VietNamNet Bridge – With only 35 percent for and 44 percent against, the National Assembly (NA) on March 29 did not approve the draft Law on the Capital City. Law-makers proposed to consider the bill in the next NA session.

The bill was discussed in the two previous NA sessions but it was not approved by the NA. At a meeting on March 22, Chair of the NA’s Council for Ethnic Groups K’sor Phuoc said that the draft Law on the Capital City refers to 12 other laws.

“I don’t know how these laws are applied in the capital. Are they effective or ineffective? The compilation board should check. If the Law on the Capital City is contrary to these laws, it must be discussed by NA deputies. Do not turn the capital into an autonomous area,” Phuoc said.

Expecting that the NA carefully consider the draft Law on Capital City so it will benefit a country of 86 million people, deputy Ngo Quang Xuan suggested: “If the draft law is not adequate yet, we should research it further and amend it”.

Deputy Vu Quang Hai said that this bill has some articles that are too general and it still neglects the suburbs and surrounding areas like Hung Yen, Bac Ninh, etc. If the bill is approved hurriedly, capital citizens will be at a disadvantage.

In February 2010, the government proposed to add the draft Law on the Capital City to the agenda of the NA in 2010. The government also asked the NA to approve the bill in the session last May to timely celebrate the 1000^th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi. However, the government couldn’t submit the bill last May because it needed sometime to finalize the bill.

At the last NA session in 2010, the bill stirred up harsh controversy when it was introduced to the NA. While deputies from other provinces worried that the bill was contrary to the Constitution and increased the gap between the rich and the poor (because the capital enjoys up to 18 special policies”, Hanoi’s deputies warmly supported the law, saying that the capital needs the law to deal with problems of transportation, environment, and urbanization, etc.

But the bill was not approved at two consecutive NA sessions. This is the second time the NA rejected a project submitted by the NA. In the NA session in mid-2010, the North-South express railway project was rejected.

Also on March 29, the NA approved three laws, including the Law on Human Trafficking Prevention, the Law on Independent Auditing and amendments to the Civil Litigation Code.

The draft resolution of the 12th National Assembly’s ninth session was passed, obtaining 90.76 percent of the votes.

NA approves four-year report by Chairman

NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong.

NA deputies on March 29 showed their approval of the report presented by Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong reviewing the four year performance (2007-2011) of lawmakers.

They said in the last four years, the 12th NA had used lessons learned from the previous legislative tenures and held high the spirit of responsibility, unity and comprehensive renewal in all its activities, particularly in organisational structure and working modality.

They agreed that a certain success had been recorded in legislative work, both quantitative and qualitative.

In the past four years, 68 laws and 12 Resolutions were passed while the NA Standing Committee approved 13 Ordinances and seven Resolutions relating to legal matters.

Relating to the supervisory function of the NA, the deputies agreed that a lot of progress had been achieved, particularly in the way a supervision visit was conducted as well as the quality of the question-and-answer sessions.

In addition to successes gained in the period under review, the deputies were frank about limitations in their performances in the three key areas such as law building, supervision and making important decisions towards the nation's destiny.

Tran Thi Hoa Ry from Bac Lieu province was full of praise for successes gained in the past four years, despite many difficulties and challenges inside and outside the country.

"Yet we have to concede that we have not done well in the area of law building. We're law makers but we're heavily dependent on drafting committees from relevant agencies," said Ry.

Tran Ngoc Vinh from Hai Phong pinpointed limitations during the law making process, particularly those that had strong impacts on the life of many people, such as the land law.

Le Thi Nhung from An Giang asked agencies that were assigned to draft the laws to keep to the time schedule and ensure the bill was of high quality.

"The NA should not hastily pass a law if it does not have a high consensus from the deputies," Nhung cautioned.

Hoang Van Toan, from Vinh Phuc, agreed that some laws passed during the 12th National Assembly were not of high quality due to their poor preparation.

He attributed the shortcoming to lack of consultation with professional experts, particularly in matters relating to advanced science and technology.

Ngo Minh Hong from HCM City said: "In our activities sometimes we're in a passive position as in the case of approval of the balance sheet of the State budget or budget estimates."

Referring to overseeing activities undertaken by the deputies in the past four years, Tran Ngoc Vinh, from Hai Phong, agreed that the work done was professional and practical.

"Yet time dedicated to the activity is limited. And the implementation of conclusions and recommendations by the mission members are not up to the level of commitment," said Vinh.

Commenting on the performance of the NA Standing Committee, deputy Toan, from Vinh Phuc Province, asked the NA to increase the number of offices affiliated to the NA and elevate the Ombudsman Board to the Ombudsman Committee so that it could help speed up the settlement of complaints and petitions filed by citizens.

During their discussion, many deputies asked the NA to increase the number of full-time deputies in the coming tenure and adopt a mechanism to give awards to deputies who were active during plenary and group working sessions.

The ninth and final session of the 12th National Assembly wrapped up the same day.

According to law, the first session of the 13th National Assembly will convene on July 22, 2011 at the latest.

The upcoming session will elect and approve senior personnel of the State, along with considering socio-economic issues and the State budget while passing a number of bills and dealing with other important matters.

Vinashin probe

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan on March 29 said the Prime Minister had instructed the Government Inspection Office to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the case of Vinashin and then report back to the government.

"So far the investigation has been completed and information processed. A final report is expected to be submitted to the Prime Minister and the NA in the near future," said Nhan.

"At present, investigation into alleged corruption is ongoing. Anyone found guilty will be due punished in accordance to the law," Nhan emphasised.

The same day, NA Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu informed the deputies of the NA Standing Committee's decision to ask the National Assembly not to establish a Provisional Committee to investigate the Vinashin case.

"The NA Standing Committee met on March 28 and agreed that the case has been investigated and analysed by relevant Party and Government agencies. So the Committee decided to ask the NA not to establish a provisional committee to investigate the case," said Luu.

PV