Village leaders… "three no's"!

(Baonghean) - Recently, during a work trip to Commune V. in a lowland district of our province, we were received and interviewed by a key leader of the commune. With a cheerful attitude and an open smile, the official said that he was busy with a meeting, but knowing that the journalists wanted to learn about a "pressing" issue in the locality, he made time to meet with us.

And then, we asked the village leader questions, each with a friendly smile. If anything was unclear, he would call in the relevant officer for further clarification, and not forget to remind them to bring documents and evidence as "proof." However, as the meeting progressed, it seemed that this village leader was completely oblivious to certain issues: He didn't hear, he didn't see, and he didn't know! For example, when we asked: "Could you tell us why several households have been building solid houses on agricultural land next to the main road for many years without the village saying anything?", the village leader replied: "Actually, we only found out after they finished building!" We then asked: "Surely the villagers didn't see those huge houses built next to the village's biggest road?", the village leader laughed loudly and changed the subject. When the land registry officer presented the land allocation applications for several households, the commune leader continued to laugh loudly, trying to gloss over the matter: "Oh, I did sign the confirmation back then. But the land registry officer told me to sign, so I signed. I don't have the expertise. I didn't know anything about it!" (?!)

It is known that before being appointed to a key position, the aforementioned commune leader had served as the head of several departments in the commune since the early 1990s. This means that after all these years, he must remember every nook and cranny of the village and commune, and have a thorough understanding of the people. Therefore, the fact that several kiosks and temporary houses built on agricultural land right next to the main road of the commune have been "upgraded" to permanent buildings, and only then did he find out, is quite strange!

With such a leader, it's no wonder that subordinates in this commune all shake their heads when asked: Why are there so many households building solid houses on agricultural land without any objection; and why has there been a land dispute for 20 years that the commune hasn't resolved?

Viet Long