Da Nang chairman faces punishment over land mismanagement The Central Inspection Committee has announced violations by the chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee, Huynh Duc Tho Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee Huynh Duc Tho (R) and Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Xuan Anh. Photo: Tuoi Tre Along with Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Xuan Anh, Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee Huynh Duc Tho has been held accountable for multiple land management violations so serious that they now await disciplinary actions from the Party. In a recent announcement, the Central Inspection Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam publicized multiple offenses committed by the two leaders of the central hub. Tho, who is also Deputy Secretary of the Da Nang Party Committee, is responsible for the wrongdoings of the Party Committee’s standing board in the current 2015-2020 tenure. Such violations include a series of oversights in the management of land and urban order, as well as in some other matters related to personnel. The chairman’s offenses were so serious that he would be penalized, inspectors said on Monday. Born in 1962, Tho was voted Chairman of the Da Nang administration for the 2011-16 tenure in January 2015, taking over from Van Huu Chien, who had retired. In June 2016, Tho was reelected for the 2016-21 tenure. Meanwhile, Anh, as the head of the Party Committee, has to be held chiefly accountable for all the offenses the standing board of the 2015-2020 term has committed, namely rotating and appointing officials against the Party’s regulations. The board made several unauthorized decisions, including allowing businesses to use and implement projects on public land. The lax management and supervision of the standing board regarding land and urban order has resulted in various negatives, upsetting local residents. Secretary Anh was also responsible for several personal violations, including using invalid degrees, and accepting cars and houses as gifts from local businesses. He would also be disciplined as his violations were so severe, inspectors said.   Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Xuan Anh walks out of the 45 Nguyen Thai Hoc house, whose address was removed. The house now shares the same address as the 43 Nguyen Thai Hoc residence. The official obtained his master’s degree and PhD in business administration following a study program at the United States’ California Southern University between 2001 and 2006, the inspectors said. In October 2007, the Southern California University for Professional Studies (SCUPS) was renamed California Southern University, whose degrees are not recognized by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training, meaning that Anh’s master’s and PhD degrees are not valid in Vietnam, they added. Controversial appointment of officials Under the leadership of Secretary Anh, the Da Nang Party Committee has been rapped for several controversial decisions regarding the city’s personnel, according to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper’s findings. In February, the Party Committee’s standing board transferred the position of Nguyen Thanh Quang, 53, from head of the Party Committee’s propaganda board to Secretary of the Party Committee of Thanh Khe District. The decision went against previous directives of the Politburo, which stated that Quang should be an official in a downtown district, and Thank Khe is not one. In March 6, Dang Viet Dung, vice-chairman of the municipal administration, was set to take over from Quang as head of the propaganda board. This appointment raised questions as Dung has a PhD in engineering and a master’s degree in irrigation.   The three houses at 43, 45, and 47 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street used by the family of Nguyen Xuan Anh Coincidental assets In 2016, the office of the Da Nang Party Committee received a Toyota Avalon, worth about VND1.3 billion (US$ 57,194) from Minh Hung Phat, a local company, which was later used for Secretary Anh’s commute to work. Following fierce reactions from the media and public, as well as in accordance with a directive from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the automobile was returned to Minh Hung Phat in March 2017. Anh and his wife and children are living in a residence at 43 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, a property that was sold to his parents by the municipal People’s Committee in 1993. During a meeting in 2015, Anh asserted that he had no other property aside from the 43 Nguyen Thai Hoc house, stressing that he would resign if that was not the truth. However, the official was later found to be using two houses next to his parents’ home, which are the 45 and 47 Nguyen Thai Hoc addresses. The 45 Nguyen Thai Hoc house was originally a public asset that was leased as an office to several local firms. In 2007, IVC Company bought the house from the Da Nang People’s Committee. IVC was established in 2006, with Phan Van Anh Vu the chairman of the management board. Previously a public property, the 47 Nguyen Thai Hoc house was open for lease until 2009, when the Minh Hung Phat Company asked to buy the building. The location is now owned by Xuan Minh Phat Company, a flight ticket agent established in 2013, whose legal representative is Bui Thi Diem. Anh’s wife is also named Bui Thi Diem. The address of the 45 Nguyen Thai Hoc house has been taken off. It now shares the same address as the 43 Nguyen Thai Hoc residence. Tuoi Tre News