Formed through the merger of four former wards of Ha Tien city in the former Kien Giang province, Ha Tien ward has many trails and open crossings, requiring border forces to organize multiple patrol layers to prevent smuggling and illegal entry and exit.
“Ha Tien ward has a large ethnic minority population, mainly Khmer and Chinese, so we have put officials who can speak ethnic languages in the public administration area to help residents complete administrative procedures. Civil servants at the public administration center can speak both Chinese and Khmer,” Pham Khac Phara, Deputy Chairman of the Ha Tien ward People's Committee, said.
Surveys show that 99% of residents are satisfied with administrative procedures in Ha Tien ward, Phara added.
According to Lieutenant Chau Van Nat, a police officer in the Xa Xia area of Ha Tien ward, about 70% of residents in Xa Xia are Khmer. One difficulty is their limited understanding of the Vietnamese language.
“We regularly coordinate with local agencies and social organizations to disseminate Party and State guidelines and policies so local residents can understand and comply with them. We also visit homes to help people complete online administrative procedures,” said Nat.
Ngo Thi Hong Dao, head of the women’s group in the My Lo area of Ha Tien ward, said local agencies have worked closely to support residents.
“We help local women install the VNeID app on their phones and help them with administrative paperwork and residency registration. We also coordinate with ward police to raise awareness of cyberspace safety,” Dao noted.
Ha Tien ward has completely eliminated temporary and dilapidated houses for poor and near-poor households, exceeding its target by 24%. Local authorities have helped residents of the border area, especially those from the Khmer community, improve their livelihoods.
“The local government pays close attention to my family. Authorities provide seedlings, farming and husbandry training, preferential loans, and guidance on complying with State laws. I grow sweet potatoes and rice, and now my family has a stable life and enough food,” Chau Neng, a Khmer resident of Xa Xia, said.
Maintaining security and order in Ha Tien relies on professional forces and active public participation through a model called “Mobile Civil Defense Team for Dissemination, Crime Prevention, and Social Evil Prevention in the Border Area”.
Established in March 2021, the team initially focused on supporting COVID-19 prevention and control in border areas. After the pandemic, its mission shifted toward crime prevention and combating social evils.
Si Phon, the head of the team, told VOV, “We disseminate Party guidelines and policies and State laws to people in the border area, and help them stay vigilant against the tricks, plots, and scams of bad actors and promptly report illegal immigrants to the border guards. We also tell people about Khmer customs and traditions.”
Thanks to coordination among functional forces, and the self-reliance and determination of local residents, Ha Tien ward has become a model of security and social welfare along Vietnam’s southwest border. Under its development orientation toward 2030, Ha Tien aims to become a center of the marine economy, tourism, and border trade in An Giang province.
