Congressmen lay high hope on Minister of Transport
Transport Minister should try bus service, readers say
Taking office, Thang impressed the public by his speech: “As the commander, I must have the right to make decisions.” People agreed with him because as the top leader of a sector, a minister must have full power to do and take responsibility.
After that, the Minister of Transport took drastic actions: dismissing the manager of an airport project in the central city of Da Nang at the construction site, after finding it was lagging far behind its deadline; suspending five contractors for slow implementation; recommending strong measures to curb traffic jams in Hanoi and HCM City; banning the Ministry of Transport’s officials from playing golf to focus their minds on the job; asking his inferiors to take bus to the office. He set an example for his subordinates by going to his office by bus once a week.
Minister Thang is decisive in his words and actions. The public both praise and criticize him but most people support him because Minister Thang shows his braveness and he is the one who “dares to say, dare to do and dare to take responsibility.”
However, as a Minister, his words and actions will have impacts on many people, so he cannot perform “test and wrong” manner. In science, the wrong is also important as the right because through the wrong, scientists can find out the right. In reality, the wrong means money, sweat and blood.
Minister Thang’s solutions are enthusiastic but some of them are only good for a short time. Banning motorbikes and private cars, changing working time are good to curb traffic jams but they are not the basic solutions. When transport facilities are outdated and cannot develop at the same pace with the growth of vehicles, other solutions will be ineffective.
Minister Thang, we support you!
Many readers wrote to VietNamNet to show their support to Mr. Thang. “Dear Minister Dinh La Thang, I support you! I and many other people are expecting renovation in thinking and working style of state officials like you. But I would like to remind you that we do not want you to make promises and do nothing. People have seen so many promises,” wrote a reader named Nhat Ngon.
Since he assumed office, Thang has made many “daring” decisions, such as banning the Ministry of Transport’s officials from playing golf; asking his inferiors to take bus to the office, etc., which are said to break the rules but Thang said these are the rules within his ministry so they are not wrong. Who is right?
Thang’s actions have stirred up arguments on newspapers, on online forums, at coffee shops and even family dinners. Each person has his/her own view. Let’s analyze to see if Thang is wrong or right.
Minister Dinh La Thang in early October sent a dispatch to Ministry of Transport’s agencies. According to the dispatch, as some transport officials have spent a lot of time in playing golf, they have not performed their job well.
Thang asked chairs, members of management boards, general directors, deputy general directors and high-ranking officials of state-owned businesses under the Ministry of Transport and officials at management agencies under the ministry to not play golf and concentrate on their missions, particularly in the current difficult period. The minister also instructed the Personnel Department to oversee the implementation of this regulation.
Minister Thang also asked employees of the Ministry of Transport to go to the office by bus at least once a week, like he does.
“It is legal to play golf at the weekend but it may distract officials from their missions. Officials must accept sacrifices. This is an internal rule, which doesn’t violate the law,” Minister Thang said.
Le Kien Thanh, Vice Chair of the Vietnam Golf Association, said that Minister Thang must respect the laws. HCM City’s Vice Chair Le Manh Ha said that Thang’s ban of golf playing is contrary to the law.
Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Thai Binh said if officials do not break the Law on Pubic Servants and the laws on labor, and they do not play golf during the office hours, golf playing should not be banned.
The chief of the Minister of Justice’s By-law Document Checking Apartment, Le Hong Son, said that Minister Thang violates the rules on rights of public servants.
Briefly, Thang breaks the rules when he bans his staffs from playing golf.
However, Diep Van Son, an expert of administrative reforms, said that Thang’s ban is extremely reasonable. According to him, three years ago, HCM City filmed traffic rule violators by cameras and its action was protested by the Minister of Justice’s By-law Document Checking Apartment. “I reminded this case to warn anyone who holds the whistle to not blow it wrongly,” Son said.
Son said that Minister Thang’s dispatch is not a by-law document. It is only an internal document which reminds staffs of something. The Law on Public Servants only stipulates the duties of public servants to the Party and the people and their duties in performing their assignments. Thang’s dispatch is necessary because for public servants, assignments are urgent and the top priority. A minister can ask his inferiors to not do something that can affect their personal lives.
Son said that the law should give more power to leaders of state agencies so they can better manage their agencies. Thang’s decision is progressive and it benefits the country. That decision is also good in this time when the transport sector has to deal with gridlocks in cities.
It is understandable why the public backs Minister Thang because his decision is not very legal but it is very reasonable, particularly in this period of time.
Son concluded: “It is necessary to review the current by-law documents. If they are unreasonable and hinder social development, they should be amended or annulled.”
In terms of public relations, Minister Thang is very successful when his job, his image has become very popular, even more than that of celebrities in Vietnam.
The deputy director of a big construction firm in HCM City, who wants to be anonymous, told VietNamNet that Minister Thang is “testing somebody’s mettle.”
According to him, there are some high-ranking officials at the Ministry of Transport are very keen on golf and they propose to build golf courses near or inside airports.
“Mr. Thang has made break-through speeches but an excellent official is the one who dares to think, dares to speak and does right. He has just taken office and he wants to test that group of high-ranking officials by asking officials in his ministry to not play golf. If he could not administer his inferior, how can he improve the traffic sector? And I expect to see a Mr. Thang who does right,” said the anonymous deputy director.
VNN
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