HA NOI

The Nalional Assembly launched its official Yoosk site yesterday, creating another digital engagement platform between lawmakers and their constituents as well as the general public.
Yoosk, which simply means "you ask", is a web platform that enables people to communicate with their representatives.
The launch was attended by Scotl Wightman, director of the Asia-Pacific Region, the UK’s Foreign&Commonwealth Office; British Ambassador Mark Kent; deputy head of the Nalional Assembly Office Nguyen Si Dung; and several legislators.
Http://hoidap.quochoi.vn, the site, allows the public to raise questions to National Assembly deputies by directly sending them to specific members in a list of participating deputies pulling them under a broad topic. The questions will be answered immediately or before a specific deadline.
One feature of Yoosk is the voting mechanism which allows users to rate the questions/answers. Users are also allowed to post their comments on questions and answers.
The British embassy in Ha Noi has provided £.10,000 (US$45,270) since last October to create the site which is widely used by government officials in the UK,
"Our Foreign Secretary and many MPs have been using Yoosk to engage with the public," Kent said.
"In Viet Nam, our colleagues at the National Assembly Office have been very active in taking forward this initiative to foster their public engagement."

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HA NOI

Spain is one of Viet Nam’s most important partners and the two-way trade still has room to develop. That was a message delivered by Hoang Van Dung, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) during yesterday’s business conference in the capital.
It was also a big market with a number of the world’s leading businesses, the vice chairman added.
Nguyen Hong Truong, deputy minister of Transport, said that the co-operation in transport between Vietnamese and Spanish firms still lagged behind potential. Only a handful of railway and marine projects had been signed between them in recent years, Truong noted.
A draft of memorandum of understanding on developing infrastructure in Viet Nam under negotiation by the two nations’ transport ministries was expected to open a new page for bilateral co-operation between businesses.
European Community Ambassador to Viet Nam Sean Doyle said he believed that Viet Nam had enough capacity to access foreign investors in coming years.
Other attendants called ort Viet Nam to draw up new policies to more effectively attract foreign investment, better meet investor demand for improved infrastructure as well as pay adequate attention to environment protection.
Co-organised by the VCCI and the Spanish Embassy in Viet Nam’s economic and commercial office, the event witnessed the participation of 30 major Spanish businesses in transport, energy and die environment.
It was described as a good chance for businesses to meet and seek new co-operation opportunities.
Two-way trade value between Viet Nam and Spain has obtained an average growth rate of 20 per cent in recent years. Spain is a large export market for Vietnamese key products including footwear, garments, coffee, seafood and wood.
As of last year, Spain had 16 projects in Viet Nam with a combined registered capital of more than US$20 million, ranking 55 among 89 foreign investors in Viet Nam.

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HA NOI

Despite the release of positive economic data, the VN-Index continued iis downward trend yesterday, losing another 0.99 per cent to end the day at 506.53.
Over 64 per cent of codes on the HCM Cily Stock Exchange declined, with Vietinbank (CTG), Vietcombank (VCB) and properly developer Vincom Co (VIC) among the few high-profile advancers. Other gainers were mostly penny stocks.
Overall trading increased slightly, however, to 44.8 million shares, worth a combined VND1.8 trillion (US$94.2 million). Telecommunications cable producer Viet-Han (VHG) led the southern market, with 2.6 million shares changing hands.
Real estate developer Long Hau (LHG) listed 20 million shares on the HCM City market yesterday. LHG shares hit their ceiling price of VND48,000 on their first day of trading, with a volume of just 1,000 shares.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also closed off 0.85 per cent to 166.97. The volume of the day’s trades reached 29.8 million shares, worth VND939.3 billion ($49.2 million).
Losers outnumbered gainers by 154-82 while Kim Long Securities Co (KLS) continued to be the most heavily-traded share with nearly 3.6 million traded.
The northern bourse yesterday also welcomed a new listing of 1.5 million shares of Song Da Eleclrical Engineering Co (SDE). SDE closed off 6 per cent up from its opening price to VND30.000 ($1.57) on a volume of 74,300 shares.
Since most securities analysts this week had predicted that trade would he heavily affected by economic data, the market decline in the face of positive data came as a surprise, said a HCM City Securities Co analyst who requested that his name be withheld.
Along with HCM City and Ha Noi inflation data, the national consumer price index was expected to climb in March by only around 0.6-0.7 per cent. The State Bank of Viet Nam also estimated a national growth rate in the first quarter of 5.7-5.9 per cent, data that should have boosled Ihe market.
"The VN-Index sharply decreasing towards closing bell yesterday sent a negative signal to investors," said the HCM City Securities analyst. With negligible participation by foreign investors, he said, market trends remained unclear.
Foreign investors returned to being net buyers on both bourses yesterday, responsible for a net buy of 866,830 shares, worth a combined VND63 billion ($3.3 million).

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Enterprises failing to report workplace accidents will be severely punished, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Bui Hong Linh told Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times)
 
Your ministry holds labour safety week each year to raise people’s awareness. Why does the number of labour accidents keep increasing?

The awareness of the employers and labourers on workplace safety has increased thanks to frequent education campaigns.
But, in a lot of enterprises, especially the medium-and small-size ones, there are still many workers who do not have good knowledge on safely. As a result, labour accidents keep happening.
Last year most accidents occurred in the construction (51 percent), mining (15.5 per cent) and mechanical (5.93 per cent) industries.
Statistics show 29 per cent were due to the fault of employers, 12 per cent to lack of training on workplace safety, 27 per cent to poor facilities. Accidents also happened because workers did not follow safety regulations.

Was the increase in workplace accidents because strict punishments were rarely applied to violators?

The speed of investigation for the accidents is slow. Last year, 63 cities and provinces had 507 workplace accidents but we have received only 135 accident reports.
In detail, HCM City reported 69 out of 102, Quang Ninh 15 out of 27, Dong Nai 3 out of 30. Binh Duong, Hai Phong, Hai Difdng, Sdn La and Ha Nam had between 11 and 23 eases, but none of them produced an accident report.
Of the total number of ac-cidents last year, only two cases were sent to the People’s Procuracy for investigation of criminal responsibility and possible prosecution.
The number of enterprises which report workplace accidents makes up only 2.4 per cent.

What are the solutions?

We have asked ministry branch inspectors lo punish enterprises which don’t report accidents and to work on ensuring that accidcnls arc investigated and reports are made so any wrong doing can be punished.
In construction, mining and electricity, we require our staff to mostly inspect the enterprises with old technology which influence the environment.

What should be done to prevent workplace accidents?

Employers should regularly check enterprise operations relating to accident risks. If accidents happen, enterprises will not only lose money and possibly equipment, they may also be brought to court. So, employers should develop a  culture of safety and workplace safety checks and train their workers in safe working procedures.

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AN GIANG

Erosion from a landslide that swept away 50m of Highway 91 in An Giang Province last Monday is now threatening the remaining stretch of the road, according to Nguyen Thanh Tam from the provincial Department of Transport.
The landslide, which occurred in Binh My Commune next to the Hau River, swept 10m off the 11-metre-wide road into the river.
Further sudden erosion subsequently occurred early on Monday morning when the road was empty.
But the damage could be worse than initially thought after several large cracks in the road had put nearby houses at risk of falling into the river, said Cao Van Be from the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
Officials swiftly enclosed the eroded part of the road and redirected traffic along other routes in Chau Doc District. Tam said work on a 120-metre-long temporary bridge had began to replace the eroded section of the road. Local authorities had also started arranging resettlement for households threatened by erosion along the river.
Last month, two land-slides occurred in Binh My and Phu An communes that swept away more than 500sq.m of land. Seven landslides in nearby Tien Giang Province have also been reported since the beginning of the year.

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HA NOI

Prolonged dry weather has threatened forests and crops in several northern provinces.
More than 200 hectares of forest in Ha Giang Province have been destroyed since late February, and large forest fires have broken out in the mountainous provinces of Cao Bang, Lang Son and Yen Bai.
Slash-and-bum farming has also been blamed for the fires.
The four mountainous districts of Dong Van, Meo Vac, Yen Minh and Quan Ba in Lao Cai Province are facing forest fire risks up to Level 5, the highest level.
In the first two months of this year, 3,721 localities from around the nation suffered from forest fires, said Ha Cong Tuan. director of the Forest Management Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The drought had destroyed the cultivation area for hundreds of tonnes of live-stock feed in Lao Cai Province, said Nguyen Quyet Tien, secretary of Vo Lao Commune’s Party Committee.
In addition, there is currently insufficient irrigation water for nearly 754 hectares of rice paddies, according to the provincial Irrigation Department.
To help farmers deal with the problems, the communal authority has recommended that the district authority should provide capital for farmers to buy water pumps.
Some farmers have planted soya instead of rice over 63 hectares in Si Ma Cai District to cope with the drought.
According to the Lao Cai Hydro-meteorology Forecast Centre, rainfall has been lower than usual, with only 85-125mm falling since last November. The situation was predicted to last until April.
Water levels in streams and rivers are 15-20cm lower than in recent years.

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