Actually... really (!?)

(Baonghean) - This is about the road maintenance fee collection for motorcycles and scooters in my area, one of the main reasons why the Party branch ranked last (16th out of 16) in the entire ward.

If I remember correctly, besides the areas that failed to meet targets, such as urban planning (two families encroached on public land and built illegally); culture (two out of four civilized alleys were "stripped" of their status); and environmental sanitation (garbage was everywhere)... the collection of road maintenance fees for motorcycles and scooters also fell short. After hearing the Party branch secretary's announcement at the year-end summary meeting, all the Party members in the branch (including several members residing in the area like myself) were very upset. Especially the veterans. They demanded a thorough investigation into the subjective and objective causes to learn from the experience and to propose solutions for the coming year.

One might think that dissecting, analyzing, and learning from experience is necessary, but it's quite common for the Party branch in this block to be ranked last. Indeed! This isn't because the Party branch is incompetent or its members lack awareness, but because the entire block is located within a "suspended" development plan that has been in place for 40 years. Mixed in with the still-shabby residential areas are five or six dilapidated, cramped, leaky, and makeshift apartment complexes. These are inhabited by migrants from diverse backgrounds who frequently move. To put it bluntly, most of them are simply trying to "circumvent" regulations rather than having any real awareness of block or ward affairs. In such an environment, it's unclear when the Party branch will ever achieve "clean and strong" status…

Let's talk about the concerns regarding the road maintenance fee collection method in the ward. According to the block leader, with the amount collected being "similar" to the top-ranked blocks, the block's road maintenance fee collection criteria should have been ranked A. However, due to the serious implementation of reviewing, compiling, and reporting the list of households with motorbikes to the ward, even though the collection was quite good compared to the general average, it only reached nearly 29%, ranking B. I asked how other blocks did it. The block leader grumbled: "They didn't review or report anything at all. They just paid whatever they collected. Therefore, blocks that collected slightly more than us got A, while we got B, the same rank as blocks that collected fees from only one motorbike. Thinking about it, our block is too 'honest'. It's true that honesty... is a disadvantage (!?)."

I had previously heard that the city had reduced the road maintenance fee for motorcycles and scooters this year compared to 2013. Now, after hearing the block leader's explanation, I think it would be surprising if the total revenue didn't decrease. If fees are collected according to regulations, there must be a unified implementation process, transparency, and most importantly, fairness. Some blocks collect fees while others don't; some blocks do things one way, others another. This will lead to some blocks becoming more proactive and learning from experience. We must avoid the mindset of: "Next year, our block will do the same thing..."

Nhat Lan