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The Vietnam News

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Vietnam metro to have new mayor

The legislative body of Ho Chi Minh City is to elect a new mayor for the country’s business hub in its upcoming session which also will focus on public-concerns. The three-day session, which kicks off tomorrow July 11, will also see the People’s Council will elect a new vice mayor, a title known officially as Deputy Chairman of the People’s Committee.

The session will be broadcast live on local TV and radio, in which local legislators will question executive agencies on the city’s pending problems, two-thirds of which concern land and housing. The need for new executive officials followed a recent personnel shuffle in the Communist Party and government.

The former Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Chairman, Le Thanh Hai, resigned last week to take the new post as the Secretary of the local Communist Party Committee. His predecessor in the new position, Nguyen Minh Triet, was elected to be the new President of Vietnam during last month’s National Assembly session. Nguyen Thien Nhan, one of the city’s four vice mayors, was also voted to be the new Minister of Education and Training during that parliament session.

Weak land management

People’s petitions and complaints focused on the city’s weak infrastructure and housing management, especially eminent domain abuses, the People’s Council said. In many areas where the land is earmarked for public construction plans, locals are not allowed to rebuild their houses or sell their house or land. However, many of these plans have been suspended, in some cases for up to 13 years, due to various reasons, making it difficult for locals to relocate. In many cases, the government’s compensation for private land taken for public use is not enough for the land owners to relocate elsewhere. The people also criticized cumbersome procedures and formalities on land and house licensing. The session will also focus on the city’s poor drainage system which has caused many areas in the city to be flooded during rains or high tide.

By Duc Trung - Thanh Nien - July 10, 2006.