Wasteful spending

Phuong Thao

However, media has pointed out a couple of provincial governments have proposed hefty funds for towering monuments in recent times, and what makes people worried is some of these provinces remain poor. Therefore, such lofty projects, including those already completed, have drawn fire from the public.

In March, the Vietnamese Heroic Mother statue was inaugurated in Quang Nam Province to mark the province’s 40th anniversary of liberation. It was built at a total cost of over VND410 billion (US$19 million) contributed by local authorities and benefactors inside and outside the country.

Vinh Phuc Province’s government two months ago announced construction of Van Mieu (temple of literature) project at a total cost of VND271 billion (US$12 million) fully funded by the province’s budget, which was expected to be up and running some time this year.

Though this temple is near completion, the province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism remains undecided over who would be worshiped there. According to an original plan of Vinh Phuc, the temple would be used to worship Chinese philosopher Confucius, which has attracted sharp rebukes from the public as Vietnam has a lot of philosophers and scholars who deserve to be worshiped.

Son La is a poverty-stricken upland province but it has announced a project worth a staggering VND1.4 trillion (US$64 million) to develop a compound to commemorate late President Ho Chi Minh, with around VND200 billion going to the statue of Ho Chi Minh.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ordered the northwestern province of Son La to clarify its controversial project after local newspapers and Facebookers expressed concerns over the huge cost of the memorial compound. In addition to the five- to eight-meter-high statue of Uncle Ho, the project would have a square for 20,000 people, a temple dedicated to the late president, a war martyrs monument, a museum and a parking lot, among others.

Nguyen Quoc Khanh, vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, says that the province last year obtained the green light from the Party Central Committee to implement the project to mark Uncle Ho’s 1959 visit to residents and soldiers of the northwestern region. The People’s Council of the province has approved the project and it is scheduled to get off the ground in November when the locality celebrates its 120th birthday.

Speaking to the media, he says the project “symbolizes the aspiration and affection of local people for President Ho Chi Minh” and will help boost tourism. Funding for the project would come from the province’s budget, businesses and other private sources.

The planned project has unleashed a storm of criticism as Son La is a poor province in Vietnam with its annual budget collections accounting for one-third of its expenditures. The province’s budget collections are estimated at VND2.85 trillion this year but its spending would amount to a hefty VND9.32 trillion. Son La has around 36,000 people living in poverty while five out of its 11 districts are regular beneficiaries of the Government’s poverty reduction program called 30A. US$64 million is equivalent to monthly incomes of one million residents in Son La.

Worse still, Son La’s project is reportedly part of a broader government-approved plan to build 14 such statues across the country. Many have expressed disapproval of the plan, saying finances for these projects would be enough to build hundreds of schools and healthcare centers for the poor.

Associate Professor Doctor Nguyen Trong Phuc, former director of the Institute of Party History, says on the news site Vnexpress that Uncle Ho led a simple life and always cared about poor laborers. Therefore, building Uncle Ho statues must be carefully considered.

In fact, many children in Son La still wear ragged clothes, face malnutrition and lack decent classrooms. Uncle Ho used to say that the Party and the Government would take responsibility if people are poor, Phuc said, adding his lifestyle was a great lesson for public officials.

Professor Dinh Hong Hai from the Hanoi National University says that Vietnam has built a lot of monuments but many of them are of poor cultural and historical value. Some projects have even deteriorated due to the poor quality of construction.

PM Dung has ordered Son La to build the Uncle Ho statue separately but the province must first send a report on the construction of the statue to the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee for approval. Son La could not do it without the Secretariat’s green light.

A foreign reader named Rick says in Thanh Nien newspaper that all that money should go to construction of schools and clinics and these facilities should be named after Ho Chi Minh, so the great leader will live forever in the hearts of local citizens.

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