, 60 out of 63 cities and provinces nationwide have built their OCOP frame programme at the provincial level, 30 of which have already completed the programme design and 28 others are collecting feedback before approval. Paticularly, Quang Ninh province has entered the second phase.

Photo exhibition reflects on Hanoi’s Liberation Day celebrations

A photo shows Hanoians welcome Vietnamese soldiers returning to the capital city on October 10, 1954, after defeating French colonialists 

A photography exhibition tracing the moment when the Vietnamese army took over the capital city from French colonialists opened in Hanoi on October 5, marking the occasion of the 64th anniversary of Hanoi Liberation Day (October 10). 

Themed “Hanoi, Day of Return”, the photos depict the nine years of struggle during the war against the French colonialists, as well as the celebrations across the capital city of the glorious victory. The artifacts retrace Hanoi’s image during the 60 days and nights of fighting in the winter of 1946. 

For the occasion, a collection of poems entitled “Harvest Season: Volume 1 and 2” by Le Tam, member of the executive board of the Hanoi Youth Union for National Salvation; President Ho Chi Minh’s insignia of Dien Bien Phu soldiers; and a special edition of the “Tien Phong” (Vanguard) newspaper printed in October 1954 were also introduced for the first time to the public. 

At the opening ceremony, visitors had a chance to meet some of the witnesses who were there to take back the city’s major agencies, including Major General Nguyen Duc Minh, Colonel Duong Niet, Colonel Le Duy, among others.

The event will last until January 30.

First Mekong Delta Khmer folk song festival wraps up

The first Khmer folk song festival of the Mekong Delta wrapped up in Soc Trang province on October 5 after four days of competition. 

Co-organised by Vietnam Television’s VTV 5 channel and Soc Trang Television and Radio Station, the event attracted 96 contestants and 135 dancers and musicians. The contestants sang songs praising the Party, “Uncle Ho”, and the nation. 

Meritorious Artist Son Luong, head of the jury, said the event contributed to preserving and upholding the cultural and creative values of Khmer residents. 

Nguyen Van Bon, Director of the Soc Trang Television and Radio Station and head of the organising board, said the festival offered amateur artists a chance to share experience and honour the traditional culture of Khmer people. 

The organising board presented first prizes to Kiem Luong and Lam Thi Dien from Soc Trang’s arts and culture school, and second prizes to Ly Kim Quyen from Ke Sach ethnic boarding school and Thach Mang Khit from Tra Vinh University.

Int’l tech demonstration conference 2018 closes in Can Tho

The International Technology Demonstration and Connection Conference 2018 wrapped up in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on October 5 after three days featuring 13 major activities. 

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the municipal People’s Committee, the event aimed to facilitate technological transfer and renovation, helping firms in the Mekong Delta and across the nation improve their level of competitiveness and global integration. 

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung said the event has helped to process 100 technological demands of firms and organisations in the south, introduced 2,500 technological supplies at home and abroad on tech data systems, and showcased more than 500 products by 128 domestic and foreign units. 

Apart from 61 consultation sessions, 19 contracts on technological transfer worth over 240 billion VND were signed and five technologies acquired support for commercialisation. 

Participants offered advice about the establishment of a research centre on shrimp by-products and a scholarship fund to develop aquatic by-products in Vietnam. Over 50 firms consulted 20 technological experts regarding technical upgrades. 

A series of international seminars and forums proposed solutions to technological application in agricultural production and shrimp by-products. 

On the occasion, a connection centre for technology supply and demand was inaugurated and put into operation. It is expected to promote scientific-technological application in production and business operations.

Vietnam-RoK design centre inaugurated in Hanoi

The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) and the Korean Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP) held an inaugural ceremony for the Vietnam-Korea Design Centre in Hanoi, on October 5.

The centre will provide support services for enterprises to develop designs and brands, and increase Vietnamese products’ added values through seminars, conferences, training courses, and information dissemination.

It will also offer activities to link enterprises and designers at home and abroad, provide consultancy and support for Vietnamese companies to hire experts to improve product patterns, models, packaging, and brand-building.

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai affirmed the significance of innovative design to economic development in a country, while hailing the RoK as an outstanding example in the region and the world in terms of socio-economic development associated with the strong development of an innovative design industry with globally renowned brands, such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai.

He expressed his belief that the centre will support Vietnam’s design industry, as well as its business community, to step by step renovate and develop products aimed at boosting exports and meeting the consumption demands of markets worldwide.

The centre will be also a venue for the exchange of ideas, experience sharing among Vietnamese and Korean designers, introducing new ideas, and exhibiting the best products from both countries.

Sustainable forestry management project approved

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a project on sustainable forest management and forest certification.

The project aims to focus on sustainable forest resource management and use while preserving biodiversity and protecting ecological environment and forest environment service values. It is also to promote the granting of forest certification in Vietnam that will recognise legal wood sources in order to help Vietnamese wood quality for domestic and international market criteria.

Accordingly, the project will certify 300,000 hectares of forests by 2020, with up to one million additional hectares certified by 2030. The areas in question are managed by organisations, households and the protection forest management board.

The goal is to establish planted forests as a source of wood to ensure at least 80 percent of Vietnam’s exported wood products are sustainably sourced.

In turn, this will reduce poverty and hunger among forest carers while expanding the forestry sector.

Vietnam will also recognise certificates issued by international organisations.

The project requires local authorities to use sustainable forest management practices to qualify for the certification.

Forest owners are encouraged to connect with wood processing businesses to form a coherent production chain.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been assigned to instruct relevant businesses and localities to implement the project.

Vietnam currently has 235,000 hectares of certified forests, including 88,000 hectares of natural forests and 147,000 ha of planted forests.