Nguyễn Đức Chung, Chairman of the Hà Nội People’s Committee, instructed the City Department of Finance to draft a proposal to give lump sums to officials to use public transport for their work instead of office cars.
Trần Quốc Thuận, former Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Office said the proposal was positive.
“The plan comes right at a time when the nation is facing financial difficulties with foreign debt and bad debts mounting while the country’s natural resources are being depleted”, Thuận said.
He recalled that more than a decade ago, the government piloted a plan to give VNĐ 4.5 million ($200) a month to government officials who were entitled to use office cars to instead use public transport. Thuận was one of the first to implement that plan.
“Instead of using the office car, I hired a “xe ôm” (motorbike taxi) to go to work”.
But the plan’s life was very short. Things returned to the old way, Thuận lamented.
“To ensure the plan is a success, all high ranking Hà Nội official should lead the way in using public transport”, Thuận emphasised.
