Focus on creating sources of new party members

This spring, the people of Co Phat and Bung villages, two villages of the Dan Lai ethnic group located deep in the upper Khe Khang river in the Pu Mat forest, are happier because in the past year, the Party cells of both villages have admitted 3 new Party members. “Previously, the Party development work faced many difficulties, but in recent years, thanks to the attention of the Party Committee and the government, the number of Party members has increased. Especially last year, the Party cell of the village admitted 3 new Party members, bringing the total number of Party members in the whole cell to 12 comrades.

"With the right policy, close leadership of the Party Committee; with Party members stationed in the villages to hold hands and guide people... people's lives are gradually changing not only in their thinking but also in their way of doing things" - Secretary of the Party Cell of Bung La Village, Van Trang, excitedly said.

Secretary of the Bung La village Party Cell, Van Trang (in black shirt) talks with border guard party members at the village checkpoint. Photo: GH

Not only the Dan Lai ethnic minority villages but also many other Party cells such as Tan Hoa, Lang Yen...; especially Lang Xieng, after many years of difficulties in creating sources for party development, in 2022, 2 new party members were admitted.

Discussing the work of developing the local party, comrade Dang Van Than - Secretary of the Party Committee of Mon Son commune shared: In the area, there are Kinh, Thai and Dan Lai ethnic groups living together; of which, the Thai ethnic group accounts for 82%. Because many young workers go to work far away, the source for training and recruiting into the Party faces many difficulties.

A picture of life in Mon Son - Luc Da (Con Cuong) today. Photo: Nguyen Book

Faced with that situation, after the Party Congresses at all levels for the 2020-2025 term, based on the congress targets, the Commune Party Committee has developed a plan for the entire term and a plan for each year that is close to the local situation. In particular, it details targets for each Party cell and assigns responsibility to each Party Committee member in charge of the grassroots level to introduce an outstanding mass to join the Party's ranks each year.

For village and hamlet party cells that have not developed party members for 3-5 years, the Party Committee of Mon Son commune reviews and puts them into the focus of direction, first of all striving to have the heads of branches and mass organizations be party members, and the comrades in the Standing Committee and the Standing Committee of the Commune Party Committee personally participate in activities and give direction at the party cells. Many party cells regularly organize extended activities, with the presence of heads of branches and mass organizations to grasp and closely follow the key contents of local socio-economic development and resolutions of the party cells for the development of villages and hamlets.

Admitting new party members to the Yen Village Party Cell, Mon Son Commune. Photo: Mai Hoa

From there, seriously implement the tasks assigned by the Party cell; pay attention to and review outstanding union members and members to train, develop, and create resources for the Party. At the same time, the Party Committee of the commune also allocates a budget to support 100,000 VND/person when they are sent to attend classes for new Party members or Party members.

Secretary of the Party Committee of Mon Son Commune Dang Van Than discussed with village party cell secretaries about party work. Photo: GH

In addition, promoting the tradition of the revolutionary homeland - where the first Party cell of the Southwest region of Nghe An was established at the house of Mr. Vi Van Khang in Thai Hoa village in late 1930, focusing on doing a good job of educating and propagating to foster elite masses, the Party Committee and government of Mon Son commune have implemented many solutions to improve the quality of Party cells and Party members, build the image of a pioneering Party member, exemplary in work and in movements and activities in the locality, and unanimously build a prosperous homeland.

A corner of Thai Hoa village, Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district. Photo: HT

Thanks to that, for many consecutive years, the Party Committee of Mon Son commune has achieved and exceeded the Party development target. In 2022 alone, 18 new Party members were admitted, exceeding the assigned target of 16 comrades, bringing the total number of Party members of the entire Party Committee to 407 comrades. In 2022, the Party Committee of Mon Son commune was also honored to be recognized by the Con Cuong District Party Committee as a Party Committee that has excellently fulfilled its tasks. The People's Committee of the commune, the Youth Union, the Women's Union, the Veterans Association, and the People's Council of the commune were all ranked excellent.

National historical site "Vi Van Khang's house" in Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district. Photo: Hoai Thu

Boldly assign work to female village "leaders"

An interesting thing when coming to the border commune of Mon Son is that most of the village and hamlet leaders are women. According to the commune leaders, when a large proportion of male and young workers go to work far away, this is also a solution to stabilize the grassroots political system and promote the role of women in society.

The whole commune has 14 village party cells, of which 7 are female secretaries, 5 are female village chiefs, 1 is female party cell secretary and village chief. The female village “leaders” have all completed their tasks well, many of them have boldly directed, advised, and proposed issues related to the economic development of the people. A typical example is Ms. Luong Thi Tam - Party cell secretary and Khe Lo village chief, “shouldering two shoulders” with the Party cell and the village management board to turn Khe Lo into a new rural village, trusted by cadres, party members and people.

Ceremony to announce the decision to recognize Khe Lo village, Mon Son (Con Cuong) as a new rural village. Photo: Thu Trang

Identifying economic development as a key task, Ms. Luong Thi Tam and the Party Committee and Khe Lo village Party Cell actively mobilized people to develop livestock and production. She was also a pioneer in converting poor rice fields into pumpkin fields. Up to now, the entire 2.6 hectares of poor rice fields have become pumpkin gardens with 2 harvests per year with 21 households participating and have been maintained for more than 3 years, bringing in income many times higher than rice cultivation. The people of Khe Lo village are excited because their lives have been improved.

Party Cell Secretary and Head of Khe Lo Village Luong Thi Tam participates in agricultural production with the people. Photo: GH

In addition, Party Cell Secretary and Village Chief Luong Thi Tam is also very interested in the work of training and creating sources for developing Party members. Despite many difficulties, Khe Lo Party Cell admits new Party members almost every year. In 2021, Khe Lo Party Cell admitted 2 Party members, in 2022 admitted 1 Party member, Ms. Hoang Thi Long - Head of the Farmers' Association, and is currently preparing to admit an outstanding mass couple - Ms. Lo Thi Vinh Phuc, Secretary of the Youth Union, and Mr. Vu Quach Tich, Village Team Leader.

Admitting new party members to Khe Lo Party Cell, Mon Son Commune, Con Cuong. Photo: GH

In Nam Son village, there is also a pair of female party cell secretaries and village chiefs who are trusted by the people. They are Ms. Quang Thi Van and Ms. Ngan Thi Xuyen. The village has 182 households, 823 people, the Thai ethnic group accounts for 89%. Currently, in the village, there are 50 workers working abroad, nearly 300 workers working domestically, at home there are mainly elderly people and children. Although they are women, Ms. Van and Ms. Xuyen "manage" the village and village affairs well. Nam Son village now has clean concrete roads, the scenery is peaceful; each family has a light bulb to light up the alley at night.

The Party Cell Secretary and Head of Nam Son Village, Mon Son Commune discussed the security and order situation in the village. Photo: DC

In addition to working closely with the Party Committee and the village management board to lead the people to actively develop livestock farming, grow corn, cassava, and rice to increase income, the female "leaders" of Nam Son village also pay special attention to ensuring security and order in the area. Talking to us, Ms. Quang Thi Van - Secretary of the Party Cell of Nam Son village said: Previously, in the village there were drug addicts, there was a phenomenon of excessive drinking, but now the village has no addicts anymore, security and order are stable. The village also has 8 self-management groups and especially 1 Club "Women participating in protecting territorial sovereignty and national border security" (abbreviated as the Women's Club for border protection) whose effective activities have been recognized by the Party Committee and the government.

“Thanks to joining the club, women have learned a lot more about the law. Especially the regulations on protecting the national border, the rights and obligations of citizens in protecting border security; preventing and combating human trafficking; policies for ethnic minorities in general, and women in particular, in all fields” - Ms. Quang Thi Van said.

Currently in Mon Son, there are 3 Women's Clubs participating in protecting territorial sovereignty and national border security, operating effectively. Photo: Le Thach

It is known that not only in Nam Son but also in Bac Son and Lang Yen villages, there are similar clubs. “Currently, 3 Women's Border Protection Clubs in Mon Son have over 100 members participating, meeting once a month, under the guidance of officers of Mon Son Border Guard Station.

By joining the club, members not only regularly update their legal knowledge but also have the opportunity to support each other in life, joining hands to preserve the culture of their ethnic group and locality. The club's fund will be used to buy plant and animal breeds to support members with difficult family circumstances," said Ms. Vi Thi Thuy Duong - President of the Women's Union of Mon Son commune.

Finish line of "clean" border communes from drugs

As a border commune of Con Cuong district, it has a 36.5 km border with Laos with 7 landmarks; Chau Khe and Luc Da communes are opposite and border the Muong Cham cluster, Xay Cham Phon district, Bolikhamxay province of Laos; the population is sparse, the educational level is uneven... there are certain difficulties in ensuring security and order.

Launching the drug-free border commune model in Mon Son commune. Photo: Van Hau

Determine to keep the people and the area safe, repel social evils and create a solid foundation to promote socio-economic development. The Party Committee and the government of Mon Son commune have directed the political system to synchronously deploy solutions to ensure border security, religious security, social order and safety, prevent hot spots from arising, and prevent major conflicts and disputes among the people. Outstanding are typical advanced models in community reintegration, self-management team models, fire prevention and fighting teams, Women's Border Protection Clubs, 14/14 villages and hamlets have crime reporting mailboxes. In particular, from building each village and hamlet free of drugs, the drug-free border commune model in Mon Son has been effectively deployed.

Mon Son people always promote revolutionary traditions, join hands to preserve national cultural identity, and build peaceful villages. Photo: CK-GH

Captain Lay Van Thin - Chief of Mon Son Commune Police said: Implementing the Project "Border commune clean of drugs", in addition to promoting propaganda to raise awareness among the people, the local government has actively coordinated with the Border Guard and Commune Police to promote the management of subjects and establish drug rehabilitation records; well manage the border areas. In particular, cadres, party members, village elders, village chiefs, prestigious people take the lead in propaganda work, village party cells have issued resolutions on drug prevention and eradication of social evils.

Therefore, many positive results have been achieved such as: No complicated gathering places, retail points, illegal drug use organizations, no subjects, groups, or drug-related lines in the area. Completed 6/6 criteria and was recognized as a "drug-free border commune" by the People's Committee of Con Cuong district in 2022.

A prosperous village by the Giang River, Mon Son Commune (Con Cuong). Photo courtesy: Nguyen Book

Security and order are ensured, social evils are pushed back, the appearance of the commune has changed a lot, the socio-economy has developed, people's lives have improved, the cultural identity of ethnic groups and the traditions of the revolutionary homeland have been preserved and promoted.

Thereby, it has strengthened people's trust in the Party Committee and government, creating motivation for ethnic people in Mon Son to eliminate the mentality of waiting and relying, to be excited and enthusiastic about working, increasing production, striving to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, and build new rural areas.

Mon Son Border Guard Station patrols the Giang River. Photo: Le Quang Dung