Bad news for Saigon’s Captain Sidewalk, Doan Ngoc Hai.
From now on, Hai will need to submit detailed sidewalk-clearing plans to the chairman of the District 1 People’s Committee, Tran The Thuan, for approval before hitting the streets, Tuoi Tre reports.
The new policy was passed last Friday by Thuan, who also formally established the district’s own sidewalk clearance “task forces”. These two inter-departmental teams consist of members from the local urban order management office, police department, People’s Council, People’s Committee, Department of Justice, and public service companies, according to the newspaper.
These official inspection teams will carry out practically the same functions as Hai’s: processing violations of urban order and traffic safety regulations in District 1.
Before carrying out work on local streets, the inspection teams must send a detailed plan for advance approval from Chairman Thuan. Moreover, the policy also stipulates that ward-level authorities will have a bigger role in handling sidewalk offenses, while the inspection teams will only play a supporting role as watchdogs.
Hai and his team are probably not happy about the new regulations, as just a few months ago the District 1 official sought complete carte blanche from senior authorities to freely punish any sidewalk offender in his way while disregarding other officials.
In February this year, Vice Chairman Doan Ngoc Hai became the talk of the town for his ruthless approach to clearing sidewalk violations. However, the campaign hit a snag in May and only continued in August. His campaign is so controversial that Hai has even received death threats from disgruntled street restaurant owners.
[Photo via Zing]
