Hoang Trung Hai, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Hoang Trung Hai,Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, talks to Viet Nam News Agency about thecity’s achievements in 2017 and plans for 2018.
Can you share with us some of your thoughtson Hanoi’s socio-economic achievements in 2017?
I have to say that I have mixed feelingsabout the achievements, challenges and limitations of the city’s policymakersin the year 2017.
Throughout the year, all members of the HanoiParty Committee have pulled their efforts to bring the 16th Congress of themunicipal Party Committee to life. As a result, in 2017, all 20 targets laiddown by the City Party Committee were fulfilled, and seven targets weresurpassed.
When you became Hanoi’s Commander in Chief,which issues captured your attention most?
I should say all fields have their ownchallenges. But Hanoi is the capital city, and has its own characteristicsrequiring us to have a deep understanding so that we can develop good andworkable solutions. This is a key factor for us to win the hearts and minds ofthe Hanoi people.
That’s why all Hanoi leaders have devotedmuch of their time to go to the grass-roots level to meet the people and talkto them. For example, I myself went to all 30 precincts/districts and manycommunes/wards in the city to talk with local leaders and people in order tolearn what was happening over there. Through those visits, I realised thatquite a few policies or programmes of the city have not been properly preparedor met the people’s expectations. This is something we have to considercarefully and improve.
Does the city have any plans to overcomesuch limitations or weaknesses?
I should say in 2017 the entire citypolitical system did their best to raise the city’s image in the eyes of allVietnamese people and foreigners.
Worthy of note, in 2017 the city settledmore than 80 complicated cases relating to national security and policy as wellas law and order. Coupled with that, all economic and social targets laid downby the city have been accomplished.
What did Hanoi do to help poor outlyingdistricts and communes improve their people’s livelihoods following theexpansion of the city’s administrative border?
The city has concentrated its resources andhuman power to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas. The municipalPeople’s Committee has invested a lot of money to improve rural infrastructureand created many specialised agricultural zones to raise the people’s incomeand to develop more products for consumers. As a result, many new types ofco-operatives have been established and their service is of high quality.
Hanoi’s campaign to build new-style ruralareas has been progressing quickly. By now it has become a role model for othercities and provinces.
Have you heard the sentence “In Hanoi,every thing must take time to settle”?
I understand that people want theirproblems to be solved quickly. But those in power think there is no need torush.
To solve this problem, the city has come upwith many solutions, particularly the campaign to reform the working style ofthe city’s white clerk officers. We have developed a road map to turn the cityinto a smart city to provide better public services to the people. For example,taxation offices, customs offices and department of natural resources and theenvironment have all improved their public service and have received manypositive comments from their clients.
By now the city has re-arranged theorganisations/services in 22 departments/offices in 30 precincts, districts andtownships. As a result, we have cut down the total number of administrativeunits from 401 to 280 (a reduction of 30.2 percent). All in all, some 1,267jobs have been cut. I should say following the staff re-arrangement, workquality remains the same with high quality and efficiency.
In 2017, Hanoi’s PCI (ProvincialCompetitiveness Index) increased by 10 steps, ranking 14/63 provinces/cities –the highest ranking so far. Meanwhile the city’s Public Administrative Reform(PAR Index) was third – an increase of six steps and the readiness forinformation and communications technologies (ICT) ranks second in the country.
Hanoi also ranks first in the number ofdossiers transacted online and the only locality in the country to provide thepublic service at the third level in the field of judiciary in all 100communes, wards and townships – the lowest administrative units in Vietnam.
What measures has Hanoi adopted to solvethe problem of traffic congestion and pavement encroachment?
To solve these problems, the city hasdeveloped a roadmap to limit private vehicles operating in the inner city. Thecity will deploy more public transport, including opening more buses or BRT tocreate transportation links between the inner city and outlying districts.We’ll adopt good and effective management while creating a level playing fieldbetween traditional taxi fleets and Uber or Grab.
Hanoi will build more ring roads andconnected roads to avoid traffic congestion in the inner city and to connecteasily with satellite towns/cities or provinces. In the pipeline, the city hasbuilt and will build more light by passes to help avoid traffic congestioninside the city centre. - VNA
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