"Cannot let people be fooled…"

(Baonghean.vn)- This is the statement of Mr. Tran Van Huong, Vice Chairman of the Provincial Farmers' Association when talking to Nghe An Newspaper reporters about the activities of the Center for supporting the poor in new rural development.

Mr. Tran Van Huong, Vice Chairman of the Provincial Farmers' Association: "They asked for a private house, perhaps to take advantage of the individual...".

-Sir, the Chairman of the Provincial Farmers’ Association informed that people from the Center for Supporting the Poor in New Rural Development had come to the Association and you had worked with them. Is this information correct, sir?

Mr. Tran Van Huong: That's right. A few days ago, in the early afternoon, I was preparing to go to the facility when a person from this center came. He was quite old, with an accent from Nghi Phong, Nghi Loc district. I asked: What are you here for? He showed me a letter of introduction, and looking at the stamp on it, it was from the Center for Supporting the Poor in New Rural Development, signed by General Director Le Hang.

-What happened next, sir?

Mr. Tran Van Huong:Actually, at first I had intended not to receive him because the letter of introduction was not in accordance with the regulations. However, because he was old and polite, I said: "To tell you the truth, Nghe An does not accept letters of introduction like this. But anyway, please come in, we can discuss it quickly because I am preparing to go on a business trip.

He presented quite a lot of documents, mostly open letters from some people in positions, including official dispatches from the Vietnam Farmers’ Association. Actually, we already knew the information related to this center. They called on people to “support” more than 1 million, then they would be “supported” more than 5 million in a cycle of nearly 2 years. To put it bluntly, if you really want to help the poor, why not support them all at once so that people have capital, but “support” them little by little over a period of nearly 2 years!

So I told him, “You don’t have to give me those things anymore, I already know. What is the purpose of your coming here?”. Hearing my question, he boasted about the “get rich” opportunity for poor farmers organized by their center; and the purpose of coming was to ask the Provincial Farmers’ Association to allow them to use the association’s system to propagate to the people to participate.

I replied: “For a long time now, one bad apple has spoiled the barrel. There are organizations that use the name of charity and then do bad things at the grassroots level. Therefore, at a recent meeting, the Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee directed that “Any charity organization operating in Nghe An needs the approval of the Provincial People’s Committee”. Therefore, I sympathize with you. You should go to the competent authority of the province to ask for opinions…”. Hearing me say that, he again asked the Provincial Farmers’ Association to issue an official dispatch to “implement at the district level”, but I also refused.

- So will the people from the center supporting the poor in new rural development come back to the Association again?

-Mr. Tran Van Huong:After being refused, he left, and I left too. Later, I learned that he returned. Seeing that my room door was closed, I asked the officer in the next room, “Where is Mr. Huong’s private residence?”, then “Where is Mr. Nhi’s private residence…”. Unable to find any information, he left and has not returned since then. He stopped looking for his private residence, perhaps to gain personal advantage…”.

- Some rural people have come to them. What does the Provincial Farmers' Association think about this?

-Mr. Tran Van Huong:“The Association’s leaders have discussed this issue. A few days ago, in a working session on fertilizers, with the participation of representatives from the districts, we raised this issue and thoroughly instructed that absolutely no one should issue official documents or letters of introduction for them to go to the grassroots to meet with the people. Initially, we thoroughly instructed in such a meeting, and the Association will issue a written notice soon. We cannot let the people be fooled. Farmers are already poor, but they keep taking advantage of them to do bad things…”

Official dispatch 1083 dated November 12, 2015 of the Vietnam Farmers' Association requires the Center for Supporting the Poor in New Rural Development not to use the name of the Vietnam Farmers' Association to carry out tasks related to collecting money from the center.

Nghe An Electronic Newspaper will continue to update information related to this issue, please stay tuned.

Nhat Lan - Sy Lap