Concerns about leadership personnel of provincial and municipal People's Councils

"It will be very difficult for the People's Council's activities when the Chairman of the People's Council is only a Standing Committee member and not a Deputy Secretary or Secretary."

On the afternoon of December 11, at the National Assembly House, under the chair of National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the National Assembly Standing Committee opened its 19th session; reviewing the report on the results of supervising the issuance of Resolutions and activities of People's Councils of provinces and centrally run cities.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan delivered an opening speech at the meeting. (Photo: Quochoi.vn)

Through on-site supervision in a number of ministries, branches and localities and reviewing and evaluating reports of the Standing Committees of the People's Councils of 63 provinces and centrally-run cities, the supervision delegation found that the development and promulgation of legal documents in the fields of the People's Councils were basically timely, consistent with the practical situation of the localities and the provisions of the law. People's Councils at all levels have innovated and improved the quality of their operations.

The content and annual monitoring program are developed scientifically and in accordance with actual conditions; questioning activities are enhanced and time is allocated appropriately, accounting for about 30% of the meeting time.

Activities of meeting voters, receiving citizens and urging the settlement of complaints and denunciations of citizens by People's Council delegates are carried out seriously and increasingly effectively.

Agreeing with the comments in the monitoring report, it is said that in the past 10 years, the activities of the People's Councils of provinces and cities have changed positively. The question and answer sessions of the People's Councils of Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City have been very exciting and have received much attention from voters.

However, Chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee Le Thi Nga is still concerned about the quality of operations of this elected body, which still has many shortcomings, the cause of which is the arrangement of staff.

“The arrangement of the People’s Council leadership has 7 Chairmen who are only members of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and the City Party Committee. This is a very big problem, it will be very difficult for the activities of the People’s Council when the Chairman of the People’s Council is only a Standing Committee member and not a Deputy Secretary or Secretary. Secondly, there are 4 Vice Chairmen of the People’s Council who are not members of the Party Committee, which will also be very difficult,” Ms. Le Thi Nga analyzed.

Some opinions are concerned about the activities of voters' meetings of the People's Councils of provinces and cities. According to Chairman of the Law Committee Nguyen Khac Dinh, currently, in some localities, the People's Council meetings are reported live and then there are written responses to voters' petitions, explanations, detailed responses, and sent to the communes and wards to inform voters. Therefore, some provinces suggest that it is not necessary to organize voter meetings after the meeting.

However, Head of the National Assembly's Petition Committee Nguyen Thanh Hai said that through the survey, it was found that the rate of contacting voters by topic, subject and outside the area is very low, so contacting voters before and after the session is mandatory.

“Currently, in a year, according to voter contact, there are 2 sessions, so the delegates meet voters before and after the general meeting 4 times/year. I see that the minimum voter contact is before and after the meeting, and it is further developed. Because in fact, voter contact after the meeting is not just about reporting the results of the meeting, but through that, listening to the opinions, thoughts and aspirations of the people and also demonstrating the responsibility of the delegates in maintaining contact with the voters who elected them" - Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai expressed his opinion.

Some delegates suggested that in the coming time, it is necessary to continue to innovate the work of meeting voters, receiving citizens and handling petitions, complaints and denunciations of citizens; increase the time for publicizing information about the time and location of voter meetings, and diversify voters.

Continue to enhance the role and responsibility of the Standing Committee of the People's Council and its members, especially in directing and coordinating activities. Strengthen the training of knowledge and operational skills for People's Council delegates at all levels.

Taking place from today until December 14, the National Assembly Standing Committee will summarize the 4th session, give initial opinions on preparations for the 5th session of the National Assembly; consider and decide on the establishment of Ninh Cuong town in Truc Ninh district, Nam Dinh province.

The National Assembly Standing Committee will give opinions on: Additional funding for purchasing rice for national reserves; adjustment of the government bond capital plan for the 2012-2015 and 2014-2016 periods; adjustment of the investment plan to support housing for people with revolutionary contributions for the 2016-2020 period; compensation settlement when houses and works outside the clearance area are affected by the construction of projects to upgrade and expand National Highway 1 from Thanh Hoa to Can Tho and the Ho Chi Minh road through the Central Highlands; use of the remaining capital after completing the projects to build Coast Guard and fisheries surveillance ships in accordance with Resolution No. 72 of the National Assembly and a number of other important contents./.

According to VOV