National Assembly (NA) deputies raised a number of questions for the Chief Justice of the People’s Supreme Court and the Prime Minister at the Q&A session of the ongoing fourth sitting of the 14th National Assembly in Hanoi on November 18.

Chief Justice of the People’s Supreme Court Nguyen Hoa Binh addresses lawmakers' questions

The plenary meeting on November 18 was chaired by NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

In the morning, Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh cleared up queries on the quality of judgmental work, particularly civil, administrative and corruption cases, and handling wrongful convictions and pending cases.

He responded questions on trade unions’ right to take legal proceedings against enterprises, cases relating to enterprises’ social insurance payment, and precedent and effectiveness of using precedent, as well as capacity of the court system’s staff. 

In the afternoon, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc answered questions relating to economic growth, equitisation and business development, the role of the private sector, improvement of business climate, foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises, rich and poor gaps, and social welfare.

He was also grilled on international integration, measures to enhance the competitiveness of the economy, management of public debt, foreign loans, build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects, and e-government. 

Questions relating to smart urban development, corruption cases, sustainable development of the Mekong Delta, tourism development, culture investment, deforestation, forests closing; among others were answered by the PM.

After thee days of Q&A sessions, four ministers and the Prime Minister participated in, clearing up a number of questions raised by deputies. Pending questions of the deputies will be replied in written form by the Cabinet members.

A plenary meeting will take place on November 20, where NA deputies will discuss policies for Ho Chi Minh City’s development, vote on the law on amendments and revisions to some articles of the law on credit institutions, and debate the draft law on measurement and map (revised).

Lawmakers question judicial, economic corruption issues

Deputies raised questions about measures to improve the quality of judicial work and the settlement of economic corruption cases at the Q&A session of the ongoing fourth sitting of the 14th National Assembly in Hà Nội on Saturday.

Taking the floor to answer lawmakers’ queries, Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court Nguyễn Hoà Bình stressed the need to comply with regulations stipulated in the new criminal procedure code throughout the three stages of investigation, prosecution and issuing judgement.

The Supreme People’s Court has issued standard procedures for the establishing of precedents and planned to create a national legal precedent advisory council, he said. He added that in the future, this will help remove certain difficulties in the country’s court system.

“We will apply not only the legal precedents of Việt Nam but also those of the world,” he noted.

Since the beginning of this year, the court has publicised 32,318 verdicts, which received positive comments from the public as well as more critical opinions, Bình said, adding that the announcement of verdicts on the Internet is in line with the court’s principles of transparency. Verdicts relating to juveniles will not be publicised, however.

The court has decided to add one additional judge in each district, where each judge on average hears 12 cases a year. The move is also intended to encourage judges to increase responsibility and improve their professionalism and ethics.

Since 2016, the court sector has halted the hiring of judges. It is proposing that the NA Standing Committee increase the number of judges to 6,000 according to the needs of each locality, Bình said.

Fielding questions about major economic corruption cases in 2017, the Chief Justice was joined by Minister of Public Security Tô Lâm, who admitted that legal regulations create some restrictions in preventing and combating corruption.

The coordination between relevant agencies is still limited, he said. Therefore, the Ministry of Public Security will step up coordination with investigations, auditing, courts, and customs agencies in the future to speed up the investigation of corruption cases, he added.

Gov’t to target ‘reasonable’ wealth distribution

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phc (standing) responds to questions from National Assembly deputies on Saturday, November 18, the last day of a three-day hearing of cabinet members. 

The Government will accord priority to a ‘reasonable’ distribution of wealth as it tackles the various socio-economic disparities in the country, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Saturday.

Equality, growth quality and the handling of high-profile corruption cases were leading concerns as he fielded questions in parliament on Saturday afternoon.

He was the last Government leader to take the floor at the National Assembly’s three-day hearings of cabinet members.

The 2.5 hour long Q&A session was the second time PM Phuc took questions. For the most part, his performance on major national issues was positively reviewed and received by deputies and voters, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Opening the session, PM Phuc reported on socio-economic achievements of 2017, especially stressing the fulfillment of 13 targets set by the NA last year.

Phúc asserted that the country’s growth quality has improved visibly, with industry contributing more than agriculture. He said that this year’s export turnover could reach US$210 billion, up 21 per cent compared to last year (and threefold the set target of 7 per cent).

The country has jumped five positions on the global competitiveness index and made progress on other human development indexes including life expectancy, which reached 73.7 years, the PM noted.

On administrative reforms, Phúc said the government has introduced a total of 14 resolutions and implemented several measures. Citing examples, he said the process of abolishing household registration books and issuing individual identification numbers has begun, and online portals set up to receive feedback from people and businesses.

“From 2015, the number of civil servants on government payroll has been reduced by 30,000,” he said, adding that from now towards 2021, the aim is to shrink the number of government workers by 2.5 per cent each year.

Disparities exist

Responding to questions over the wealth disparity, including social stratification between rural and urban areas, and mountainous areas and flatlands, Phuc admitted that despite the government’s efforts and recent achievements, there remained big development gaps between these areas, with rural income just half of that in urban areas, and even lower in mountainous areas.

“A reasonable distribution of wealth is an ongoing priority,” and will be promoted in the coming time via economic restructuring, improving labour productivity and product quality, creating more jobs for people in remote areas, redistribution of income by taxation, and better social security, he said.

On promoting the private sector’s role in the economy, PM Phuc said that the country can expect to have more than 115,000 new private companies this year and 93 per cent operating well.

He also reiterated the government’s commitment to improving the trade/business environment, increasing transparency and equality in accessing resources, streamlining procedures, and preventing overlapping inspections.

Phuc asked private sector companies to “say no to bribes and unofficial fees”.

Responding to concerns over the management of foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses, PM Phuc said they are “a part of Viet Nam’s economy” that contributes 60 per cent of the country’s export value and employs 3 million people.

But there were issues with this sector, including the level of technology used, pricing, tax evasion and violations of environmental regulations violations. These will be dealt with strictly, the PM said, adding the Government will be choosy about attracting investment.

Investment will be directed to areas where there was real need, “not in just any area, and by whatever means,” he added.

He said FDI and domestic firms should co-operate better for a win-win development.

Anti-corruption fight

The Prime Minister strongly affirmed that “the Party and the State will not allow outrageous high-profile corruption cases to fall flat,” and that the judiciary and legislative branches will collaborate to deliver rightful results to the public.

Some deputies expressed their appreciation for the government’s recent strong anti-corruption push, but also voiced concerns over “new and more sophisticated and deep-lying forms of corruption” that can undermine the political system.

PM said the government is collecting and integrating NA feedback on its amended Law on Anti-Corruption, in the spirit of “there must not and should not be corruption.”

He also asked the NA to consider raising wages for civil servants as a way to ensure their livelihood and reduce petty corruption.

“The application of information technology solutions can be helpful in preventing corruption,” he said, asking local governments to promote this process in the coming time, together with implementation of e-government.

‘Worst fears’

When asked, the government leader admitted he was not entirely satisfied with the achievements in governing the country. He also said his “worst fears” are backwardness, corruption, peaceful evolution, and moral failings.

Phúc also responded to other issues raised at the hearing, including functions of a facilitating government, policies for ethnic minority people, equitisation of State-owned enterprises, measures to better protect forests, and civil servants’ bureaucratic attitude. 

NA deputies impressed with Prime Minister’s answers

A majority of deputies shared the view that solutions presented by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the question and answer session of the 14th National Assembly’s fourth sitting on November 18 are pragmatic and specific. 

Nguyen Thanh Hai, a deputy from the northern province of Hoa Binh, said she was impressed by the PM’s performance at the session, adding that the leader gave clear and detailed explanations for the country’s major issues. 

Voters are pleased to hear that the Government is resolved to fight against corruption in all sectors, she said. 

Deputy Luu Binh Nhuong from the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre commented on the PM’s call to ministries, agencies and localities to facilitate the operation of private enterprises as well as his request to the private firms to follow business ethics. 

He also highlighted the strong determination of the Government and State to handle wrongdoings of BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) projects. 

Nguyen Thanh Hien and Duong Trung Quoc, representatives from central Nghe An province and southern Dong Nai province, said the PM touched upon specific issues with the aim of building a growth-enabling and action-oriented Government. 

Hien shared PM Phuc’s concern over existing shortcomings in the country’s administrative system. 

NA’s Q&A sessions take place democratically: top legislator

Question and answer sessions of the 14th National Assembly’s fourth sitting from November 16-18 took place in a democratic and constructive environment, said NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. 

Concluding the sessions on November 18, the top legislator said deputies raised queries on issues relating finance, banking, information, telecommunications and justice, which are of public concern. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and other Cabinet members, and concerned officials committed to overcoming shortcomings and creating positive changes in the time ahead, she said. 

She said the NA Standing Committee will draft a resolution on the hearing sessions of the fourth sitting, which is expected to be approved at the end of the meeting to serve as a foundation for the supervision of the implementation of commitments.  

Like the third sitting, the NA devoted an additional half-day to the hearing sessions, giving more time to deputies to question Cabinet members and even discuss with each other about the issues, according to NA General Secretary Nguyen Hanh Phuc. 

Of note, the question and answer part of Prime Minister Phuc lasted for two and a half hours, during which the Government leader cleared up issues of public concern. 

As many as 23 deputies grilled the PM and four others directly debated with him about public debt management, foreign debt, BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) projects as well as the Government’s policy towards the projects in the time to come, growth-facilitating and e-Government and how to access the fourth industrial revolution.  

The hearing session reflected high consensus and determination of both the legislature and the Government to achieve the common target of sustainable development. 

VNA/VNS