Passengers suffer on run-down buses

HCM City has bought 2,000 new buses as part of a US$72 million project to improve the regional transport system. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung

HCM CITY — Inadequate subsidies and the high cost of imported spare parts are the main reasons for the bad conditions that most city buses are in, officials say.

The HCM City Transport Cooperative Association has recorded that as many as 70 per cent of buses operating in the city are in poor condition and in need of repairs.

"We hear quite often a lot of complaints about the bus service from passengers," said a bus driver at the Ben Thanh Bus Station in District 1 who wished to remain unnamed.

"The air conditioners on buses usually do not work properly and passengers are not allowed to open the window, which makes it very hot and stuffy inside," said Nguyen Phuong Nga, a commuter on the An Suong – An Nhon Tay route in District 12.

"Many buses whose engines are too old and outdated make terrible sounds when travelling, especially when they stop suddenly for picking passengers. It scares me when I travel by bus," said To Nhu Hoa, a passenger on the route from Ben Thanh Market to the Tan Son Nhat Airport.

On many buses, the seats are ragged, the flooring is torn, and many stairs are rusty and broken, said another passenger on the same route.

Buses on other routes like Ben Thanh – RMIT University, Ben Thanh – An Suong, and An Suong – Hau Nghia are also in poor condition, according to the HCM City Transport Cooperative Association.

Many drivers said most buses put into operation since 2002 have not been repaired or upgraded for a long time.

Shortage of subsidies

Van Cong Diem, deputy director of the Centre for Management and Operation of Public Passenger Transport, said most operators have claimed they couldn't afford to repair or improve the condition of the buses because of the limited subsidy they receive from the city government, although it has been increasing since 2002.

Phung Dang Hai, director of HCM City Transport Cooperative Union, explained that the prices of most spare parts used for repairing or upgrading buses, 80 per cent of which are imported, have been soaring.

The subsidies for bus services granted by the city government has steadily increased from VND39 billion (US$1.95 million) in 2002 up to VND486 billion ($24.3 million) in 2006.

This year, the city has provided VND700 billion ($35 million) in subsidies for its bus service, an increase of VND100 billion ($5 million) over last year, but even this is not enough, the operators said.

Bus companies are still waiting for additional subsidies they had requested in 2009 to meet expenses, but so far had received just half of that amount, Hai said.

Therefore, the companies lacked capital to repair and upgrade the buses, he added.

The HCM City People's Committee has asked the Centre for Management and Operation of Public Passenger Transport to submit an auditor's report on the use of the subsidy in 2009 to the Department of Transport.

The Department of Transport will consider the report before submitting it to the Department of Justice and the city People's Committee before granting the additional subsidy, officials have said.

The public transport centre has said it is fulfilling necessary procedures to receive the additional subsidy in 2010, taking into account all factors like inflation and rising prices of imported spare parts.

According to the Department of Transport, there are around 3,200 buses plying more than 160 routes in the city, of which 112 routes are subsidised by the city government. — VNS

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Hanoi meets land auction goals

Hanoi was well on track to fulfilling its target of land use right auction income for 2010 although some problems still remained unresolved, said a high-ranking city official.

Nguyen Trong Dong, Deputy Director of Hanoi's Department of Natural Resources and Environment said so far, 18 units had conducted auctions for 11.7ha of land, raking in 2.5 trillion VND (125 million USD), accounting for 97 percent of the city's planned budget income.

In December, the city will conduct more auctions in an attempt to earn 80 billion VND (4 million USD) more to fulfil the plan for the year. Land in Thon Bon village, Ngo Thi Nham area, Dong Dung area in Ha Dong district and Trau Quy commune in Gia Lam district will be up for auction and is expected to bring in 370 billion VND (18.5 million USD) for the city.

Dong said, however, there were still many problems which needed to be addressed.

Among them were the slow pace of land clearance and infrastructure construction, and the lengthy task of preparing necessary documents.

In a recent meeting between city leaders and district officials on this issue, many officials at district level said they were unsure about how to implement Decree 17/2010/ND-CP on land auctions as the Government had not issued guidelines.

Under the decree, local authorities need to invite auctioneers from the city to attend the auctions in a supervisory role. But many district officials said this was both unnecessary and ineffective.

Tran Duc Nguyen, deputy chairman of Thach That district People's Committee said his district were unable to hold auctions due to this stipulation.

The district officials also pointed to bid rigging as a major problem.

Many land rights owners deliberately made high bids for adjoining land to increase the value of their own, but then refused to pay after the auction finished, said local officials.

An official of Quoc Oai district suggested that the city should raise the deposit for land auctions in order to tackle this problem.

Vu Hong Khanh, deputy chairman of the city People's Committee said city authorities would hold discussions with other related ministries to work out feasible solutions to the remaining problems.

Khanh said that auction winners who failed to pay would have their land use rights revoked within 30 days.

He added auction boards and relevant authorities should closely cooperate to organise sales and strictly punish any violations./.

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Gov't bids to speed up administrative reforms

HCM CITY — The Government has pledged to complete its administrative reform programme for the 2001 – 2010 period in an aim to reduce cumbersome procedures for both individuals and businesses.

The Government has urged several ministries involved in pressing issues like land and taxation to complete their tasks by the end of the year.

Of the 194 administrative procedures of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 117 will be changed, nine replaced and 38 abolished, according to minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, director of the Government Office.

The ministry said it would modify 43 procedures involved in land issues by the end of the year, including simplifying land transfer and inheritance, land-right use and property-on-land use rights.

It also plans to simplify the issuance and reissuance of land and house-ownership certificates.

Because many fees will be abolished, reforms related to land procedures could help save around VND10 billion (US$500,000) per year, according to Phuc.

The Ministry of Construction has asked the Government to abolish three and modify 13 procedures related to housing and house construction.

Construction fees will no longer be collected, and construction licenses will be valid permanently and will not need to be renewed.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance will ask the Government for permission to simplify 271 out of 330 procedures.

These reforms would help individuals and organisations save about VND1,921 billion ($96 million) per year.

The ministry has also asked the Government to modify 35 priority procedures, which would help save VND1,582 billion ($79.1 million) per year.

As for customs procedures, the Government wants to simplify 138 out of 168 procedures, which would help save about VND705 billion ($35.25 million) per year, according to Phuc. — VNS

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Hanoi hospital upgrades get approval

The Hanoi People's Committee has approved the spending of almost 41 billion VND (2.09 million USD) to upgrade medical equipment at the Son Tay General Hospital.

It has also approved the spending of 27 billion VND (1.3 million USD) to upgrade the Mai Huong Daycare Psychiatric Hospital.

The spending for Son Tay General Hospital will be done between 2011 and 2012 and focus on buying modern emergency, recuperation, anaesthetics, blood transfusion and diagnostic equipment.

The committee has instructed the hospital management to list the medical equipment necessary for the upgrading and oversee the work.

The purpose of the work at the Mai Huong Daycare Psychiatric Hospital is to improve treatment quality for disadvantaged patients.

The hospital is required to work with relevant municipal departments to mobilise the money for the two-year project.

Its director, Dr Ngo Thanh Hoi, said work would start at the beginning of the next year with the capital drawn from the city's budget and government bonds.

"Much of our medical equipment and machines are obsolete and do not meet the patient requirements, especially as diseases have become more complex and difficult to cure," said Dr Hoi.

The money would help the hospital buy specialised equipment for the in-residence treatment of rural psychiatric patients.

Son Tay General Hospital has 400 beds, 27 wards and treats about 140,000 patients each year. The Mai Huong Daycare Hospital has just 50 beds.

Both are overcrowded with an average of three patients for each bed./.

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Landslides cut off parts of central VN

Torrential rains have caused a series of landslides in the mountainous central region, blocking many highways and roads for the last several days.

In Quang Nam province, a wall of earth and rock slid down Soi Mu Mountain in Nui Thanh district on Nov. 10, cutting off Ky Ha Port (Chu Lai) from National Highway 1A.

A 100-metre stretch of Road 618 is buried under 2 to 10 metres of rock and soil.

A minor landslide occurred in mountainous Son Tay Commune in Quang Ngai province on Nov. 11, cutting off the Tra Trung – Di Lang road.

On provincial road 622B, soil and rock cover a third of the road's width following a landslide, slowing down transport to Tay Tra district in Quang Ngai.

Also in Quang Ngai, a massive landslide blocked traffic on the road connecting Tra Bong and Tra Thanh districts as well as roads in Tay Tra district.

In Binh Dinh province, the floodwaters have been receding gradually since Nov. 11, but several stretches of Road 640 from Tuy Phuoc town to the eastern communes and Phu Cat District remain under up to a metre of water.

In the province's Van Canh district, soil and rocks on the Dai slope slid on to the newly built road below, covering 3km of it.

Seven people have been killed and two injured so far in the floods while one person is missing. Besides, 85 houses have collapsed and 117 are severely damaged.

The total damage is estimated at 513 billion VND (26 million USD).

The Binh Dinh People's Committee has asked the Government for 150 billion VND (7.7 million USD) besides 3,000 tonnes of rice, 400,000 doses of foot-and-mouth disease vaccines, 500,000 doses of cholera vaccines for pigs, and 20 tonnes of disinfectants./.

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Demand for life insurance increases

The domestic life insurance market has been sparked into life by a story that received wide media coverage about a businesswoman who paid an annual premium of 1.2 billion VND (61,000 USD).

The policy was reported to cover her for 39 billion VND (2 million USD).

The story is clear evidence that the Vietnamese attitude towards life insurance is changing.

Instead of purchasing life insurance to support friends and family in the industry, Vietnamese people are now looking at the actual benefits of taking out a policy and many of them are willing to part with large sums of money for the privilege.

"In recent years, my company has sold more and more policies," said Lam Hai Tuan, General Director of ACE Life Viet Nam , one of the country's leading life insurance provider.

Tuan said that up to the end of August, his company had sold nearly 8,400 policies with premiums from 1 billion VND (51,000 USD) each.

"We currently have 15 policies that provide cover of over 10 billion VND (510,000 USD), the largest of which is worth 50 billion VND (2.5 million USD)," Tuan added.

Other companies such as AIA Viet Nam, Korea Life and Dai-ichi Vietnam have also witnessed an increase in customers.

The Association of Vietnamese Insurers reported that the market had grown in the first half of the year.

"Up to the end of H1, more than 4 million policies had been taken out, worth VND323.6 billion USD, an increase of 33 percent over the same period last year," said head of the life insurance division under the association Nguyen Viet Hai.

Better economic conditions were cited as the main reason.

"Living conditions have improved and demand has increased for services such as healthcare and life insurance," said Hai.

Hai added that many people were planning for the future.

"This happens in many countries, not just in Vietnam ," he said.

Agreeing with Hai, Tuan said, "Vietnamese people now realise that life insurance is a means of planning for the future and providing financial protection for their families."

According to an association report, Vietnamese life insurance has witnessed high growth this year, but still lags behind other countries in terms of value and the number of insurance companies./.

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Prime Minister pledges food aid to flood victims

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung distributes relief aid to flood victims in Gia Pho Commune in Ha Tinh Province's Huong Khe District. — VNA/VNS Photo Duc Tam   A resident in Thuan Loc District in the central province of Ha Tinh grabs packs of noodles distributed to flood victims in the area. Every house in the district is now underwater. — VNA/VNS Photo Khuong Hue

HA TINH — The Government will ensure there is sufficient food for those affected by floods in the central provinces, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said while visiting Ha Tinh yesterday.

After helping to distribute relief aid, the Prime Minister met provincial Party Committee officials.

Dung extended his deepest sympathies to those affected by the floods, which have caused financial losses estimated at VND700 billion (US$36 million) in 22 communes.

The Party and State would do everything to help victims quickly overcome the consequences of the disaster and normalise their lives, he said.

Dung urged the provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Nghe An to continue their search and rescue operations. He urged officials to ensure flood victims had enough food and said they should mobilise all their resources to help repair houses and prevent the spread of disease.

If any province allowed its people in flooded areas to go hungry, its leaders would be held responsible to the Party and State, he said.

Ha Tinh has reported financial losses of nearly VND5.4 trillion ($270 million). Floods killed 21 people and injured 26 in the province. One person is still missing. More than 175,000 houses are still submerged.

The Prime Minister said VND660 billion had been allocated from the State budget to help flood victims. In addition, 11,000 tonnes of rice from the national reserve and five tonnes of instant noodles and dry provisions would be distributed to flood victims, he said.

The National Committee for Search and Rescue and the Ministry of National Defence have mobilised 19,000 soldiers, policemen and militiamen to help flood victims. In addition, 392 small boats, one helicopter and seven electric generators have been made available.

Yesterday, officials from the Office of the President and National Assembly deputies contributed money to flood victims.

Meanwhile, overseas Vietnamese in the US state of Texas have donated $50,000 to flood victims.

In addition, 11 international organisations have pledged emergency aid of $450,000.

According to a report by the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, the recent flood death toll were in 46. Of those, 16 deaths took place in Nghe An Province, 21 in Ha Tinh Province, eight in Quang Binh Province and one in Thanh Hoa Province.

There are still 21 people missing.

Monitoring losses

The Government on Tuesday decided to spend VND70 billion ($3.6 million) from the State budget to help flood victims in Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Tri.

The Prime Minister also assigned the Finance Ministry to use VND25 billion ($1.2 million) from the State budget to subsidise flood victims and help them restore their daily lives and production.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs will continue monitoring losses caused by the floods in the central provinces and regularly update reports to the Government.

Deputy head of Sai Gon Railway Station Nguyen Van Thanh said the station would transport all goods donated for flood victims in the central region for free, from now until the end of October.

Typhoon Megi, the sixth of this year, is moving between northwest and north and is forecast to land in Hong Kong on Saturday, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre.

The eye of the typhoon is expected to be at 18.9 degree north and 116.9 east at 1pm today, around 540km from the northeast of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago with wind gusts of between 167-183 kph.

Flood donations Donations for flood victims can be transferred to Viet Nam News via account numbers 001.1.37.2310047 for USD and 001.1.00.2310028 for Vietnamese dong at the Viet Nam Commercial Bank. All the money will be then transferred to the Viet Nam Fatherland Front and used to support flood victims.

It is forecast to be at 20.8 degree north and 116.9 degree east at 1pm on Saturday, around 490km from the Southeast of Hong Kong.

The typhoon would cause force 11 and 12 Beaufort Scale gusts in the eastern part of the East Sea and waves of between 12-14m, warned the centre.

The Hoang Sa archipelago would also be affected by rough seas and strong winds.

Central Quang Ngai Province's border guard post said all local vessels operating offshore from the Hoang Sa archipelago have safely entered storm shelters.

Fog has appeared in a number of Mekong Delta localities in recent days in early morning which has shortened visibility to 50-100m.

Deputy director of Tien Giang Province's Hydrometeorological Forecast Centre Vo Van Rong said different fog spells appeared in the region as a result of typhoon Megi and would last between 2-3 days.

Deputy chairman of the Ha Tinh Province's People's Committee Nguyen Nhat said rescue workers had found the coach that was swept away in floods on Monday.

The coach, which was carrying 37 passengers, was found 300 metres away from the National Highway 1A in the Lam River.

Rescue teams are still trying to recover the coach.

Air services resume

Vietnam Airlines on Tuesday resumed normal service to the flood-battered central region.

It had suspended 34 flights from and to Chu Lai Airport in Quang Nam Province and Vinh Airport in Nghe An Province on safety grounds.

The carrier said it was monitoring information about Typhoon Megi which is now over the East Sea with winds of up to 130 kmph. It is forecast to move north to Hong Kong.

The airline has urged passengers to check its website at www.vietnamairlines.com for the latest information or contact its booking offices around the country. — VNS

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Commuters say no to buses in Vietnam metro

Rundown buses and faciliites as well as bad service is seeing public transportation deteriorate in Ho Chi Minh City despite increasing subsidies, the Saigon Tiep Thi reports.

Several dozen bus routes are operating inefficienty because of decreasing number of passengers, said Phung Dang Hai, director general of HCMC Transport Co-operative, which operates one-third of the local buses.

In fact, in the first nine months of this year, the co-operative has experienced a 10 percent decline in the number of passengers over last year, Hai said in the news source.

The decrease is “considerable”, although subsidies were raised to VND700 billion (US$35.9 million) from VND600 billion ($30.8 million) last year, Hai said.

The Saigon Tiep Thi reports that the staff's poor attitude towards passengers, the lack of safety, broken air-conditioning systems and other degraded facilities are discouraging people from opting to take a bus.

Reckless driving, including not slowing down while driving over potholes, and the disregard for passenger comfort was blatant, it reports.

“[…] it’s like torture; no one can stand it,” Hoang Vy, a student of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities told the paper. Vy used to take the popular route No.50 to school every day but now she only turns to it when she has no other choice, she said.

The same situation has been reported at other routes of high quality, and it was even worse at normal routes with bad-looking busses, according to the newspaper.

Driver Van T. Dung said that passengers using his bus has reduced sharply over the last few months. He said the buses were not in good condition.

Most local buses have run for nearly ten years and are in need of major maintenance, Hai said, adding that nearly 20 percent of his cooperative’s fleet of more than 800 buses are in the same situation.

The general director said although buses are subsidized, current subsidies aren’t sufficient for companies already mired in debt.

It was almost impossible to set aside money for re-investment when buses are damaged, he said.

He also blamed the HCMC Center of Public Passenger Transport Vehicles, which still owes businesses a total of VND30 billion ($1.54 million) in subsidies for last year’s inflation.

If the center had given them the money right from the beginning of this year, the cooperative’s members would have been able to upgrade buses, and prevented the current situation.

Hai suggested authorities force businesses to set aside part of subsidies for maintenance and repairs and allow them to access loans at preferential interest rates..

However, the HCMC Department of Transport has blamed the transportation companies, saying subsidies approved by the city authorities already included repair and maintenance fees as regulated..

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River polluter signs pacts to pay $6.1 mln in compensation

Taiwanese river polluter Vedan Vietnam company Friday signed an agreement to pay nearly VND120 billion (US$6.1 million) in compensation to affected farmers in the southern province of Dong Nai.

Under the agreement, the monosodium glutamate maker will pay 50 percent of the compensation within seven days after the signing, and pay another 50 percent by January 14, 2011.

In return, all the 5,034 affected farmers have agreed to drop lawsuits against the company, according to Dong Nai Farmers’ Association.

However, Vien Dong Ltd. Co., which runs a 28-hectare aquaculture farm in Long Phuoc Commune, has not accepted the compensation and will file a lawsuit against Vedan, said Nguyen Van Ngau, chairman of Long Thanh District Farmers’ Association.

The company claimed over VND17 billion ($872,689) in compensation, while the calculation by the Institute of Natural Resources and Environment put the compensation payable to the company at VND900 million ($46,201) of nearly VND120 billion, Ngau said.

“So, the company didn’t accept the compensation, although we have tried to convince them many times,” he said.

Last month Vedan signed the same agreements with farmers in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Ho Chi Minh City for compensation worth VND53.6 billion (S$2.8 million) and VND45.7 billion (US$2.39 million) respectively.

The company was caught in 2008 discharging untreated effluents directly into the Thi Vai River through secret underground pipes. Government inspectors found that the company had been doing so for 14 years.

The discovery sparked a public outcry which rose even higher as the company declined to meet compensation requests made the affected farmers, making meager counter offers.

However, following a public boycott of its products that were pulled off supermarket shelves, Vedan caved in and agreed to pay the demanded compensation to farmers in Ba Ria – Vung Tau and HCMC.

It also offered to pay Dong Nai farmers VND119.5 billion, but provincial authorities did not accept the offer until later.

The compensation sums were calculated by an agency authorized to do so by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

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Dong Nai farmers agree to drop lawsuit against river polluter

The majority of affected farmers in Dong Nai province have voted to accept Vedan Vietnam's compensation offer for its polluting the Thi Vai River between 1994-2008.

On Friday and Saturday, August 27-28, representatives from the Dong Nai Farmers Association said that more than 5,000 surveys were distributed to the affected farmers.

All but 13 farmers opted to accept Vedan’s offer to pay a total of VND119.5 billion (US$6.1 million) in compensation, the association said.  

They have also agreed to drop their private suits against the company.

In addition to the 13 farmers who opted to take up lawsuits against Vedan, 41 farmers have refused to drop their existing suits against the Taiwanese MSG manufacturer, the farmers association said.

Tran Van Quang, vice chairman of the Dong Nai Farmers Association, said they will ask the Dong Nai People’s Committee how to handle the hold-outs.

Still, many farmers who agreed to Vedan’s offer said they aren’t really satisfied with the compensation, but they are relieved that they will get something for their trouble, VnExpress reported.

“Most of the people here agreed [to the offer]; I couldn’t refuse it, as majority rules,” Bui Ngoc Truyen from Long Thanh District, told the news website, adding that about ten farmers authorized him to vote for them.

Some said they accepted the offer, because they don't see any hope in suing the company.

In 2008, Vedan was caught discharging untreated effluents directly into the Thi Vai River through secret underground pipes.

Government inspectors found that the company had been doing so for some 14 years.

The discovery sparked public outcry which kept going up as the company declined to meet the compensation requests of the affected farmers. Over the past year, it had extended meager offers to the farmers.

This prompted pledges from authorities in Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province to help the affected farmers.

Vicitms of the pollution in the hardest hit province of Dong Nai, however, were largely left in the dust.

The Dong Nai Farmers Association had, at one stage, declined to back affected farmers in filing a lawsuit against the company.

Representatives from the association claimed it would be too difficult to prove the extent of the damage caused by the company in court.

Farmers willing to go ahead with the lawsuit were backed by lawyers from HCMC who expressed confidence in a victory. Later, Dong Nai authorities ordered local lawyers to join the cause.

Following a widescale public outcry and consumer boycotting, early this month Vedan agreed to pay farmers in Ba Ria – Vung Tau and HCMC VND53.6 billion (S$2.8 million), and VND45.7 billion (US$2.39 million), respectively.

It also offered to pay Dong Nai's farmers $ 6.1 million, but the provincial authorities since then were yet to come to conclusion on the offer.

The sums were authorized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. 

So far farmers in Ba Ria – Vung Tau and HCMC have received 50 percent of the promised compensation.The other half of the compensation is expected to be paid out by January 14, 2011.

Until then, the affected farmers in both of these localities have agreed to postpone their lawsuits against Vedan.

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Boycott fear forces river polluter payout

Consumers succeed where governments failed as Vedan capitulates on compensation demand

Products of Taiwanese-owned monosodium glutamate maker Vedan were taken off the shelves at a Saigon Co.op supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City. Officials said the boycott of Vedan’s products at local retailers has partly prompted the company to accept the compensation claims of afected farmers.

Taiwanese river polluter Vedan Vietnam has caved in to public anger and agreed to pay full compensation to affected farmers after playing hard to get for more than a year.

Nguyen Thai Lai, deputy minister of Natural Resources and Environment, informed the press on Monday (August 9) that the MSG maker has committed to paying farmers in Ho Chi Minh City and the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau compensation of VND45.7 billion (US$2.39 million) and VND53.6 billion ($2.8 million) respectively.

These are sums calculated by the Institute for Environment and Resources under direction from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and later approved by local governments.

At the time of the announcement, Vedan and authorities in the southern province Dong Nai hadn’t reached an agreement on the compensation, but two days later, the company offered the province nearly VND119.6 billion ($6.26 million) as estimated by the institute.

Dong Nai’s authorities have not commented on the offer thus far.

While authorities in other two localities committed their support to farmers, authorities in the most affected province, Dong Nai, were reticent about applying pressure on the company despite the prolonged damage it had willfully inflicted on the local environment.

The Dong Nai Farmers’ Association had, at one stage, declined to back affected farmers in filing a lawsuit against the company on the grounds they would find it difficult to prove the extent of damage suffered in court.

Farmers willing to go ahead with the lawsuit were backed by lawyers from HCMC who felt they had every chance of winning the lawsuit, and later by local lawyers as ordered by Dong Nai’s authorities.

Vedan Vietnam was caught in 2008 discharging untreated effluents directly into the Thi Vai River in Dong Nai Province through secret underground pipes. It had been doing this for 14 years, inflicting serious damage on the river system, fish farms as well as rice fields located on the banks of the river.

While it admitted its culpability, the company had balked at paying the compensation demanded by affected farmers in three localities. During the negotiations, it refused to accept the calculation of compensation with various arguments, despite repeated pleas by all the affected governments for a more reasonable settlement offer. On the farmer’s side, the initial demand for compensation was whittled down many times.

It said it was not solely responsible for the pollution, that the calculations of damage were groundless, and that its own findings indicated much lower levels of damage.

However, Vedan has become “clearly aware” of its responsibilities to pay compensation to farmers affected by its polluting the Thi Vai River, Lai said at the press briefing.

The company has also realized that it is facing a high risk of being boycotted in Vietnam and that thousands of farmers were currently filing lawsuits against it, Lai said.

The Saigon Co.op and Big C supermarket chains announced last week that they had stopped selling Vedan products.

“Vedan’s leaders want to end the case and don’t want farmers to bring it to court,” Lai said.

“We hope that Vedan Company will continue operating efficiently and for the long-term in Vietnam on condition that it properly compensates affected farmers for what it caused,” he added.

In an interview with press agencies after the meeting, Vedan Vietnam General Director Yang Kun Hsiang said they will pay 50 percent of the compensation within one week of signing an agreement with authorities in HCMC and Ba RiaVung Tau, and the other 50 percent will be paid next January.

Hsiang made the same proposal in a written offer of compensation sent to Dong Nai People’s Committee on Wednesday.

Hsiang said his company hadn’t agreed to pay compensation as claimed at first because they needed time to verify the conclusions reached by the Institute for Environment and Resources.

Vedan had maintained earlier that the conclusions were illogical and made counter offers that were rejected as too low by farmers and authorities.

The company initially offered VND7 billion to Dong Nai, then raised it to VND15 billion and later to VND30 billion. The offer to Ba Ria-Vung Tau started as low as VND6 billion, and was later raised to VND10 billion, while HCMC was offered VND7 billion at first, and VND12 and VND16 billion later.

It’s not over

However, Vedan’s latest move doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be freed from legal procedures.

Tran Van Cuong, vice director of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said local authorities cannot say whether affected farmers will withdraw their lawsuit after Vedan’s capitulation.

Nguyen Van Phung, chairman of HCMC Farmers’ Association said that while waiting for compensation agreements to be signed, affected farmers in Can Gio District will continue with their lawsuits.

“Our viewpoint is that everything will only end after Vedan pays the compensation,” he said. “I believe that when Vedan agrees to pay, Can Gio farmers will not want to file lawsuits.”

Nguyen Duc, chairman of Dong Nai Bar Association, also said its lawyers will continue helping local farmers complete procedures to file lawsuits against Vedan.

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Farmers to drop lawsuits following Vedan payout agreement

Farmers in Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province said they will drop their lawsuits against the MSG manufacturer, Vedan Vietnam, if the river-polluter fully follows-through with its compensation committments.

On Monday, Vedan agreed to compensate farmers in Can Gio a total of VND45.7 billion (US$2.39 million) for damages caused by its fourteen year pollution of the Thi Vai River.  

For the past year, the Taiwanese-owned manufacturer has turned down the district’s compensation requests and made meager counter-offers to affected farmers.

On Friday, representatives from the Can Gio District Farmers Association in HCMC signed an agreement to postpone litigation on the condition that Vedan pays out 50 percent of the sums promised within the next week.

The second half of the compensation will be paid by January 14, 2011; the money will be guaranteed by the Bangkok Bank Public Co., Ltd. in HCMC, according to the agreement.

Farmers in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau signed a similar agreement [for VND53.6 billion (US$2.8 million) the same day.

In the meantime, authorities in the southern province of Dong Nai, the area most affected by Vedan’s pollution, have yet to respond to the company’s offer of nearly VND120 billion ($6.29 million).

The Dong Nai farmers are expected to reach a decision after a meeting between authorities and related agencies next Monday.

Meanwhile, local farmers are still filing lawsuits against Vedan, according to Nguyen Duc, Chairman of the Dong Nai Bar Association. Duc said that, so far, they have received 2,500 petitions from farmers, nearly half of which have been filed in court.

In an unrelated river pollution case, authorities in the central province of Quang Ngai Friday asked the Quang Ngai Sugar Joint Stock Company, to meet with affected farmers to formulate a compensation package.

The company was caught discharging untreated wastewater into the Tra Khuc River from May, 2009 until April 2010. Over 420 farmer families in Son Tinh District and Quang Ngai Town have claimed damages worth nearly VND3.9 billion ($204,724).

If the two parties can’t reach an agreement, local agencies will help farmers bring the company to court, according to the Quang Ngai People’s Committee.

The company’s crime was discovered in early May when tons of assorted marine creatures and thousands of ducks were found dead along the river.

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