Deputies talk measures to ensure sustainable development
Avoiding wasted investments, speeding up administrative reforms and improving social conditions are needed for sustained development, National Assembly deputies said on November 3 at a session devoted to socio-economic progress.
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| Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh at the discussion |
These include the VND12 trillion (US$533.33 million) Ninh Binh fertiliser plant in the northern province of Ninh Binh, VND7 trillion Dinh Vu polyester fibre plant in the northern city of Hai Phong, and VND3 trillion Phuong Nam paper mill in the Mekong Delta province of Long An.
The other ailing projects are VND8.1 trillion Thai Nguyen iron and steel factory in the northern province of Thai Nguyen, and several nationwide facilities producing ethanol, which is used to make bio-fuel.
The State-invested projects have suffered losses and some are idle.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is considering inspection reports and will conclude how to deal with the projects later, said Anh.
“These projects reveal holes in State management affairs. They are just examples and there are certainly more projects exposing potential risks of causing losses to national and social resources,” he said.
Authorities will work to preserve State capital following market rules, and specify individuals and units that are to be responsible for misspending in investments, he said.
While Vietnam is striving to create an active and incorruptible government to serve people and business and foster national development, deputy Duong Van Thong from the northern province of Yen Bai pointed out an obstacle: the public administration apparatus is too cumbersome. There are unnecessary sections in many organisations, he said.
In Yen Bai alone, the number of people paid out of the State budget reached more than 17,000 and their payroll totalled VND1.1 trillion this year. This compared to the total regular spending amount that the province allocated for the year of about VND4 trillion.
Nationwide, public staff should be cut by 20 percent or more to reduce budget spending and make better use of financial resources, Thong suggested.
Deputy Ngo Duy Hieu from Hanoi agreed that a part of the country’s human resources still shows poor performance, with some civil servants troubling businesses and citizens and obstructing national development.
One reason for this is that many public servants are appointed to positions for which they are not suited in terms of skills and experience. Education and training must track demand and standards in the labour market more closely, he said.
Deputy Hoang Duc Thang from the central province of Quang Tri said education is among the pressing social issues needing improvement.
A lack of proficient teachers and a rise in school violence have recently grown, in addition to unsolved problems related to health care, waste, food hygiene, traffic jams, and traffic and workplace accidents.
Thang said despite national efforts and tens of billions of dong invested, little improvement has been seen.
“It seems that we are attaching too much importance to economic development and paying inadequate attention to social fields. Facing the prevailing problems, the people can’t be at rest… They hope for more drastic actions of the Government,” he said.
Many deputies urged agricultural restructuring for green and hi-tech farming developments that are more resilient to climate change.
They recommended measures to accelerate agriculture, such as building proper irrigation works, assisting farmers with seeds and materials to create more products with greater added values, encouraging enterprises to invest in the area, and establishing closer linkage among farming regions.
They also said stimulating business growth, accelerating the fight against corruption, and assuring energy security and sovereignty over the territorial waters are vital for socio-economic development.
