HCMC plagued by environmental ‘terrorism,’ squandered spending

The People’s Council is the municipal legislature that votes for members of the People’s Committee, or the city government, and oversees the operation of the latter.

Last Friday, HCMC police discovered that Dong Thanh dump site in Hoc Mon District was accepting toxic waste, estimated as being some 225 tons, from a leather tanning company based in neighboring Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

The site is not licensed to handle such rubbish, police said, adding it had received a total of 650 tons of chemical waste since 2007 which has exacerbated air pollution and contaminated the underground water.

“Does an economic hub like HCMC need to resort to making money from surreptitiously handling such toxic waste?” Deputy Nguyen Dang Nghia said.

“Ironically enough, those tasked with controlling the environment have flouted environmental codes. If [the toxic waste] causes grave consequences for residents, it is the high-ranking municipal leaders that have to bear the responsibility, not just the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.”

Deputy Dang Van Khoa concurred with Nghia, urging the department to report to the People’s Council the culprit who had permitted the dump site to handle toxic waste as well as take action to penalize those involved.

Many deputies at the meeting even called the municipal administration to suspend the director of HCMC’s Urban Environment Company pending further investigations into the case.

The handling of the case must be made public, the deputies suggested.

“Perhaps at this moment what is most terrifying for HCMC residents is not terrorism but environment pollution,” Nghia said.

Turning to the Ba Bo Canal pollution hotspot in Thu Duc District, deputies pointed out that funds to clean and dredge the area have been sourced from citizens’ tax returns.

“It is ironic that victims of the pollution have to bear the cost of the cleanup but the perpetrators [industrial companies in Binh Duong Province] get off scot-free,” Khoa said.

Pollution in the Ba Bo Canal has adversely affected locals over the past six years, emanating a stench in the area which suffocates residents daily.

Deputies voiced concern over how much citizens would have to pay for cleaning up other polluted areas in the city given that the Ba Bo Canal project alone has cost some VND200 billion (US$11.9 million) of taxpayers’ money.

Surveys conducted by the People’s Council released in October show pollution getting worse in canals around the city, including Thay CaiAn Ha in Cu Chi District and Ba Bup in Hoc Mon District.

The Saigon, Dong Nai and Thi Vai rivers are also contaminated, according to the surveys, impacting the health of locals who rely on these sources for water.

Gloomy outlook

Many deputies also raised eyebrows at next year’s 10 percent growth target that the city government had set last month.

“With a looming economic recession which would render more people jobless and slash consumers’ incomes, what is the rationale for such a growth target?” Deputy Nguyen Tien Dung said. “The tourism sector has slowed with exports and overseas remittances being hit hard, so I am wondering if the city will increase land valuations to raise budget revenues next year.”

“If so, we should consider the proposed hikes carefully as it would affect millions of people,” Deputy Nguyen Viet Dung cautioned.

Poor returns

Commenting on the socioeconomic development report delivered by the city government at the meeting, deputies said the administration has spent much over the past year without achieving solid results.

“Residents are worried that city authorities have poured a lot of money into preventing floods, tackling gridlocks, and subsidizing public buses but little progress has been made,” Deputy Truong Trong Nghia said.

Traffic jams, partly caused by many street barriers set up for drainage projects, have seriously irked citizens. Officials have also failed to solve the rampant flooding problem that occurs whenever heavy rains hit the city.

Moreover, the city government has spent VND600 billion ($35.7 million) a year to subsidize public buses, but only five percent of citizens regularly use the service thus far, Nghia said.

Deputies also denounced the misuse of state-run freight yards and warehouses in District 8, many of which have been neglected for years by state agencies.

A survey in early October uncovered more than 100 unused or abandoned freight yards in District 8, covering more than 300,000 square meters.

Reported by Minh Nam