On edge

Saturday,  March 31,2012,02:09 (GMT+7) Over the past days, thousands of people at the downstream of Song Tranh 2 hydropower dam in the central province of Quang Nam have been living in fear. Although the investor of the dam, Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), has assured people that water leakage through seemingly dam cracks fell 80% last week, water has continued gushing at around 30 liters per second.

Overlapping storms

Tuesday,  March 27,2012,09:00 (GMT+7) Mainstreamed on local media these days are the Ministry of Finance’s draft on revising the Personal Income Tax Law and the Ministry of Transport’s scheme to slap multiple fees on personal vehicles, motorcycles and automobiles alike. These two seemingly-different issues capture equally-strong attention from the public at a time when the economy in general and poor people’s incomes in particular are in the storm’s eye of inflation. There is no shelter to take if the two schemes likened to overlapping storms are to proceed as planned.

Struggling with the capital cost

Saturday,  March 17,2012,06:07 (GMT+7) Ask any entrepreneur about the toughest challenge facing him or her now, and the answer will – most likely – be the high capital cost. The problem has become so widespread in the economy that it is on everybody’s lips when it comes to doing business now. The high capital cost became the most highlighted issue during a meeting between HCMC leaders and enterprises on Tuesday, where the taxman and the banking sector traded barbs on the capital thirst amidst numerous outcries from businesspeople. The story repeated itself this Wednesday, when the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry released in Hanoi a report on the local business environment and entrepreneurs’ confidence. The rising capital cost was also seen as the key bottleneck in the economy.

Another voice of protest
	Thursday,  March 8,2012,22:01 (GMT+7) The consensus has built up over the need to fight traffic congestion, especially in Hanoi and HCMC, but when it comes to specifics, outcries are deafening as all the solutions point to the easiest approach for authorities: collecting fees from the people. Normally, the public protest is the strongest, as the people will be those to bear the brunt of losses.

A miscalculation

Sunday,  March 4,2012,14:42 (GMT+7) Before last Saturday most motorists had opted for the country’s first freeway that connects HCMC and Tien Giang Province because it is much shorter, wider and smoother than National Highway 1A. Things have abruptly changed since the operator of HCMC-Trung Luong Expressway began charging road users on February 25. Heavy-truck drivers have been shunning the expressway altogether.

Under the war of words

Thursday,  February 23,2012,22:30 (GMT+7) The fight has been raging for weeks for the control of football television rights between the newly-established Vietnam Professional Football Corp. (VPF) and An Vien Group (AVG), the latter having clinched a contract with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) for 20 years to air all football games organized under the VFF umbrella. Both sides have been trading barbs, with VPF rejecting the contract as null and void and AVG insisting on ‘the rule of law’ for any possible negotiations. In the midst of such a war of words, the winner is yet to emerge, but the country’s football and all its fans are the losers.

Half-done solution

Sunday,  February 19,2012,20:22 (GMT+7) Needless to say, tackling traffic chaos in Hanoi is the expectancy for not only the city dwellers but also visitors who all are wearisome over the nightmare of going around in the capital city. The determination on the part of Hanoi authorities is strong, and they have been prescribing bitter drugs to restore traffic order in the city, from the launch last month of the staggering school and working hours – which has prompted outcries in all walks of life – to the just-announced decision to ban vehicles from parking along 262 streets in nine inner-city districts. While streets in the city look more spacious now following the ban effective on Thursday, many people find their work-a-day activities being turned upside down. The reason is apparent: the solution is half-done.

Livelihood put to test

Friday,  February 3,2012,22:22 (GMT+7) Finally, the scheme of staggering working hours has come into real life in Hanoi as a situational measure taken on a trial basis to fight traffic congestion in the city. At first glance, the scheme over the past two days has yielded positive results, as the vehicular flow has turned looser, allowing the people to move about faster owing to fewer traffic jams. But, as admitted by traffic police officers and observers on local media, uncertainties still lie ahead.

When justice is wrongly taken

Friday,  January 13,2012,12:22 (GMT+7) When Doan Van Vuon took justice into his own hands, using excessive force to resist coercive measures by well-armed enforcement officers in Hai Phong City’s Tien Lang District to redeem a vast area under fish farming, shock waves immediately rippled through the country. This is the first time the resistance of such severity has taken place with six police and military officers seriously wounded by gun bullets, and two others getting fainted following a blast at the site. As the case unfolds itself, the explosion turns more deafening than physically heard at the time of the happening, as local media points out that the enforcement itself was problematic.

Out of touch

Friday,  January 6,2012,15:29 (GMT+7) Noble reasons are cited, and flowery terms are given when Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang unveils a plan to collect fees on private vehicles – automobiles and motorcycles alike – to build a fund for upgrading traffic infrastructure. In encounters with the media these days, the minister reiterates his determination to impose the fee. The ministry’s move, however, is set on the course of direct collision with people from all walks of life, as covered by local media.