Dinh La Thang, Minister of Transport, vowed to take drastic action to deal with traffic accidents and stagnant projects.
Traffic safety
In a bold move Thang proposed that chairmen of provinces that record rises in the number of traffic accidents for three consecutive years should be dismissed from their offices.
According to him, 2011 was an abysmal year for the transport sector, including such incidents as the Din Ky cruise ship accident, the container truck collision with a passenger vehicle, the Vinalines Queen ship wreck, in addition to a gambling scandal involving the deputy director of Soc Trang’s provincial Department of Transport. He added that there were several projects in Hanoi that have remained stagnant.
“Following traffic rules is the responsibility of the people. However, the boards of traffic safety must also shoulder some of the responsibility in order to deal with these problems," Thang said.
As part of the overall effort, the ministry will scrutinise driver training institutions and vehicle registration establishments beginning just after Tet.
Stricter penalties
The quality of construction of large transportation projects will also be under the microscope so as to make sure that they are completed on schedule. Thang proposed that there should be a mechanism to clarify the exact responsibilities of investors vis-a-vis transport officials.
“Beginning this year any problems related to transportation, or those which arise in sectors under its management should have someone to be held accountable. It’s unacceptable that officials and leaders in the transport industry simply pass the buck to subordinates when it comes to substandard construction and quality," he said.
He emphasised that, during the inspection in the last half of 2011, six projects were found to be substandard. He added that the aim of this move is to find out the causes and work on solutions to these issues.
"It is completely irresponsible for a project that cost billions of VND to become badly damaged directly after completion, and then, neither the investors or authorities to take responsibility," he said.
He added that last year the ministry had to dismiss several officials for their ineptitude, which resulted in substandard construction and stagnant implementation. If the situation does not improve this year, officials of the ministry’s Transport Engineering Construction and Quality Management Bureau could be held responsible.
