Effective Propaganda - Finding Solutions in Party Newspapers

(Baonghean) - Cao Son commune (Anh Son district) has 10 hamlets, of which 5 are located in Zone 3 (especially difficult areas) with a high poverty rate. Therefore, the commune Party Committee has regularly provided Party newspapers to the 5 hamlet leaders in this area, aiming to provide additional information and support to improve the effectiveness of leadership and management. This is considered one of the commune's important solutions to help accelerate the pace of poverty eradication in the locality.

Cao Son commune has a total area of ​​453 hectares of Gay tea plantations, nearly double the area of ​​rice cultivation. In 2013, income from tea reached 20.5 billion VND. In the first six months of 2014, tea production was estimated at 17 tons, with an income of approximately 10 billion VND. The main source of income for the people of Cao Son is tea and paper raw materials; however, the commune's transportation system is severely degraded, easily isolated during heavy rains, making the transportation of agricultural and forestry products difficult, leading to lower prices when selling products. Therefore, the Party Committee determined that the transportation system must be upgraded, but to build convenient inter-commune and intra-village roads, it is necessary to mobilize the people's efforts by promoting the role of the political system at the village level. To achieve this, the Party branch secretaries and village heads must also access Party newspapers to learn from experience. Therefore, the Party Committee allocated funds to purchase Party newspapers for the five village heads of the five villages in Area 3 (particularly disadvantaged).

Comrade Dang Xuan Que, head of Hamlet 9, daily collaborates with the Party branch secretary to select information from the Party newspaper for updating and discussion. Some exemplary cases are photocopied and distributed to villagers during Party branch meetings, hamlet meetings, Veterans' Association meetings, Women's Association meetings, etc. Because of this official source of information, new policies and regulations of the Party and State are disseminated promptly. Upon receiving the directive to implement the New Rural Development program, the Party branch committee and hamlet leadership team held meetings and assigned specific tasks to each individual in terms of propaganda and mobilization efforts to encourage the people to contribute.

Through direct engagement, listening, and addressing people's concerns, the village has gained the trust of its residents. Hamlet 9 is still poor; it's estimated that only 10 households are relatively well-off, while the number of poor households reaches 41. However, when the hamlet raises issues, all matters are discussed and debated democratically, so when the contribution amount is proposed, the people agree and unanimously support it, even voluntarily contributing labor, money, and land… To date, Hamlet 9 has completed 5.7km out of 8km of internal village roads. In 2013, the hamlet mobilized residents to contribute 198 million VND, and in 2014, 215 million VND, along with thousands of days of labor and thousands of square meters of garden land donated. Notable examples include Mr. Ho Vinh Dao donating 1,500m2, Mr. Phan Sy Huu donating 850m2, Ms. Mai Thi Nguyet donating 520m2, Mr. Nguyen Nang Quy donating 2,500m2, and Mr. Nguyen Nang Tung donating 1,900m2…

Comrade Duong Huu Nhuong, head of Hamlet 2, said: “My hamlet has 137 households, of which 32 are poor and only 2 are rich. The fields are not suitable for cultivation, making things even more difficult. Therefore, receiving the Party newspaper is truly essential for us. It's a resource that helps us understand and apply scientific and technical methods in livestock farming and cultivation, and learn from the economic models of people with similar terrain and climate conditions… By reading the newspaper, we can answer some of the people's concerns about policies and regulations, and disseminate information to help people understand the benefits of road construction. Since only starting in the second quarter, we have cleared 2km out of 7km of internal village roads, with dozens of households voluntarily donating thousands of square meters of land and demolishing boundary walls worth millions of dong.”

A new inter-hamlet road has recently been opened in Cao Son commune (Anh Son district).

Comrade Nguyen Cong Hung, Chairman of the Veterans Association of Cao Son commune, daily borrows the Party newspaper from the commune's Party Committee to read and share information with the members. Based on the information and exemplary cases in the Party newspaper, many clubs have been established, helping each other with science and technology, experience, capital, and seeds to overcome poverty and achieve legitimate wealth. These include: a citrus-growing club with 43 members, a beekeeping club with 62 members, a fish-raising club with 80 members, a comprehensive wild boar farming model, and a combined economic model of tea and acacia cultivation and fish farming. Mr. Cao Ngoc Co earns 100 million VND/year from growing citrus fruits and acacia roots, and Mr. Nguyen Cong Trung from Hamlet 1 earns 100 million VND/year from his combined model of raising chickens and ducks and growing tea…

Evaluating the effectiveness of providing Party newspapers to village heads in particularly difficult areas, Mr. Mai Vuong Minh - Secretary of the Commune Party Committee - stated: “Providing Party newspapers to village heads brings benefits in supporting the dissemination of information to encourage people to join hands in building new rural areas. Through these communication channels, the commune's work in clearing road corridors and land clearance has been recognized by the district as a pioneering example.” It is known that, thanks to providing Party newspapers to village heads and the model of learning from and following Party newspapers, especially the experience in mobilizing the people, the Cao Son Commune Party Committee and the Steering Committee have opened up a direction for solutions to create consensus among the people, to continue implementing the plan to clear road corridors and land for 162.7km of roads throughout the commune and infrastructure projects meeting the standards of the New Rural Area criteria. To date, the commune has mobilized the clearing of 80km of road corridors along basic inter-village routes; and completed land clearance and paving according to standards for 28.1km.

Comrade Ngo Dinh Hung, Head of the Propaganda Department of Anh Son District Party Committee, said: “Cao Son is considered a unit that has consistently performed well in purchasing Party newspapers for many years. Besides purchasing, we also encourage effective use, especially in disadvantaged hamlets, with more hamlet leaders receiving Party newspapers. The district is planning to replicate the model in Cao Son for other disadvantaged communes to support propaganda work.”

Dam Phuong