Doctors provides health checkup to workers in Central Quảng Ngãi Province. Local authorities of islands in central provinces- such as Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định - are facing shortages of knowledgable officials and difficulties in calling for officials to work at local authorised agencies.— Photo baoquangngai.vn

HÀ NỘI — Local authorities of islands in central provinces- such as Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định - are facing shortages of knowledgable officials and difficulties in calling for officials to work at local authorised agencies.

Nguyễn Văn An, chairman of Tân Hiệp Ward’s People’s Committee on Cù Lao Chàm island of Quảng Nam Province, said “We have to send officials to study in State-funded programmes, after recruiting them,” he said.

The wide gap in salary between the leader and deputy leader is another big challenge.

Nguyễn Văn Chương, president of Fishermen Association in Nhơn Châu Commune of Bình Định Province, said he receives a monthly wage of VNĐ5.5 million (US$245), while the deputy president gets only VNĐ1.05 million ($47).

Because of this, many deputy leader positions of local authorised agencies are left empty, as the low wage does not attract anyone.

Nguyễn Văn Lợi, a resident of Cù Lao Chàm island, refused the task of being deputy head of the Tân Hiệp Commune police station.

He said the main job of residents there is to go offshore for fishing, which requires many work days, so he could not be an official and a fisherman at the same time.

The effort to attract workers who are island residents has also failed, so far.

There are no high schools on Cù Lao Xanh island of Bình Định Province. High school students have to move to the mainland to study. And most of them stay on the mainland for higher education and jobs.

The labour force also plays an important role in developing tourism on the islands. On Lý Sơn island, a well-known tourism spot in Quảng Ngãi Province, there are only ten private hotels run by residents.

Nguyễn Phúc Sinh, head of the education department of Lý Sơn Island District, said it was difficult to invest in hotels because they could not find anyone on the island with management skills.

Many wealthy families have also saved enough money to buy houses on the mainland and moved there permanently, leaving the island without workers.

In the last ten years, a large number of island families moved to the mainland. Some 56 households left Cù Lao Xanh island, while on Cù Lao Chàm island, there are only 71 families.

That prevents tourism in the region from flying high. — VNS