Ca Mau supports student boat fees

The southern province will implement a programme that enables poor children to travel to school via boat, said the director for the provincial department of education and training.

About 6,000 students will receive VND30,000-100,000 (US$1.5-5) each per month while the local government will mobilise organisations such as farmer associations and youth, veteran and women's groups to carry the students for free, said director Thai Van Long.

According to Long's department, Ca Mau has 250km of coastline and 800km of rivers and canals that are almost below sea level, which means there are no means of transportation available in the province other than by boat.

Over 30,000 students must go to school by boat, with many having to wake up as early as 4am or 5am to travel 10km from their home to school. Long criticised the current method of transport as dangerous and bemoaned the fact that children must pay the boat fee, leaving them with less time to relax after school.

Regarding the issue of safety, the province requires boat owners to provide life jackets for students, and has placed restrictions on the amount of people carried per trip.

Though Director Long says it is normal to travel by boat in the area, the local Government hopes to reduce the number of children travelling this way by up to 25,000 by investing in a rural transportation system that includes bridges and roads by 2015.

Memorial held for Buddhist patriach

Thousands of people attended a memorial service for Most Venerable Thich Minh Chau, Deputy Patriarch of the Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha (VBS), who passed away on September 1 aged 94.

Representatives from the VBS, Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee, Buddhist dignitaries, and assorted religious followers paid their last respects to the colossal figure of Vietnamese Buddhism at Van Hanh Monastery in Phu Nhuan District.

Born in 1918 in the central province of Quang Nam, Most Venerable Thich Minh Chau, whose real name is Dinh Van Nam, played a significant role in unifying Buddhist sects in the country. He was also noted for bringing Buddha's Tripitaka (the ‘Three Baskets' of scriptures) teachings closer to ordinary people through translation of the sacred texts into Pali and English languages.

The Most Venerable was elected Deputy Chairman and General Secretary of the VBS for three consecutive terms since its foundation in 1981, and was elected deputy of the National Assembly for four consecutive terms.

Chau was also honoured with a number of noble Party and State distinctions, including the Ho Chi Minh Order, Independence Order (second class) and Great National Unity Order.

Following a commemorative ceremony, Chau's body will rest at the stupa of Van Hanh Monastery.

Media lays groundwork for greater international reach

Within three years, Viet Nam will be broadcasting top news programmes to the world by television and radio. This is part of a recently approved plan to expand the country's coverage.

The plan states that by 2015, Viet Nam's satellite signals will reach all countries and territories in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific and Oceania.

Efforts will also be made to improve the content of existing foreign-affairs channels, including VTV4 (after 2015 be known as VTV World), and the Vietnam News Agency (Vnews) television channel.

The national plan suggests content produced for a global audience would be a faster reflection of the Government's and the Party's policies and the country's potential in attracting foreign investment and boosting tourism.

Focus will be on providing in-depth reports reflecting Viet Nam's foreign-affairs policies and its position regarding regional and world affairs.

Viet Nam has several channels targeting global audiences and overseas Vietnamese, most notably VOV World and VOV5 (radio), VTC10 (cable channel), VTV4 and Vnews (television).

US grant to improve HCM City water supply

The US has agreed to provide a grant of US$593,660 to the HCM City water utility to enhance management and supply strategies to the city.

The US consulate in HCM City signed an agreement with the Sai Gon Water Supply Corporation (SAWACO) for the aid, which will be used to upgrade the company's information and communication technology management.

"This technical assistance will help the company in reaching its goal of supplying 100 per cent of consumers in the city with potable water in 2025," Robert Ogburn, the acting consul general, said.

The United State Trade and Development Agency, which will provide the money, said technologies and expertise would also be made available to SAWACO for the purpose.

SAWACO supplies 1.2 million cu.m of water a day to nearly 530,000 households. It is expected to add another 20,000 households benefited after the project is completed.

Province budgets funds to boost productivity

The People's Committee here will spend US$340 million improving the quality of local products and production productivity by 2015.

The money will be spent through a project dubbed "Improve productivity and quality of products in the 2012-15 period" to raise the capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises and those in key industries.

Dong Thap has nearly 3,000 enterprises with a total registered capital of about VND15 trillion ($714 million).
Higher fees proposed for capital hospitals

Saint Paul and Thanh Nhan hospitals have proposed to raise medical fees following complaints that current fees are affecting the quality of medical treatment and making it difficult to attract skilled doctors.

Since 1995, the two hospitals' medical fees haven't changed, though the costs of indispensable services have increased dramatically. Though located in Ha Noi, hospitals under city management, such as Saint Paul and Thanh Nhan, have to apply lower fees than national hospitals.

VNN/VOV/VNS