From the speech of General Secretary To Lam , we are reminded of one of the core contents mentioned in the Document of the 13th National Party Congress: People must benefit. People benefit is one of the very important new points in the overall motto of "people know, people discuss, people do, people inspect, people supervise, people benefit" that the Document of the 13th National Party Congress added, which is a deeper affirmation of the superior nature of the socialist regime. People benefit is the final destination, the ultimate goal of a state that is truly of the people, by the people and for the people.
Every achievement, whether infrastructure, policy or reform, must ultimately be enjoyed by the people. That is the only true measure of success. Not only has Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces merged to form an unprecedented megacity in the history of Vietnam's urban development, but the whole country has witnessed many changes in recent days: administrative boundary mergers, infrastructure restructuring, urban space adjustment, regional connectivity planning and socio -economic development in unprecedented ways. But among all those plans, decisions and administrative documents, the most important thing must be reiterated: every change, big or small, must aim towards a better life for the people.
The new Ho Chi Minh City will be an urban-economic entity with an area of over 6,770km2 , a population of about 14 million people, contributing about 24% of GRDP and nearly 40% of the national budget, creating a new development momentum not only for the key economic region of the South, but also for the whole country in a period of increasingly fierce global competition. Those are extremely large numbers from a local perspective. But no matter how large the "numbers" are, they ultimately aim to serve people.
When looking at the predictions of huge statistics on GRDP of future megacities, we remember a very strange statistic in a country that chooses people's happiness as a measure of development: every year, they always count the average number of hours of sleep of each citizen!
Cities develop big, beautiful, and become megacities not to become beautiful in the eyes of investors, but to make people's lives easier, less crowded, and less costly. Lessons from developed cities around the world show that only when people feel happier about their living space, income,education , culture, etc., will that city truly be worth living and developing.
It is no coincidence that many international rankings of “livable cities” are not based only on GDP, but also on citizen satisfaction, health coverage, access to public transport, air quality, cultural diversity, and even... people's free time.
A good policy and a correct plan are only truly valuable when people feel their lives are better. The word “beneficiary” is not a privilege, but the right to live in a healthy environment, modern infrastructure, and access to transparent and humane public services.
And so, the numbers of GRDP, investment capital, and number of projects will be more meaningful when they are accompanied by very ordinary images: children have playgrounds, people have medical stations near their homes, workers have housing and places to take care of their children, farmers no longer have to “rescue” agricultural products. All development achievements, big or small, must be attributed to a single destination: people can live better every day.
We believe that the unification of the three southern development poles into one entity is a rare opportunity for Vietnam to step out into the “big playground”. Big cities need a big heart for the people. Only when the people are the center of policy, the ones who directly feel and enjoy the changes, as General Secretary To Lam said, that “the people must enjoy those achievements”, then development can be considered complete!
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nguoi-dan-phai-duoc-thu-huong-thanh-qua-post801610.html
![[Infographic] Circular guiding the functions, tasks and powers of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the commune-level Department of Culture and Social Affairs](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/402x226/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/6/29/877f24989bb946358f33a80e4a4f4ef5)
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