The recent re-appointment of a high-ranking official in Kien Giang Province, located in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, despite his previous wrongdoings, has sparked concerns amongst the public.

Following the controversial re-election of Nguyen Van Hon, vice-chairman of the People’s Committee in Rach Gia City, Kien Giang Province, local leaders have given an insight into the situation.

During an interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Nguyen Van Phich, secretary of the Rach Gia Party Committee, said that it was normal for Hon to be re-elected, and was in accordance with standard election procedures.

The vice-chairman was only asked by the Kien Giang Party Committee to review his shortcomings in the performance of given tasks, according to Phich.

Therefore, that Hon was accepted as a candidate and voted to resume his office for another term was nothing out of the ordinary.

Regarding the violations of the vice-chairman, a representative from the Rach Gia People’s Committee has provided Tuoi Tre with several documents related to the case.

Hon had agreed to grant building permits to two constructions in the area even though some aspects of their design violated the law.

In one of the cases, the high-ranking official issued formal permission to Pham Thi Dao in Vinh Bao Ward for an 11-story apartment building, which was six floors higher than the usual limit.

Several parts of the structure also encroached on public space while its height is obviously distinguished from that of nearby houses.

Despite the issues, the illegal construction of the building was carried out over a long period without any reaction from authorities, upsetting local citizens.

In the second case, Hon agreed to provide a permit to the building of Truong Phat Construction Company without the written approval of a unit under the Ministry of National Defense as required, with regard to its height.

The height of local buildings must be approved by the unit so as not to affect the defensive and tactical space of the military command in Kien Giang before construction starts.

According to Do Tran Thinh, deputy chief of the inspectorate under the Kien Giang Party Committee, Hon was discovered to be committing his wrongdoings on April 29.

However, the inspectors later received the missing document from the military unit approving the height of Truong Phat’s building on May 5, Thinh continued.

He added that Hon also explained that his wrongdoing happened due to the complicated paperwork procedures, adding that he was not properly informed of the process promulgated by the Ministry of National Defense.

For this reason, the inspectorate only requested the vice-chairman to review his wrongdoings without imposing any serious form of discipline, Thinh concluded.             

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