Ca Mau currently has 1,379 cultural houses and community activity points in hamlets and clusters. After review, 830 points were identified as the main activity points, and 549 points are redundant or need to be converted. This is a large number of facilities that need to be handled after the process of arranging administrative units.
Ca Mau Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that the whole province currently has 118 commune-level cultural and sports facilities. Of which, 84 facilities are operating, 34 facilities are not yet operating; 28 facilities are identified as using for improper purposes or have been converted.
Notably, 96/118 facilities need repair and upgrade, accounting for about 81.4%; 8 facilities need to be newly built. Because the standards for cultural and sports facilities at the commune level are being reviewed, the number of establishments that meet or do not meet standards has not been fully determined.
At the hamlet and hamlet level, the condition of facilities has not met the requirements. No hamlet or hamlet cultural house has been identified to meet the standards; all facilities need to continue to be upgraded.
The exploitation of existing institutions is also not commensurate. From July 1, 2025 to now, on average, each center organizes about 9 activities/year, each activity has about 300 - 400 participants or followers. Some places only organize 5 - 8 activities/year.
The main activities serve culture, arts, sports, propaganda, information, and community events. Some places are still managed administratively, mainly serving meetings; the content of activities is not diverse and has not fully promoted its function.
Meanwhile, 100% of communes and wards use state budget to maintain operations. Mobilizing socialized resources is not yet widespread. Ca Mau province does not have complete data on revenue and costs from leasing, service exploitation, and linkages at institutions, so it is not possible to determine the level of autonomy of establishments.
Ca Mau Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism proposes that in the 2026-2030 period, focus on reviewing and rearranging the network; prioritize repairing and upgrading existing facilities instead of building new ones. The goal is to gradually focus on a main center in each commune and ward, supplement equipment and human resources, increase periodic activities, and promote digital transformation and socialization.
For 549 surplus cultural houses and community activity points, the Ca Mau Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism proposed to have guidance on land, public assets, functional conversion, and at the same time soon have a plan to handle them to avoid leaving them vacant and wasteful.
