Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, gives certificate of merit to outstanding individuals in 2022. (Photo: SGGP)

Efforts to strengthen social security

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, HCMC's economy recovered quickly and quite comprehensively in 2022. The city's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) was estimated to increase by 9.03 percent year-on-year and exceed the plan of 6-6.5 percent. Budget revenue had positive growth, reaching more than VND471.5 trillion, achieving 121.99 percent of the estimate and increasing by 23.6 percent year-on-year.

Exports reached US$49.5 billion, up 10.3 percent. Seventeen out of 19 basic targets were met and surpassed the plan (two targets have not been assessed). Many manufacturing and service sectors rose robustly. Cultural and social activities, education and training, people's health care, and sustainable poverty reduction were promoted. The material and spiritual life of the people continued to be improved. External relations were enhanced; political security, social order, and safety continued to be maintained.

Faced with unprecedented difficulties and challenges, the Party Committee and the Government of HCMC soon identified the key tasks and proposed solutions suitable to the situation for the recovery and development periods following the view and motto of the Central Government, which is to be proactive and flexibly adaptive, effective, and decisive in leading, directing and administrating; created unity in the political system, the consensus, and synergies of the business community and all classes of people.

The strength, faith, and strong will of the great national unity bloc brought into play both internal and external strengths to help HCMC's economy recover faster than expected, synchronously, and quite comprehensively, contributing to building a solid foundation for the following years, said Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu.

At the conference last year, the HCMC Party Committee assessed that 2023 is a pivotal year with significant meaning. HCMC will need to accelerate and create momentum for faster and more sustainable development. However, it is forecast that there will be unpredictable changes in global politics and the economy in 2023; Business and export activities will still face difficulties, and there will be a risk of economic recession.

In that context, HCMC has identified the theme for 2023 as “Improving the efficiency of public service activities, accelerating administrative reform and improving the investment environment; economic development associated with social security assurance." The key socio-economic tasks were discussed and agreed upon at the last three meetings of the HCMC Party Committee, the People's Council, and the People's Committee.

The tasks focus on solutions to accelerate the implementation of important infrastructure projects, increase the disbursement of public investment, continue to support and accompany the business community, remove obstacles and difficulties, promote the resources of society and businesses participating in investing for development.

The city will focus on ensuring social security, especially labor, employment, and social housing, the sustainable poverty reduction program, and researching and promulgating policies to strengthen the social security and protection system. Along with that, the city will support underprivileged people, migrant workers, and workers in the informal sector to have more sustainable livelihoods, Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu informed.

Promoting dynamism and creativity

A corner of HCMC (Photo: SGGP)

The Deputy Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee said that through the Covid-19 pandemic, the city has seen a desire for development and great endogenous strength among the officials, civil servants, people, and the business community. Therefore, with the removal of difficulties, obstacles, bottlenecks, and knots and the establishment of a strict, clear, synchronous, non-overlapping legal corridor, ensuring safety for law enforcement officers and operations of businesses, HCMC will certainly develop faster and more sustainably to contribute more to the overall development of the country. The city has determined that it must take advantage of every time and opportunity to develop and proactively and actively find solutions from practice.

Specifically, the city will identify matters that have not been done and continue to focus on completing them. As for matters under the city’s authority and those already in the law, the city will be determined to finish them. For new issues that have not had regulations, the city will report to the Central Government and propose pilot organization and implementation. Any matters that are no longer appropriate and have entanglements or difficulties beyond the city's resolving ability must be urgently reported to central agencies to propose solutions.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, the tasks in 2023 are relatively heavy. HCMC will focus on effectively carrying out the proposed solutions to improve adaptability in the context of many difficulties and challenges, creating momentum for rapid and sustainable development.

The leadership and direction must strengthen forecasting and assessing closely to reality and be more proactive and drastic in the management and administration of the Government at all levels. The contingent of officials, civil servants, and public employees should actively promote dynamism and creativity, dare to think, know how to do, and be more proactive and drastic to mobilize all resources for the development of HCMC.

To accomplish the goals and tasks in the coming year, the role of the executor is exceptionally important. First of all, each official and party member needs to raise his sense of responsibility, awareness of his personality, ideals in life, and mission, and play his role right. Each person does the right thing, bringing valuable results to work and life.

At the same time, they must dare to think, dare to do, dare to take responsibility for the common good, join hands, and make efforts to contribute to the development of the country in general and HCMC in particular. It is the duty, responsibility, and great affection of each person towards the 50th anniversary of the Reunification Day, which the HCMC Party Committee has planned to deploy and launch to deserve the efforts of the predecessors through many generations had sacrificed their lives to protect and build this beloved city, he said.

For the contingent of HCMC’s officials and civil servants, it is high time they promoted dynamism and creativity, dared to think, dared to do, dared to make breakthroughs, and renewed their attitude to overcome themselves. The Politburo has made Conclusion No.14 on the policy to encourage and protect dynamic and creative officials for the common good.

HCMC has proposed to the Central Government to pilot the implementation of Conclusion No.14 in some fields to encourage and protect officials who have creative and breakthrough thinking, bringing benefits to the people, thereby removing bottlenecks in mechanisms and policies, accelerating the city to develop faster and more sustainably.

Source: SGGP