We can't rest easy yet!

(Baonghean) - The 5th session of the 13th National Assembly convened at a time when the country's socio-economic situation was extremely difficult. Hundreds of thousands of businesses were going bankrupt; the number of unemployed and jobless people was increasing; purchasing power among the population had seriously declined; and the lives of a segment of the population were facing many difficulties… A prime example is the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the two largest cities in the country, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which, after two consecutive months of decline, continued to fall in May. Hanoi decreased by 0.22%, and Ho Chi Minh City by 0.16%... In such a context, people hoped that at this session, many policies and solutions would be put forward that would be strong enough to curb and eventually stop the economic decline.

However, during the first few days of the session, the situation remained calm, without the urgency or decisiveness seen in real life. Even though, as delegate Tran Du Lich from Ho Chi Minh City emphasized, the National Assembly has the responsibility to "prevent the economy from continuing to stagnate," the methods for preventing this "continuing stagnation" were not clearly demonstrated in the group discussions.

Female delegate Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam commented that the solutions presented in the government report were "impeccable," but noted that some long-standing problems have persisted for not just one or two years, but for many years, yet the solutions remain unchanged, while the actual situation is much more difficult. Many delegates argued that the government's assessment remains overly optimistic, and the gap between policy and reality is still wide.

One representative from Ho Chi Minh City frankly stated: "Interacting with constituents before and after the session revealed many alarming issues, but the government's report showed an unusually calm situation." This calmness was indeed abnormal and unsettling for many. In other discussion groups, numerous representatives expressed impatience regarding the still uncertain state of economic restructuring. The National Assembly had called for economic restructuring since 2008, but to date, the results achieved have been neither concrete nor clear.

Meanwhile, the implementation measures have been neither strong nor decisive, further fostering the growth of vested interest groups that dominate daily life and hinder reform. Therefore, some delegates believe that the most important thing is to accurately assess the current economic situation. As delegate Nguyen Huu Hung from Tien Giang stated, "I sense that trust in some of the ongoing initiatives is questionable; when trust declines, policies are difficult to implement effectively."

Furthermore, the assessment and explanation of the causes of economic stagnation in the report need to be frank and realistic. It's crucial to avoid blaming global economic factors and objective reasons for the shortcomings. Most importantly, it must clearly state that the causes stem from leadership and management; many things are talked about with decisive action, but in reality, nothing has materialized…

Hopefully, with the dedication, effort, and high sense of responsibility of the delegates, this National Assembly session will accurately assess the situation and reality objectively and come up with practical solutions without being dependent on any reports or explanations.

Otherwise, based on the opinions gathered from delegates during group discussions, it seems that we cannot yet feel reassured!

Duy Huong