Da Nang has seen remarkable results from the implementation of the ‘5 No’s, 3 Yes’s’ programme, making it very different from other Vietnamese localities.  The municipal authorities are continuing their efforts to realise their goals of no starving households, no illiterate people, no itinerant beggars, no drug-addicts in the community, and no murders for property in the city. In addition, the government has aimed to ensure that all local residents have their own houses, a stable job and a cultural lifestyle.

Thanks to effective implementation of the ‘5 No’s, 3 Yes’s’ programme and the tremendous effort by authorities at local level and relevant agencies, the number of vagrants and beggars in Da Nang has decreased significantly. Photo: DOAN QUANG

Recent years have seen a significant decrease in the number of vagrants and beggars in Da Nang after the ‘5 No’s, 3 Yes’s’ programme was launched in the city in 2000.

The effective implementation of the ’5 No’s, 3 Yes’s’ programme has significantly contributed to promoting Da Nang’s brand name of a livable city.

The positive results in preventing vagrants and beggars have been attributed to the tremendous effort of local functional forces and authorities at local level.

The focus has been on establishing inspection teams across the city in a bid to deal with vagrants and itinerant beggars.

The inspectors have been deployed to tourist attractions and public areas to deal with these problems.

Besides, the government has launched campaigns to tackle the harassment of tourists, and itinerant beggars in the city.

Local functional forces has also conducted investigation into organised and forced begging, as well as the use of children, people with disabilities, and older people  for begging purposes.

Attention has been given to raising public awareness about the negative impact of the harassment of tourists, and itinerant beggars on the image of the city, as well as encourage the public across Da Nang to say no to these situations.

Strict punishment has been imposed on violators, and criminal liability has been introduced under Vietnamese laws.

Itinerant beggars who were children, older people, disabled people, those with mental health problems, have been facilitated to temporarily live in the city’s centres for social protection. They have also been sent to local relevant agencies for handling, depending on the particular circumstances of each case.

According to the Da Nang Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the city’s team for resolving itinerant beggars worked closely with relevant agencies to detect and handle violations in parks, pagodas, restaurants and other busy areas during last year.  In 2021 alone, a total of 176 wandering beggars were taken to the city’s centres for social protection, of whom, 58 were mentally-ill people, 80 were vagrants, 20 were professional beggars and 18 others were deformed beggars. The local authorities identified that 85 out of the violators came from other parts of country while 63 others were from unknown localities.

In its efforts to promote positive outcomes for preventing vagrants and beggars in the city, the Da Nang government has issued an action plan to realize its goals of no vagrants and beggars in the city in the 2021-2025 period. The municipal Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs will continue its efforts to work with functional bodies to launch campaign to tackle tourist harassment, vagrants and beggars across the city, especially in crowded areas and tourist attractions.

Reporting by PHUONG CHI – translating by H.L