Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said the Government authorised the ministry and relevant agencies to inspect some inefficient investment projects.

These include the 12 trillion VND (533.33 million USD) Ninh Binh fertiliser plant in the northern province of Ninh Binh, 7 trillion VND Dinh Vu polyester fibre plant in the northern city of Hai Phong, and 3 trillion VND Phuong Nam paper mill in the Mekong Delta province of Long An.

The other ailing projects are 8.1 trillion VND 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 1.1 trillion VND this year. This compared to the total regular spending amount that the province allocated for the year of about 4 trillion VND.

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.

Economic growth discussed in NA

To realise the GDP growth target of between 6.3-6.5 percent in 2016, the growth rate in the final quarter of this year must reach between 7.09 -7.71 percent, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung has said.

In his presentation delivered at the ongoing second session of the 14th National Assembly in Hanoi on November 3, the minister mentioned the national economy’s difficulties in the first nine months of the year, which were highlighted in Government reports.

The country failed to realise targets in GDP growth and exports, he said, attributing these failures to declining global demand and the world economic downturn.

Internal and external disadvantages have caused negative impacts on agro-forestry-aquaculture production, mining industry and exports, making it difficult to reach the targets.

GDP growth in the first three quarters was 5.93 percent, lower than that of the same period last year, Dung said.

However, the level met expectations in the context of the difficulties mentioned above, he added.

The growth target set for the last quarter is likely to be realised as the economy recorded positive signals with strong increases in the number of newly-registered and re-opened enterprises, the minister noted.

Additionally, credit balance, which is expected to increase 18 percent in the whole year, will significantly contribute to GDP growth, he added.

Regarding the socio-economic development plan in 2017, Dung said the country’s economic growth in the year is set to expand 6.7 percent.

The Government has proposed measures to ensure macro-economic stability, curb inflation, improve the business climate, and promote start-ups and economic restructuring.

The agricultural sector is expected to witness a good recovery in 2017 thanks to effective restructuring, while processing and manufacturing industries will have stable growth.

According to the minister, the country aims to expand export turnover to between 6-7 percent or 11 billion USD-12 billion USD in the year compared to 2016.

Total investment for all sectors in 2017 is estimated to be 1.6 quadrillion VND (72 billion USD) or 31.5 percent of the GDP, increasing about 10.5 percent against 2016.

Spending from the State budget was limited, therefore attention should be paid to using public investment and mobilising capital from non-State funds like foreign direct investment and the private sector, Dung stressed.

Voters voice opinions on urgent issues

Voters have voiced their opinions on urgent issues relating to the development of the country which were discussed at the second session of the 14 th National Assembly (NA) on November 3. 

Voter Nguyen Duc Thuan from Vinh Ninh ward, Hue city, said the reports and discussion of deputies at the session helped voters understand the country’s economic panorama. 

The government honestly spoke about shortcomings and achievements and put forth policies to help the economy develop, Thuan said, adding that the NA also mentioned many issues of voters’ interestsuch as public debt, corruption and administrative reform. 

Le Van Thiep fromHuongThuy town, the central province of ThuaThien Hue, said the country has great potential to develop agriculture and restructuring the sector is necessary, with focus on promoting hi-tech agriculture. 

Meanwhile, voter DinhXuan Long fromPhu Hoi ward, Hue city, focused on enterprises and their role in developing the country’s economy and hoped the government would issue policies to help small- and medium-sized develop. 

Duong Vinh Thai, Vice President of northern VinhPhuc province’s Association of Journalists, said the 14th NA’s second section has covered issues thatcitizens are interested in such as traffic accidents and traffic congestion in big cities 

According to Vu DucTien, Director of the centre for protecting labour health and the environment of VinhPhuc province, this session spent more time discussing issues related to labour, employment, human resources quality and environmental pollution than the previous ones. 

In Bien Hoa city, the southern province of Dong Nai, Nguyen Thanh Tamfrom the Fashion Garments Company said the government should restructure the economy towards improving the quality, competitiveness and effectiveness of the economy and furthering administrative reforms to achieve a transparent and modern administrative sector. 

In the context of the country’s deep integration and the implementation of trade deals, which provide opportunities for enterprises to boost exports, Tam said State administrative agencies like tax and customs need to make strong reforms.-

VNA