Vietnam Power Development Joint Stock Company 'broke its promise' to the poor in Nghe An?

Coming to Xa Luong, a mountainous commune of district 30a Tuong Duong (Nghe An) when the Canh Ty Spring 2020 is only nearly 2 weeks away, it is really worrying to hear people say "the commune cadres have recently changed to people who... promised".

Curious about this "unusual" story, Xa Luong residents said that last year, commune officials encouraged poor households to demolish their dilapidated temporary thatched houses, promising that if any family did so, they would receive 20 million VND in support.

Hearing the cadres say that, the poor households were very happy. Because they built the house for themselves, not for the cadres. Having a new house to live in was a great pleasure, and receiving 20 million VND in support, what could be happier? So they pooled their resources and borrowed money from their colleagues to build it.

A residential village in Xa Luong commune, Tuong Duong district. Photo: Thuy Vy

But after finishing the new house, I was worried. Because I had waited for a long time but the commune did not support me. Not long ago, the cadres came down to the village and told me to wait a little longer for the superiors to transfer the money. But I waited and waited and still did not see any support.

The new house is no longer new, but the support money is still nowhere to be seen. At this time, the cadres come to the village less often, so the people are worried and say to each other, "Recently, the cadres of our commune have moved to... they have made promises."

House of a resident of Xa Luong commune. Photo: Thuy Vy

When asked about the Xa Luong commune officials, they sadly confirmed. And said they were “having a headache, not knowing how to solve the problem”. Regarding the cause, according to them, it was related to the fact that the Vietnam Electricity Development Joint Stock Company (investor of Khe Bo Hydropower Plant) had committed to support Xa Luong commune in removing dilapidated, makeshift thatched houses but did not do so.

The thing is, in 2019, Xa Luong commune registered to meet the new rural standards. By mid-2019, it had met 13/19 criteria. Of the remaining 6 criteria, the commune is most concerned about the criterion of eliminating dilapidated and makeshift houses. Because out of a total of 1,225 households in the commune, there are 103 households with dilapidated and makeshift houses. It is worth mentioning that among these, many households are in especially difficult circumstances and do not have the conditions to build their own houses. While the resources of the district and commune are extremely limited, they still have to rely on support from above every year.

Women in Xa Luong commune carry their children on their backs and do housework. Photo: Thuy Vy

Therefore, the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district thought of the help of Vietnam Electricity Development Joint Stock Company, the investor of Khe Bo Hydropower Plant. This is a business located in the district, with a part of the reservoir in Xa Luong commune. During the implementation of the Khe Bo Hydropower Plant project, the district, commune and people coordinated well in the work of compensation and site clearance for the construction of the plant.

On July 25, 2019, the District People's Committee sent a document to Vietnam Electricity Development Joint Stock Company. It specifically stated the reason and requested the company to support 500 million VND to help people remove dilapidated and makeshift houses and contribute to helping Xa Luong commune reach the new rural finish line.

Nearly 2 months later, on September 9, 2019, Vietnam Electricity Development Joint Stock Company issued Decision No. 907/QD-VNPD stating that the Board of Directors of the company unanimously approved financial support of VND 300 million. Decision 907/QD-VNPD clearly stated that the support fund was drawn from the company's 2019 production and business expenses.

Decision 907/QD-VNPD of Vietnam Power Development Joint Stock Company. Photo: Nhat Lan

When the district informed that Vietnam Electricity Development Joint Stock Company agreed to support 300 million VND, Xa Luong commune was very happy, so it mobilized and promised poor households that if they demolished their temporary, dilapidated houses, they would receive 20 million VND in support. Talking about this, Party Secretary and Chairman of the Commune People's Committee Nguyen Van Thang expressed his concern: "Promising to the people but not being able to fulfill it, while the traditional Tet holiday is near, honestly now we are restless...".

Why not contact the responsible people of Vietnam Electricity Development Joint Stock Company to clarify the situation? Mr. Nguyen Van Thang replied: "We have contacted dozens of times. We have also contacted the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company. Not only the commune has contacted us, the district leaders have also texted and contacted us directly, but they keep using this or that excuse to not do as promised...".

A family in Xa Luong commune had their house damaged by the consequences of the hydropower plant in 2018. Photo: Thuy Vy

Listening to the Party Secretary and Chairman of the People's Committee of Xa Luong commune lament, I remembered many sad stories that happened in some charity support programs. There were organizations and individuals who gave signs with clearly stated donation amounts to the organizing committee, which were broadcast live on National Television, but later refused to implement.

Or recently, a company promised to reward the National Women's Football Team with 500 million VND, but then deliberately "picked and chose" causing the respected head coach Mai Duc Chung to have to speak in the press "asking not to accept the bonus"...

Where the Nam Non and Nam Mo rivers intersect, is the Khe Bo hydroelectric reservoir area, in Xa Luong commune. Photo: Thuy Vy

However, I still think that I have not given up hope in Vietnam Electricity Development Joint Stock Company. Because as Tuong Duong district stated in the document requesting support from this company, Khe Bo Hydropower Plant is located in the district, the reservoir area includes Xa Luong commune. In the previous investment and construction process, there was support in site clearance; during the years the plant was in operation, people suffered many difficulties from natural disasters and floods.

Furthermore, supporting people to remove dilapidated and makeshift houses and contributing to helping Xa Luong commune reach the new rural finish line is a humane act, and has been committed by Vietnam Electricity Development Joint Stock Company in a Decision, in which the information was "based on the opinions of the members of the Board of Directors of the company"; signed and sealed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company.

Is it possible that Vietnam Electricity Development Corporation would promise for so long, and let the Xa Luong commune officials be known as the people they… promised, and then they themselves would be known as the people they promised?

According to the introduction on the website http://vnpd.com.vn:Vietnam Power Development Joint Stock Company - VNPD was established in June 2002 by 5 founding members: Vietnam Electricity Group, Vietnam Electricity Trade Union, Mien Dong Joint Stock Company, Dong Anh Electrical Equipment Manufacturing Joint Stock Company and Power Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company 2 with the initial registered charter capital of 13.7 billion VND, of which Vietnam Electricity Group and Vietnam Electricity Trade Union accounted for 85.7%. To meet the development needs, the Company has gradually increased its charter capital, organized a wide issuance of shares to external units and employees of the entire electricity industry. Currently, the Company's charter capital has increased to over 1,000 billion VND with major shareholders: Power Generation Corporation 1, Pha Lai Thermal Power Joint Stock Company, Tuan Loc Construction Investment Joint Stock Company, Vietnam Electricity Trade Union and thousands of other shareholders across the country.