Transparency in preferential loan policies, avoiding "brokers" taking advantage
Yesterday, August 12, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh chaired a working session with relevant ministries and branches on the progress of drafting documents guiding Decree 67/2014/ND-CP on a number of policies for fisheries development.
Previously, the Government issued Decree 67 dated July 7, 2014 on a number of policies for fisheries development (effective from August 25, 2014), including preferential policies for fishermen such as incentives on investment, credit, insurance, tax, support for fishermen in building steel-hulled ships, new materials, etc. This is considered a strong driving force for the development of the fisheries industry, focusing on the development of offshore fishing fleets.
Regarding policy beneficiaries, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that preferential loans should not be given indiscriminately, but only supported by those with effective fishing activities, financial capacity and specific production plans; in addition, these subjects must be confirmed and introduced by local authorities. The construction and upgrading of fishing boats and logistics service vessels will be piloted at the grassroots level, from which local authorities will decide to expand to the entire province.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the State Bank needs to strengthen the dissemination and transparency of preferential lending policies to the grassroots level, avoiding the situation where fishermen do not fully understand the policies and are taken advantage of by “brokers” for personal gain. The Deputy Prime Minister also agreed with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the ministry’s guidance for provinces to build new offshore fishing vessels. “There needs to be a solution for fishermen to participate in designing their own vessels, avoiding officials sitting in the office designing vessels,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.
When implementing the fishing vessel insurance and crew insurance policies, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh suggested that the Ministry of Finance develop a policy in which the State will support direct payments to insurance companies instead of fishermen having to spend time and go through procedures to pay for insurance themselves as is currently the case. In addition, relevant ministries and sectors need to develop plans and increase investment capital to build fishing infrastructure for the following years to support offshore fishing activities, including choosing to complete a number of important fishing ports.
According to SGGPonline
