Beginning in 2016, Saigon will have a new mayor.
Following the municipal government's December 11 election, Nguyen Thanh Phong, current deputy chief of the city, took a staggering 85.1% of the vote to become HCMC's new mayor after a decade of governance by his predecessor, Le Hoang Quan. The official will be helming Saigon's government for the 2016-2020 term, reports Thanh Nien.
“This is a great honor, and at the same time, a heavy responsibility which the People’s Council has entrusted upon me,” he told Thanh Nien.
With his sights turned toward the future, Phong will seek to tackle and iron out many issues around the city, focusing first on social concerns such as urban flooding, food hygiene and congestion, before moving on to economic reform. Only time will tell whether his election proves a positive step in moving HCMC to the forefront of prosperity in Southeast Asia.
[Photo via VietnamNet]
