Administrative reforms boost City's growth rate

Administration reforms have significantly contributed to the city's socio-economic development over the last decade, HCM City officials said at a conference yesterday, Oct 26.

The conference aimed to review progress made in the reform process over the last 10 years and set out orientations and tasks for the next ten.

"Administrative reforms that have been taking place in the city has contributed partly to the sharp GDP growth in recent years," said Nguyen Thanh Tai, deputy head of the HCM City People's Committee.

As many as 4,712 documents have been checked and about 2,566 considered obsolete have been removed, said Dang Cong Luan, a municipal administrator. As of now, 17 of 24 districts have finished cancelling 2,940 of 8,488 documents issued at the district level, he added.

Luan said during the period under review, about 1,762 administrative procedures were streamlined, accounting for more than 72 per cent which was about 30 per cent higher than the set target.

All departments and districts have efficiently implemented the one-stop shop policy, to facilitate the work of citizens as well as enterprises, he said.

The conference also focused on modernising the city's administrative apparatus. In the coming decade, the city will increasingly apply information technology in its administrative management processes, and building up e-government while effecting significant cuts in red tape, officials said.

It was disclosed at the conference that during the 2001-10 period, the city sent 195,071 officials to attend in-country training courses in administrative management. Another 2,479 officials were sent abroad to hone their administrative skills in short-term courses, while 716 others were sent to pursue Masters and Docterage programmes in foreign universities.

President congratulates winner of letter writing competition

President Nguyen Minh Triet has sent a congratulatory letter to the recent winner of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) Letter Writing competition, Ho Thi Hieu Hien.

Hien, who is in 7th grade at Tay Son Secondary School in central Da Nang City's Hai Chau District, was the first student in Viet Nam to win the prize in the 20 years that the country has taken part in the competition.

In the letter, President Triet wrote that he was touched at Hien's thoughtful and affectionate writing about the 2010 competition theme which was: "Write a letter to someone to explain why it is important to talk about AIDS and to protect yourself against the disease."

"I believe your letter will be a torch to relieve pain and wipe out the problem of discrimination against people living with AIDS and will be a wake up call for unconcerned people," Triet wrote.

The President expressed his wish for the winner to reap further success in her studies and said she deserved the title ‘Uncle Ho's niece'.

World church delegation visits Vietnam

A delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) headed by its vice chairman Lymouris Nikolaos met with representatives of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) in Hanoi on October 26. 

During the meeting, VUFO’s vice president Tran Dac Loi welcomed the Vietnam visit by the WCC after many years, considering WCC a long-standing friend who provided Vietnamese people with both physical and spiritual support in the past.
He briefed his guest on achievements Vietnam has recorded recently and expressed his hope that the WCC would continue its assistance for Vietnam , especially in areas regarding social welfare, hunger elimination and poverty reduction, and assisting victims of Agent Orange/dioxin.
Loi also extended his wishes that with its role and prestige, the WCC would serve as a bridge to boost cooperative relations between the council’s member organisations with the VUFO.
For his part, WCC vice chairman Lymouris Nikolaos said he was pleased to visit Vietnam at a time when the country was celebrating major events. He spoke highly of Vietnam ’s achievements over the past 35 years as well as those recorded in the country’s current process of integration.
In the past, WCC and its member churches launched numerous activities such as funding-raising campaigns to protest against wars in Vietnam and providing relief aid to the country, he said.
Lymouris Nikolaos agreed that the fine relations would continue to grow through people-to-people exchanges and the support of international non-government organisations, in which the VUFO plays an important role.
Established in August, 1948, Dutch-based WCC is a worldwide fellowship of 349 churches in over 110 countries and territories. It aims to seek unity, a common witness and Christian services.

Vietnam-Germany cooperate in managing water resources

A seminar on managing water resources in Vietnam and Germany was held in Hanoi on October 27.

Swiss Red Cross donates to flood victims

The Swiss Red Cross in coordination with the Red Cross in Vietnam’s Phu Yen province provided VND1.6 billion to flood victims in EaBia and EaTrol villages in Song Hinh district on October 27.

Trade union development gets Danish support

A programme supported by Denmark to assist the private business sector to strengthen capacity for trade unions, beginning in 2005, has brought remarkable results, said the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) on October 26.

The VGCL summed up the five-year implementation of the programme’s second component, which has helped trade unions in Nghe An, Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces attract more members and set up grassroots trade unions.
The programme has also helped improve trade unionists’ capacity for negotiating, signing and supervising collective agreements on labour safety and hygiene, and settling disputes.
Up to now, the three provinces’ trade unions have admitted 30,500 members, set up 751 grassroots branches, and signed 238 new collective agreements.
These agreements focus on major issues such as salaries, working time, leave, welfare, bonuses and insurance.
The programme with financial support from the Danish International Development Cooperation Agency (DANIDA), aims to assist the Vietnamese Government, trade unions and employers to improve competitiveness in the business sector.

VNN/VOV/VNS