He was speaking at a conference in Hanoi on October 26 to review the two years of implementing of the PM's Decision 134 on policies for supporting disadvantaged ethnic minority households.

The deputy PM proposed that localities benefiting from Programme 134 draw up their plans on the provision of land, housing and water supply in a comprehensive and synchronous manner. He said the Government only assists localities in terms of policies and resources and poverty reduction is the responsibility that rests with localities themselves.

Trang A Pao, Chairman of the Council of Ethnic Minorities under the National Assembly, said the Government should review finished and on-going projects in ethnic minority-inhabited areas and map out a masterplan with specific goals.

As a result of the execution of Decision 134, by June 2006, provinces had built over 150,000 houses, more than 1,650 water supply systems for ethnic minorities, more than 33,610 households had been provided with production land and 6,210 households with housing land.