Exemplary Party members, people's consensus.

(Baonghean) - Over the past years, in implementing the National Target Program for building new rural areas, Vinh City has achieved many outstanding results. These achievements are due not only to the collective efforts of all sectors of the population, but also to the important role played by the Party committees at all levels in the 9 suburban communes.

In Vinh City, the construction of new rural areas (NRA) has been identified by the Party committees and authorities of the 9 suburban communes as one of the important and ongoing political tasks. Since January 2011, the City People's Committee has issued Decision No. 81/QD-UBND on implementing the National Target Program for building new rural areas, linked with the suburban agricultural development plan, for the period 2011-2020. The goal is for 6 communes in Vinh City to meet NRA standards by 2015, and for all 9 communes to complete the National Target Program for building new rural areas by 2018. Therefore, in each stage, the City Party Committee has assigned specific tasks to each commune, and the Party committees of all 9 communes have developed specialized resolutions on "Focusing the Party's leadership on the work of building new rural areas". Party committees assigned the Party branches and mass organizations to specifically implement the resolution, review the criteria that had not yet been met, and focus on mobilizing the people to fulfill them.

Harvesting summer-autumn vegetables in Trung My hamlet, Hung Dong commune (Vinh City).

In 2011, when embarking on the New Rural Development program, Nghi Lien commune still had 6 criteria to meet. The commune's Party Committee focused on leadership and mobilized the entire political system. Many specialized resolutions were issued and assigned to each mass organization for implementation. Propaganda work was intensified to ensure that every cadre, Party member, and citizen understood the policy of building a new rural area. Comrade Le Van Phuong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, said: “To implement the criteria for building a new rural area, the commune's Party Committee directed the People's Committee to develop a roadmap with solutions and assign specific tasks to each cadre and Party member responsible for leading the implementation of related tasks. The entire commune mobilized internal resources totaling nearly 29 billion VND, including 35,500 man-days of labor and 5,500 square meters of land donated by the people.” Thanks to this, by June 2014, Nghi Lien was the first commune in Vinh City to complete all 19 national criteria for building a new rural area.

With the motto "Cadres and Party members take the lead so that the people can learn and follow," more than 5,000 Party members in 9 suburban communes have set an example and taken the lead in implementing the criteria for building new rural areas. This is especially true in land clearance, donating land for roads, and contributing labor to build infrastructure projects. After 5 years of implementing the new rural area construction program, the people of the city have contributed 160 billion VND, more than 69,000 labor days, and donated nearly 45,000 square meters of land to expand roads, build irrigation systems, and cultural facilities. Many communes, thanks to the effective leadership of the Party and the exemplary actions of Party members, have seen the people demonstrate a high sense of responsibility towards the development of their homeland, voluntarily donating hundreds of square meters of land, dismantling fences and public works, and contributing money and labor to build new rural areas.

During the exchange, Comrade Tran Anh Tan, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Dong commune, affirmed: "In every meeting of the grassroots Party branches, the criteria of the New Rural Development program always become the main topic of discussion, aiming to find solutions suitable to the local characteristics to effectively lead the people in implementation. Thanks to clearly defining the leadership role of the Party committee and leveraging the strength of the people in New Rural Development, after 4 years of implementation, Hung Dong mobilized people to contribute 28.5 billion VND and donate 7,524 square meters of land for the construction of transportation, irrigation, and cultural houses." With these efforts, Hung Dong became one of the 3 communes to achieve New Rural Development status in 2014.

By emphasizing the responsibility of Party members and promoting the leading role of the people, the nine suburban communes of Vinh City have strived to shorten the time to complete the New Rural Development (NRD) targets ahead of schedule. NRD activities have positively impacted the economic, cultural, and social lives of these communes, keeping pace with the urbanization rate of the inner-city wards. A prime example is Hung Loc commune, which, despite starting in 2011 with 10 unmet criteria, has completed all 19 NRD criteria one year ahead of schedule by the commune's Party committee, government, and people after four years of implementation.

Thanks to a change in mindset and approach among all cadres, Party members, and people in the suburban communes, the Vinh City Party Committee and government are currently focusing on directing and promoting the New Rural Development movement in the remaining 6 communes: Hung Hoa, Nghi Kim, Nghi Phu, Hung Chinh, Nghi An, and Nghi Duc. Currently, 3 communes, namely Hung Chinh, Hung Hoa, and Nghi Phu, have basically completed 19 criteria and are being reviewed for provincial recognition in 2015; the other communes have achieved between 14 and 17 criteria.

By leveraging the combined strength of the entire society and achieving high consensus among officials, Party members, and the people, the suburban communes have accelerated the progress of building new rural areas, actively contributing together with the Party committee and people of the entire city to building Vinh City into a comprehensively and sustainably developed city, becoming the socio-economic center of the North Central region.

Text and photos:Thanh Tam