Across Vietnam, confused public sector workers are attempting to make sense of the chaos created by the radical government cost-cutting drive approved last week. Ministries are being merged and others scrapped altogether in an drastic attempt to slash billions of dollars from spending. The ruling Communist Party aims to cut one in five public sector jobs, many of which were seen as secure positions for life. "These are jobs... So we do have to understand that human livelihoods are at risk," says Zachary Abuza, a Southeast Asian politics expert at the National War College in Washington, DC. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES