VietNamNet Bridge – In 2010 and 2011, the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) indexes reported by the 63 provinces and cities were very high, but the GDP of the whole country were low at 6.42 and 6.24 percent, respectively.

“Why were the GDP indexes low in the context of the high GRDP? Where has the domestic product value gone?” Head of the Central Party Committee’s Economics Committee Vuong Dinh Hue raised the question at a workshop last September.

The former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan, who also attended the workshop, said he does not trust the statistics, because the figures are quite different and unreasonable.

In reply, Nguyen Bich Lam, Acting General Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO), affirmed that the differences in some statistical figures “are not as big as some people think.”

According to Lam, one of the reasons behind the differences is the different ways of calculation applied by GSO and other ministries and branches. While GSO has been following the internationally recognized methods to calculate some indexes (the percentage of poverty households, the percentage of trained workers, the number of businesses…), the ministries and branches do use the same methods.

Lam also complained that GSO meets difficulties when collecting input data due to the lack of cooperation from businesses and households.

When asked about the GRDP and GDP, Lam said that local authorities tend to set up very high targets, which are even higher than the national targets and higher than their production capacity.

The average GRDP the 63 cities’ and provinces’ authorities have set up for the 2011-2015 period is 13.4 percent. Meanwhile, the National Assembly set the targeted GDP for the period at 7-7.5 percent only.

The overly high goal, please the “achievement disease,” have both led to the differences in the statistics.

The word “achievement disease” has been created recently--which refers to the phenomenon that businesses, individuals or local authorities strive to obtain achievements at any costs.

Lam, while admitting the differences in statistics, has affirmed that GSO and agencies have made a big leap in improving the statistical work towards the international practice.

While building up the statistical procedures, GSO referred to international documents and consulted with relevant ministries and branches.

The Minister of Planning and Investment would have a working session with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to discuss the cooperation in implementing the statistical works.

Also according to Lam, from 2016, the GRDP and GDP will be calculated and released by GSO.

GSO recently sent five working groups to Hanoi, Hai Duong, Khanh Hoa, Dong Nai and Lam Dong to check and re-calculate the GRDP of the localities in 2011.

The GRDP of the localities, after the checking, turned out to be lower by 2-5.5 percent lower than initially reported.

The experiences from the five localities would be referred to when checking and re-calculating the GRDP of other localities in 2011 and in 2006-2010.

After collecting information, GSO would report to the Minister of Planning and Investment about the figures of the 63 provinces and cities.

The checking would be carried out in the next years with an aim that by 2015 the differences in the statistics would be minimized.

Thanh Mai