Many residents in Quang Ngai City have complained about the local authorities' spending too much on decorations for Tet while the province is having to ask for support from the government and donors following recent devastating floods.

 Huge rooster decorations at Ba To Park in Quang Ngai City

People living near Ba To Park in the city centre have recently talked about the large investment in colourful decorations with some huge roosters and bonsai to welcome the Year of the Rooster.

Speaking with Dan Viet Newspaper on January 16, Ho Tan Hoa, from Quang Ngai Urban Environment Joint Stock Company which carried out the decorations revealed that decorations for the whole city cost VND3.7 billion (USD164,225), including VND3 billion (USD133,155) to decorate Ba To Park.

"Half of the money came from the city's budget while local businesses contribute the rest," Hoa said.

Kieu Truong, a 52-year-old local man complained that the decorations were a waste of money at this time when thousands of people were facing hunger due to three recent floods.

"I know that the provincial authorities have just called for free rice from the government and donations from other individuals and organisations for local people to welcome Tet," Truong said. "So I can't understand why the city's leaders spent that much on the decorations."

Another man, Nguyen Viet Hung, who lives near Ba To Park also commented, “There’s nothing wrong with decorating the city to welcome Tet, but they should not have paid so much when local people are short of food."

The local authority recently had to ask the government for a subsidy of 2,500 tonnes of rice to feed local people.