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Social News 19/3
Thief takes pottery piece of famous artist in broad daylight
Police have arrested a 54-year-old man for allegedly stealing
a pottery piece of world-renowned Vietnamese-French artist Le Ba Dang just
one week after his death.
The man, identified only as T, claimed that he is a friend of
the artist's who admires his works and that he took the item for keepsake.
The arrest was made on March 16, two days after the artwork
disappeared from the Le Ba Dang Art Foundation in
Dinh Thi Hoai Trai, director of the foundation, said it
happened when most staff members were away for a requiem ceremony for the
artist.
Police later identified T thanks to a security camera
installed at the place.
The item, titled Gom 9 (Pottery 9), is measured 19 centimeters
by 28 cm with delicate carvings.
It is one of nine pottery pieces that Dang made during a visit
to the
Dang gifted it to the provincial authorities in 2012, according
to Le Thi Ngoc Vien, deputy director of the Le Ba Dang Art Foundation.
The artist passed away in
Dang was born in 1921 in Bich La Dong, a village in the
central
He left
Dang expressed himself through a variety of media, including
painting, watercolor, sculpture, jewelry and graphic works.
He was ranked as one of the most famous painters in the world
by
He held various exhibitions and cultural activities in Thua
Thien-Hue, and donated a total 305 artworks to the province.
Workshop promotes comprehensive planning system
Building a comprehensive planning system is the main focus of
a workshop organised by the
Experts from the Ministries of Construction, Transport and
Natural Resources and Environment introduced participants to land use
planning and the 2030-2050 master plan for
Experience in designing a combined plan for land use, traffic
and the environment was also shared at the workshop by professors from
During the event, participants focused their discussions on
the use of the urban economic calculation model in
Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duong, head of the Hanoi Institute of Social
and Economic Development, said the socio-economic development master plan in
According to Nguyen Truc Anh, Deputy Director of the Steering
Committee for Planning and Construction Investment in
However, there are many legal-equality plans in existence in
OV discovers bank official fled with his €400,000 deposit
A Vietnamese-French man who thought he had deposited €400,000
in a Ho Chi Minh-based bank in December recently discovered that his money
has been misappropriated by a bank official.
Duong Thanh Nghi narrated his plight to the media after an
Agribank branch in District 1 refused to let him withdraw his €400,000
(US$420,000), saying Nguyen Le Kieu Quang, a former head of a transaction
office attached to the branch, had illegally mortgaged his deposit for a
VND10.4 billion (US$520,000) loan.
Quang had asked Nghi to sign some blank papers, claiming this
would simplify certain bank procedures when the latter is abroad.
On January 30 Quang had fled with an even larger sum of money
belonging to the bank -- VND17 billion (US$850,000) – and is facing criminal
charges for embezzlement, Nghi was told.
He has to wait until authorities finish their investigation
into the case to get his money, the bank told him.
MoH to update medical testing facilities
The Ministry of Health has started developing measures to
improve medical tests and examinations, Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Xuyen has
said.
Xuyen said at a meeting on Monday in Ha Noi the ministry was
drafting a set of national technical standards for clinical units,. Another
public laboratory would also be set up to conduct tests on samples taken by
medical centres.
Steps the ministry has already taken include creating a
National Action Plan to improve the management of medical laboratories, and
establishing three centres for standardising and controlling the quality of
the labs last year – one in Ha Noi and two in HCM City.
However, Nguyen Trong Khoa, deputy director of the ministry's
Department of Medical Services, said the steps taken so far hadn't succeeded
in controlling the quality of the labs.
"There are only three centres monitoring lab test
results, compared with over 1,300 hospitals across the country," Khoa
said. "The number of centres is nowhere near high enough."
Meanwhile, many clinical unit directors weren't fully aware of
the importance of medical tests, so they didn't prioritise testing quality,
Khoa said.
Along with shortages, the low quality of equipment used for
testing also presented a problem, said Nguyen Minh Tuan, director of the
Department of Equipment and Health Facilities.
"There have been a number of scandals questioning the
quality of medical equipment recently, which has worried residents and
patients in particular," Tuan said.
The latest scandal took place in August last year. Equipment
provided by the ministry to 10 Ha Noi hospitals was found to be substandard,
possibly with fake manufacturer labels.
Nam Dinh Province Department of Health Deputy Director Khuong
Thanh Vinh said lab personnel weren't performing as well as they should.
"For example, among the 43 officers who work in the labs
in the province, only 11, or about 30 per cent, were trained to do medical
testing," he said.
Former president Nguyen Minh Triet and former prime minister
Phan Van Khai joined top leaders of HCM City and other provinces, scientists
and researchers yesterday to review the city's development over the past 40
years and discuss strategies and plan for the upcoming period.
The seminar, titled "
Most of the attendees as well as the 125 reports tabled at the
seminar focused on the city's role as the nation's economic, cultural,
educational, scientific, and technological centre and a hub for international
exchanges and global integration.
Le Thanh Hai, Politburo member and Secretary of the city Party
Committee, said the current happiness and wealth of the people were
attributable to people who fought for more than a century against invaders
and spent 40 years building and protecting the country.
Delegates agreed that
For the last 40 years the city's achievements had contributed
to the region and country, confirming its centrality to the country, they
said.
Hai said following its rapid economic growth the city
contributed 30 percent of the Government's revenues.
"In the past 40 years the city faced harsh challenges in
fighting backwardness to create something new."
An aerial view of
But in comparison with other places in the neighbourhood, the
city still faced shortcomings like low competitiveness, flooding, traffic
congestion and accidents, overloading at hospitals, and lack of food safety,
he admitted.
In her opening speech, Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, deputy secretary
of the city Party Committee and Chairwoman of the People's Council, said the
seminar was organised to underscore the city's contributions to the nation's
development.
The reports tabled at the seminar are set to be collected and
published as a book.
Near-poor households receive free health insurance cards
The health ministry, the Viet Nam Women Union and the Viet Nam
Social Insurance Agency today jointly gave free health insurance cards to
4,000 near-poor households in northern Thanh Hoa province.
The action aims to share the difficulties of the people and
provide them better access to medical services, especially near-poor women.
The cards worth VND800 million (US$40,000) were donated from
the fund of the Vietnamese women's health movement.
Launched by the health ministry and the Viet Nam Women Union
in October 2014, the movement mobilised nearly VND16 billion ($800,000) to
buy health insurance cards for the near-poor and those facing difficulties.
Speaking at the event, health minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien
said, "Involving them in the health insurance service would be the best
health protection for each person and community." The health insurance
service has covered 71.6 per cent of the country's population, or more than
64 million people. Tien said poor people, children under six, ethnic and
minority people or those living in difficult areas have been provided free
health insurance cards by the State Budget.
Last year, 3.2 million of the country's 5.1 million near-poor
were covered by the health insurance service, an increase of 20 per cent
compared to 2013.
However, around 40 per cent of the near-poor households are
not covered by the service, despite the State funding 70 per cent of the
service's fees.
It is still beyond the capacity of several near-poor people to
pay the remaining 30 per cent of health insurance fees, or about VND200,000
($9.5).
New method proposed for dealing with overloaded vehicles
A senior official has suggested that weight control units
should be assembled to deal with drivers refusing to submit relevant
documents before the vehicle's weight can be checked for overloading.
Nguyen Van Huyen, General Director of the Directorate for
Roads of Viet Nam, said vehicle owners or drivers should be forced to lock
their vehicles or the vehicles should be taken to a parking lot where they
are examined.
Huyen was speaking at a meeting on the implementation of
transport inspection for 2015 held in Ha Noi on Monday.
He also proposed that local authorities should be responsible
for checking overloaded vehicles.
A representative from the
Nguyen Khac Chuong, deputy chief inspector of the Nghe An
Province's transportation, said the teams of inspectors had encountered
difficulties in dealing with overloaded vehicles travelling from
Huyen blamed the ineffectiveness of vehicle inspection to the
poor awareness of vehicle owners and drivers and the quality of weighing
scales.
In 2014, transport inspection forces conducted nearly 117,900
inspections and 157,910 cases of overloading were reported, with total fines
of VND380,809 million (US$17.7 million) imposed on the vehicles.
Bank assists impoverished households to escape poverty
As much as 1.24 million impoverished households and policy
beneficiaries in
Of the total, 515,000 impoverished households received 18.5
million VND each.
The capital helped 160,000 households rise out of poverty and
created jobs for 430,000 locals, said Nguyen Kim Phung, Director of the Hanoi
VBSP branch during a working session with prominent Hanoi leaders recently.
Meanwhile, 138,000 students have also benefited from VBSP
loans and 7,200 houses were built, she said.
Last year, the Hanoi branch offered loans to 120,000 households,
including 17,000 disadvantaged and 11,000 students.
The branch also generated jobs for 30,000 locals, upgraded
60,000 clean water facilities, and contributed to reducing impoverished
household ratio to 1.91 percent in 2014 from 2.66 percent in 2013.
According to Phung, the branch targets 8 percent growth in
2015 and as much as a 10 percent growth in 2020.
However, VBSP General Director Duong Quyet Thang held that
loans for impoverished households remains low, limiting their socio-economic
development and ability to rise out of poverty.
Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen The Thao
proposed that the Hanoi VBSP branch should diversify its capital resources
and step up administrative reform to improve access to capital.
Electricity supply ensured in southern islands
Numerous high-capacity electricity stations have recently been
installed in many southern islands as part of efforts by the Southern Power
Corporation to ensure sufficient electricity supply for the islands in the
region.
A 110kV transmission station with a capacity of 80MVA, almost
four times the current demand, has been installed on Phu Quoc Island in the
southern province of Kien Giang in anticipation of surging local electricity
demand as the tourism industry is booming in the island.
The Power Company in Kien Giang has also completed a 22kV grid
providing electricity for Kien Hai Island. Power consumption on the island is
only 0.5 MVA, easily met by the 2-MVA installed stations.
In a bid to guarantee electricity supply in Phu Quy Island,
Binh Thuan province’s Power Company repaired two diesel engines at the Phu
Quy diesel-power plant together with the medium-voltage grid and Long Hai
stations 2 and 3. Additionally, two power generator units have just become
operational to contribute to the regional supply.
Furthermore, the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and Southern
Power Corporation agreed to implement an 11.5 million USD project to enhance
diesel power and upgrade the power grid system in Phu Quy Island to meet
demand and support socio-economic development by 2020.
Meanwhile, additional power generators were added to the
system on Con Dao Island to augment its electrical capacity. Ba Ria-Vung Tau
Power Company will devise plans to maximize the operation of electrical
generators to leverage their capacity.-
Workshop
seeks to address gender pay gap in workplace
A workshop on workplace gender discrimination was held in Vung
Tau city, southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, on March 14 with the aim to
provide an insight into global standards on wage and income to promote gender
equality and sustainable employment.
The function brought together representatives from the
Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), its southern
provincial bodies, the Spanish Agency for International Development
Cooperation, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), experts and
businesses.
MoLISA Deputy Minister Doan Mau Diep said Vietnam approved the
ILO Convention No.100 on Equal Remuneration and Convention No.111 on
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation).
It is necessary for developing countries in the process of
international integration like Vietnam to thoroughly grasp these documents
and related matters, especially when the nation is to build a law on minimum
wage.
Participants at the workshop studied international labour
standards on equal pay and good practice in applying these standards in
Vietnam.
They also debated the current legal framework on wage and
income, orientations for designing a draft law on minimum wage, research
findings on gender pay gap in the workplace, and policy recommendations,
among others.-
Hanoi responds to national labour safety week
The Hanoi People’s Committee on March 14 launched a campaign
in response to the 17th annual National Week on Occupational Health and
Safety – Fire and Explosion Prevention, which will take place from March
15-21.
The committee requested all departments, local authorities and
people and particularly over 1.5 million workers in over 170,000 enterprises,
to join hands to prevent and minimise occupational accidents and diseases.
They were also asked to strictly follow the Party Central
Committee Secretariat’s instruction on intensifying labour safety and health
during the cause of industrialisation, modernisation and international
integration, and the Prime Minister’s decision involving firefighters’ rescue
task.
The municipal leaders also called for stricter inspections
over and punishment of violation acts.
At the event, the municipal firefighting police gave training
in firefighting and rescue skills for more than 800 workers and
representatives of enterprises in the city.
In 2014, as many as 132 industrial accidents occurred in
Hanoi, killing 34 people and injuring four. The deadly accidents occurred
mainly in construction and electricity.
The city also recorded 166 fires and explosions across the
city, claiming 18 lives and leaving 16 injured, causing estimated economic
loss of 200 billion VND (9.3 million USD).
Green Earth Hour campaign kicks off in HCM City
The Green Earth Hour campaign in Vietnam was launched with a
ceremony at the Youth Culture House in District 1, HCM City, on March 14.
Dancer Quang Dang and singer Quynh Anh, the campaign’s
ambassadors, unveiled the “Earth Mascot”- an original product made from used
plastic bottles - as the campaign’s message about environmental protection,
energy conservation and recycling.
Besides the Earth Hour campaign’s traditional action of
switching off unnecessary lights and electrical equipment for an hour, many
projects were kicked off at the ceremony such as “20s for the Earth Hour”,
which calls on people to turn off their vehicles when they stop for more than
20 seconds at a red light to save fuel and reduce CO2 emissions.
Volunteers will be dispatched to schools under the “Green
Sprout for the Earth” programme to help create more environment-friendly and
energy-saving school models, and the “Green Energy” project will encourage
households throughout the city to conserve electricity by giving gifts to
those who cut their power consumption by five percent.
Women’s role critical to eliminating rhino horn use
The role of women as providers and caretakers is pivotal to
eliminating the belief in and habit of using rhino horns as medication, said
Do Quang Tung, Director of the CITES Management Authority of Vietnam, on
March 13.
At a workshop held in northern Hai Phong port city, Tung
underlined that profit from the global trading of elephant tusks and rhino
horns reaches 15-20 billion USD a year, and Asia is the main consumer of both
animal products. In recent years, Vietnam has become one of the world’s
largest consumers of rhino horn.
Every year, the Hai Phong Customs Department seizes about 20
tonnes of rhino horns hailing from Africa and intended to be transported
through Vietnam to other countries, he added, noting that growing poaching
levels are pushing rhinos to the brink of extinction.
Teresa Telecky, Director of Wildlife for Humane Society
International, highlighted that five rhino species exist in the world at
present, including 275 Sumatra rhinos and 60 Java rhinos. The last rhino in
Vietnam was killed for its horn in 2010.
The demand for rhino horn is based on the inaccurate belief
that the powder can treat cancer and improve health conditions, she said,
demonstrating scientific evidence that rhino horns have similar components to
those of human fingernails and are completely unable to cure illness.
At the workshop, the CITES Management Authority also warned
that rhino horns are usually injected with toxic chemicals to protect the
animal from being poached. These poisons are not absorbed into rhino bodies
but can cause adverse affects in horn consumers.
Meanwhile, a number of horns sold in the market are fraudulent
and made of plastic, posing a significant risk to users, the authority noted.
Telecky suggested Vietnamese women communicate these important
facts to their relatives to raise their awareness.
Taking affect from July 1, 1975, the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was
first signed in 1973 with the aim to protect certain wild species against
over-exploitation through commercial trade. Vietnam joined the convention in
1994, becoming its 121 st member. As many as 180 countries have participated
in CITES so far.
National celebrations to avoid wastefulness
The organisation of major anniversary celebrations in 2015
must be safe, solemn and as economically as possible, Deputy Prime Minister
Vu Duc Dam emphasised during a meeting on March 13.
At the meeting of the national committee for organising
celebrations of major anniversaries this year, Deputy Minister of
Culture-Sports and Tourism Huynh Vinh Ai reported on activities to be held to
mark the 40 th Southern Liberation and National Reunification Day ( April
30), 70 years of August Revolution (August 9) and National Day (September 2),
the 125th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh, among others.
Committee members focused on a plan for the upcoming grand
ceremony for the 40 th Southern Liberation and National Reunification Day (
April 30) which will take place in Ho Chi Minh City.
Hanoi launches consumer rights protection campaign
Hanoi’s Department of Industry and Trade held a meeting on
March 12 in response to World Consumer Rights Day (March 15) and launched the
2015 campaign “Act for consumer rights”.
Addressing the meeting, Deputy Director of the city’s
Department of Industry and Trade Phan Tien Binh said consumer rights in Hanoi
have been violated in a number of ways, yet few complaints are recorded and
businesses tend to delay or even avoid handling the complaints that are.
Relevant governmental bodies should take stronger
responsibility for the issue while consumers should be more active in
protecting their own legitimate rights, he urged.
Conveying a “Consumers raise the voice” message, the campaign
includes a wide range of activities to increase public awareness of the eight
consumer rights and encourage them to speak out against violations.
The department will give away free consumer guidebooks at
public spaces in Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, Hai Ba Trung district, appear on a Hanoi
Television talk show to discuss the issue and hang street banners.
A highlight of the campaign is the March consumer rights
action month, featuring 246 special outlets selling high-quality goods at
reasonable prices, a 20 percent higher participation rate from last year.
Major brands joining this year’s programme include VHC
Corporation, Hanoi Trade Corporation, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications
Group (VNPT), retail chain BigC, Thuong Dinh Footwear Lt. Co and Saigon Co.op
retailer.
Consumers will be provided with discounts and special offers
as well as excellent after-sale and warranty services during the month-long
programme.
A helpline (04.1081) has been set up to provide information on
the special outlet locations and connect callers with consumer rights
protection agencies.
Nationwide campaign encourages people to stay fit
Vietnamese people from every corner of the country will be
putting on their running shoes later this month as communities across the
country take part in the 2015 Olympic Run for All People’s Health.
The run, which is scheduled to take place on March 22, is the
headline event in a health campaign that was introduced by the Ministry of
Culture, Sports and Tourism at a press briefing in Hanoi on March 12. The
occasion is being co-organised by the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and
Tourism and the Vietnam Olympic Committee.
The event, which will see people joining together to run in
local parks and open spaces across Vietnam, will mark the 69 th anniversary
of the first Vietnam Sports Day and the publication of an essay penned by
late President Ho Chi Minh titled “Exercise and Health,” which called on all
people to stay healthy.
Pham Dong Anh, an official from the Ministry, told media that
the essay has fuelled a love of exercise and sport across the country since
it was released in 1946.
The capital city of Hanoi will kick-start the campaign with
more than 3,000 people expected to run around Hoan Kiem Lake on the set day.
Nearly 600 communes and wards across the city will join the
run, said To Van Dong, Director of the municipal Department of Culture,
Sports and Tourism.
According to the organisers, more than 50 provinces and cities
across the country have already registered to join the event.-
Forum to boost agricultural production efficiency in Mekong
Delta
Boosting the connection in agricultural production, processing
and consumption in the Mekong Delta was the focus at a forum held on March 12
in Tra Vinh province.
During the event, Director of the Centre for Agriculture
Encouragement under the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development, Phan
Huy Thong, highlighted the crucial role of the consumer market in ensuring
efficiency and sustainability in shifts from rice cultivation to other crops.
Incentives should be devised to attract business participation
in production while forming concentrated areas to ensure sufficient materials
for processing demand, underscored Thong.
In 2014, roughly 80,000 hectares of rice fields in the Mekong
Delta were replaced by other crops, nearly doubling their economic value.
Tra Vinh has shifted 3,000 hectares of its rice fields to
other crops. It has also provided technical and financial assistance to local
farmers while encouraging business involvement to ensure demand-relevant
production.
Vinh Long brick makers helped to switch to green technology
SME enterprises operating in brick, ceramics and food
processing industries in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long will receive
assistance to switch to environmentally-friendly and energy saving
technologies under the “Green Investment Fund” programme
The programme, which was launched at a workshop on March 13,
was part of the project “Low Carbon Energy and the Environment” (LCEE), a
joint effort of Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Danish
Government.
Under the scheme, target enterprises will be provided credit
guarantee for 50 percent of loans taken for technology renovation. In
addition, successful enterprises will be awarded between 330 and 40 percent
of their loans depending on the level of energy they save.
Brick and ceramic production is the traditional industry of
Vinh Long. However, local makers have met difficulties since 2012 due to
their out-of-date production technology, which resulted in low productivity
and competitiveness as well as environmental pollution.
The local authorities have supported their enterprises to
access to incentive capital sources, and to upgrade and renovate technology.
But so far, only nine have managed to switch to new kiln technology.
Bui Huu Mai, Chairman of the province’s Association of Fine
Arts Brick and Ceramic said the locality will continue assisting 40
enterprises operating in the field in improving production technology in
2015.
At the workshop, local brick and ceramic producers discussed
procedures to access credit guarantee and measures to solve difficulties
facing them in renovating production technology.
Lao Cai alerted to forest fire risk
The northern province of Lao Cai has put its Hoang Lien
National Park on high fire alert, with long-lasting heat posing a serious
threat to the region’s forests.
According to the Sa Pa Hydrometeorology Station, the danger is
likely to last four more days. A lack of rainfall is creating a severe
shortage of water in localities and putting local forests at high risk of
fire.
The provincial People’s Committee has instructed the necessary
bodies to strengthen fire prevention efforts in a bid to minimise the risk.
Publicity campaigns have been enhanced in order to raise local
residents and tourists’ awareness of the matter.
Last year, two major fires broke out in Hoang Lien, destroying
hundreds of hectares of natural forests.
The national park covers the communes of San Sa Ho, Lao Chai,
Ta Van, Ban Ho in Sa Pa district and a part of Muong Khoa commune in Lai Chau
province's Than Uyen district.
The 30,000-ha park was recognised by the ASEAN Secretariat as
one of the region’s heritage sites in 2006.
Drought affects cultivated crops in Dak Lak
Regional drought is damaging more than 4,400 hectares of
crops, mainly rice and coffee trees, in the Central Highlands province of Dak
Lak.
The most affected areas include Krong Bong, Krong Nang, Ea
Kar, M’Drak, Lak and Cu M’gar districts.
Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural
Development Trang Quang Thanh attributed the drought to the low rainfall from
a premature end to the rainy season. The water levels of rivers, ponds and
lakes are significantly below average.
In Cu M’gar district – the province’s key coffee zone with
35,000 hectares of coffee – three reservoirs are running out of water and 48
others have precariously low water levels, hampering irrigation work.
To cope with the drought, provincial leaders asked local
authorities to guide community members to dredge ponds and reservoirs and
free the flow of streams to make full use of water resources.
The province also plans to provide fuel to serve the dredging
activities.
Drought is also causing water shortages for daily use in over
1,000 households in Krong Bong, Krong Nang and Lak districts.
Jetstar Pacific flight schedules changed due to bad weather
Low-cost carrier Jetstar Pacific announced several flight
changes for those destined for the Cat Bi and Vinh airports on March 17 due
to bad weather.
Flight BL510 departing from Ho Chi Minh City at 6:50 am
changed course to land at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport instead of
its origin destination- the Cat Bi international airport in the northern port
city of Hai Phong.
The carrier took measures to ensure its customers were
transported from Hanoi to Hai Phong as well as transversely from Hai Phong to
Hanoi for departures to Ho Chi Minh City.
On the same day, other two flights connecting Ho Chi Minh City
and Hai Phong city, BL516 and BL517, were rerouted to Noi Bai airport.
Departure and landing times for flights at the Vinh airport in
central Nghe An province were also changed due to fog.
According to a Jetstar Pacific executive, bad weather in Hai
Phong and Vinh had a ripple effect on flight schedules at other airports.
Binh Dinh looks to improve efficiency of drainage project
More must be done to ensure that a crucial water drainage and
flood control project in Quy Nhon city, central coastal Binh Dinh province,
is completed to a high standard and without delay, a senior local politician
has declared.
Phan Cao Thang, Vice Chairman of Binh Dinh province’s People’s
Committee, urged stakeholders to improve the efficiency of the project during
a meeting with the German International Cooperation Organisation (GIZ), which
is offering financial support, on March 17 in the city.
The 7 million USD project, which began in 2013 and is
scheduled for completion in 2017, is designed to help the locality better
respond to urban climate change.
Thang highlighted the project’s shortcomings and called for
technical assistance from international experts to enhance its efficiency,
while reducing operational costs.
Sebanstan Malter, head of the GIZ mission involved with the
project, hailed the achievements it has gained so far, and suggested that
local authorities seek alternative sources of financial support to ensure the
project’s long-term sustainability.
Phan Cao Thang, Vice Chairman of Binh Dinh province’s People’s
Committee, urged stakeholders to improve the efficiency of the project during
a meeting with the German International Cooperation Organisation (GIZ), which
is offering financial support, on March 17 in the city.
The 7 million USD project, which began in 2013 and is
scheduled for completion in 2017, is designed to help the locality better
respond to urban climate change.
Thang highlighted the project’s shortcomings and called for
technical assistance from international experts to enhance its efficiency,
while reducing operational costs.
Sebanstan Malter, head of the GIZ mission involved with the
project, hailed the achievements it has gained so far, and suggested that
local authorities seek alternative sources of financial support to ensure the
project’s long-term sustainability.
Bac Lieu
focuses on vocational training for rural labourers
The southern province of Bac Lieu has seen significant
achievements in building new rural development through focusing on vocational
training for rural labourers.
The initiative was praised as one of the key benchmarks
towards carrying out the 19 criteria for new-style rural development.
According to Deputy Chief of the provincial Steering Committee
for the National Target Programme on New Rural Development, Luong Ngoc Lan,
improving rural incomes remains the most crucial task.
Funds for constructing new style rural areas were mobilised
from community contributions as State funding remains limited, necessitating
more proactive involvement from localities, he added.
Over the past two years, the province has provided over 440
vocational training courses and 750 technical training classes, as well as
new manufacturing model transfer classes for rural labourers, attracting more
than 23,300 participants.
The efforts have helped generate increased income and create
jobs for rural labourers; in the first two months of 2015, the province
employed 784 labourers.
So far, nearly 30 manufacturing models are believed to have
generated sustainable increased incomes for rural labourers, such as safe
vegetable planting, mushroom planting, and aquaculture farms following good
agricultural practices (GAP).
In 2014, the rate of impoverished households in Chau Thoi
commune in Vinh Loi district, one of the province’s two model communes in new
rural development, was reduced to 10 percent from 20.77 percent in 2010.
The National Target Programme on New Rural Development,
launched in 2010, sets 19 criteria for new-style rural areas, covering
infrastructure, production, living standards, income and culture, among
others.
Son La develops ethnic minority areas
The northern mountainous province of Son La is focusing its
efforts on socio-economic development in ethnic minority areas, seeking to
lower the rate of impoverished household by 3-4 percent per year through
2019.
The locality aims to bring electricity to 95 percent of its
villages, provide clean water access to 95 percent of its households and
concrete all roads between villages.
Additionally, it plans to provide training for over 50 percent
of labourers from ethnic minority groups.
According to reports released by the provincial Committee for
Ethnic Minority Affairs, from 2009-2014, local poor families were provided
with thousands of tonnes of seeds and fertilizers and a larger number of
cattle and poultry heads for developing home economics and improving their
living conditions.
Through the tireless efforts of local authorities and sectors,
as many as 87 percent of households have access to electricity and 80 percent
of its rural population have access to clean water. The number of families
living in poverty also decreased by 2-3 percent each year between 2009 and
2014.
Thanks to the shift towards cultivating new crop plant
varieties with high economic value and the expansion of effective economic
models, the income of local farmers was improved, especially those in ethnic
minority areas, resulting in reduced rates of deforestation and nomadic
farming.
Source :
VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri
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Thứ Năm, 19 tháng 3, 2015
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