The city is a special metropolitan area with a large number of state-owned houses and public land with diverse and complex origins and management processes. Following the Directive 24, city administrations ought to review the use of houses and other assets attached to state-owned land which is complicated work.
Currently, the administration in District 10 is bumping into difficulties in recovering the land plot at 419 Le Hong Phong Street.
This land has been leased by Saigon Shoe Joint Stock Company, which is now G Saigon Education Joint Stock Company, since 2000 with the lease period extended until the end of 2020. During the land lease period, the company committed violations; thus, it had to pay administrative fines. The land lease term has terminated for more than three years and the municipal People's Committee issued a decision to recover the property in 2021. However, until now the company has not handed over the land.
Recently, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of District 10 Huynh Van Tam proposed forcing the company to hand over the land for a school construction project at a meeting with the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City as the district is seriously lacking land for building schools.
Vice Chairman of District 6 People's Committee Huynh Minh Hung said that the district is facing difficulties in recovering 13 land lots which were leased by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Up to now, the lease has expired and the land use has not been extended, but the recovery has been fatiguing. The district worked with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment and both sides arrived at an agreement that 13 plots of land should be taken back for building schools and medical facilities. However, up to now, relevant departments and agencies are still debating the matter.
Similarly, District 12 needs to build many schools and projects for civilian purposes; therefore, Chairman of District 12 People's Committee Nguyen Van Duc proposed that the People's Committee consider recovering 13 plots of land in the district.
Specifically, the district proposed to recover land allocated to City Green Park Company, Thien Loc Shoes Joint Stock Company, Phuong Nam Intermediate School, and Saigon Construction - Consulting Joint Stock Company because these organizations and businesses have used land ineffectively and for the wrong purpose.
In rearranging state-owned houses and land for more effective management and use, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance Nguyen Tran Phu informed that the department has proposed the People's Committee for the issuance of a decision to assign 410 public assets including houses and land lots for the Center for Housing Management and Construction Inspection to manage for the first phase.
So far, the city People's Committee and the Ministry of Finance have approved a plan to handle 12,900 land lots in the city.
Permanent Deputy Secretary of District 1 Party Committee Hoang Thi To Nga said that recently, the district has conducted 4 inspections on the state management of public assets. Thereby, one team and 7 individuals who were found commit violations have been handled. The district has transferred the files of the team and seven individuals to responsible agencies for further investigation about their wrongdoings and clarification of mistakes made by each individual.
Elsewhere in the city, District 8 is managing 299 plots of land and 411 addresses of houses and public land. Chairman of District 8 People's Committee Tran Thanh Tung said that in 2023, through inspecting 2 wards, inspectors pointed out a number of violations in the management and use of real estate and assets attached to state-owned lands; consequently, 3 officials and civil servants received punishment.
At the same time, District 8 stopped leasing 4 houses and land in violation of regulations, recovering more than VND1.1 billion (US$ 40,793). Moreover, after the inspection, 2 party members were disciplined and 8 party members were severely criticized.
After 4 years of implementing the Directive 24, Deputy Head of the Inspection Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Phan Thi Binh Thuan assessed that shortcomings and limitations have been promptly addressed, increasing effectiveness and efficiency in state management in this field. However, the management and use of public housing and land by some units still have many shortcomings and violations including improper purposes, leaving long-term rent arrears, and leaving real estate vacant.
Faced with this situation, Head of the Inspection Commission of the HCMC Party Committee Duong Ngoc Hai emphasized that inspection and supervision must be stepped up when party organizations and party members have shown their violations. At the same time, organizations and individuals that committed corruption and wrongdoings in the management and use of public housing and land must receive penalties.
