On the morning of June 13th, acting on the Prime Minister's assignment, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, on behalf of the government, reported and provided further explanations on several issues related to the government's management and administration that are of concern to National Assembly deputies and voters; he also directly answered questions from National Assembly deputies.

6 key solutions to complete the socio-economic development plan.

In his explanatory report, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasized that the government seriously considers the opinions of National Assembly deputies and voters and people nationwide as expressed in the Report of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, as well as reflected in the mass media.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc answers questions from National Assembly deputies. Photo: Nguyen Dan - VNA.

In a further report on the socio-economic situation in May and the first five months of 2015, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated that in May, Vietnam's socio-economic situation continued to achieve many positive results in most areas.

The macroeconomic situation is stable, and the major balances of the economy are basically ensured. The consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.16% in May, and by 0.2% over the first five months. Credit growth reached 5.18% (compared to 1.51% in the same period of 2014).

The report also frankly pointed out the shortcomings, limitations, and difficulties that need to be overcome in the implementation of socio-economic tasks in 2015, such as: complex natural disasters and droughts that greatly affected production and life, especially in the central and Central Highlands provinces.

Consumption of some agricultural products remains challenging (rice, rubber, coffee, fruits...). The growth rate of export turnover tends to decrease, with agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products declining by 9.5% compared to the same period. The number of international tourists to Vietnam decreased by 12.6%. Several serious traffic accidents still occurred...

The government has outlined six key solutions that will be urgently implemented during this period, including: focusing on removing obstacles and boosting agricultural production linked to product consumption; promoting the socialization of investment and business in infrastructure, especially transportation; continuing to improve the investment and business environment and enhance competitiveness; focusing on effectively addressing social issues; proactively preventing and mitigating natural disasters; and strengthening security, social order, and traffic safety.

Accordingly, the government will continue to effectively implement the agricultural sector restructuring plan aimed at increasing added value, promoting sustainable development, and adjusting cropping patterns and livestock to suit the conditions of each region and locality.

Prepare well, maximize the benefits and advantages of participating in the ASEAN Economic Community and free trade agreements. Promptly address difficulties for businesses and enhance their competitiveness.

Continue reviewing and improving mechanisms, policies, and laws, along with accelerating administrative procedure reforms and improving the investment and business environment, to create the best conditions for businesses and citizens.

Strengthening the fight against corruption and upholding public service ethics.

The first response from Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was a question from delegate Huynh Nghia (Da Nang) concerning the results and measures taken by the government to strengthen anti-corruption efforts to meet the expectations of voters and the people nationwide.

The Deputy Prime Minister stated that the issue of corruption has been addressed vigorously in many areas recently, achieving some positive results, but the results are still not up to par, and corruption remains serious and complex.

Specifically, in 2014, 256 cases related to corruption were investigated, uncovered, and processed, involving 593 defendants, an increase of 25 cases and 25 defendants compared to the previous year. Regarding recovered assets, the recovery rate in 2013 was just over 10%; in 2014, with many major cases, it reached over 22%.

Regarding anti-corruption measures, at the recent meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that the General Secretary and Head of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption had put forward eight major measures, namely: the Party and State must lead and direct the work of preventing and combating corruption to be done better; and continue to build the institutional framework for preventing and combating corruption.

In addition, it is necessary to investigate, prosecute, and try, inspect, audit, and strictly punish cases of corruption that are discovered; especially to build institutions that make corruption impossible, undesirable, and unthinkable; to educate and mobilize the people, cooperate internationally, and importantly, to promote the role of elected bodies and the Vietnam Fatherland Front in detecting acts of corruption.

Responding to a question from delegate Le Nhu Tien (Quang Tri) regarding the government's solutions to the issue of some civil servants engaging in harassment and deviant behavior towards the people, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated that the country currently has nearly 4 million civil servants and public employees (excluding the armed forces).

If this team performs well, it will play a significant role in bringing policies and guidelines to the people. Therefore, officials must always be dedicated, exemplary, and courteous in serving the people.

The fact that some officials and civil servants exhibit aloofness and bureaucracy is a matter related to public service ethics. The National Assembly has enacted the Law on Civil Servants and the Law on Public Employees, and the government has issued 18 guiding decrees on this issue. In the near future, the government will continue to implement several measures for inspection, supervision, and reform of the public service ethics system, such as job descriptions, downsizing, and especially organizing competitive examinations to find good officials to serve the people; this will be coupled with strengthening discipline, evaluating, and selecting incompetent officials promptly to remove them from the system and purify the ranks serving the people.

Regarding the situation of civil servants who "carry their umbrellas to work in the morning and carry them back home in the evening" as mentioned by delegate Le Nhu Tien, the Deputy Prime Minister said that although it does occur, the number of such officials is not large.

To address this issue, agencies and organizations need to implement measures such as job descriptions and promoting democracy to promptly detect, prevent, and mitigate it. In fact, this situation has improved, and according to the Politburo's Resolution on downsizing the workforce, the first priority should be reducing the number of civil servants of this type, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

Review of tree replacement in Hanoi, temporary halt to filling in the Dong Nai River.

Also related to Representative Huynh Nghia's question about the government's stance on the felling and replacement of old trees in Hanoi and the filling in of the Dong Nai River, and whether or not the interests of businesses are being prioritized over the interests of the people, the Deputy Prime Minister replied that Hanoi has over a thousand streets with trees lining both sides.

Recently, following public outcry over the felling of trees in Hanoi, the Prime Minister directed an investigation into the matter, and the Inspector General of the Government also commented. The Hanoi People's Committee proactively established an inspection team. The inspection results showed that the tree felling on Nguyen Trai Street was to facilitate the construction of the elevated railway, ensuring safety in accordance with the Railway Law.

Regarding Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, the tree replacement aims to regenerate the existing tree cover as part of a new planting project, replacing damaged or fallen trees. The Deputy Prime Minister stated that, following an inspection, Hanoi concluded that the project was poorly planned and that there were certain shortcomings in its implementation, such as a lack of transparency and democracy, failure to engage the public, and failure to consult with experts and the public.

Regarding accountability, following the inspection, Hanoi city has concluded that it will seriously review the organizations and individuals who committed violations and shortcomings during the process of upgrading and renovating the city's green spaces.

Regarding the filling in of the Dong Nai River, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that, according to media reports, the Prime Minister had issued a directive and dispatched an inter-ministerial inspection team led by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to examine the site; at the same time, the National Assembly's Science and Technology Committee also sent a working group to coordinate and examine the issue.

According to the official recommendation of the specialized inspection team submitted to the government, the project to fill in the Dong Nai River should be temporarily suspended to assess its environmental impacts.

Socialization does not mean privatization.

Responding to a question from delegate Nguyen Tien Sinh (Hoa Binh) regarding whether the policy of socializing the upgrading of transportation infrastructure would turn into privatization of state-owned infrastructure, the Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that socializing investment in transportation infrastructure development is a policy of the Party and the State.

Socialization does not equate to privatization. Investing in transportation infrastructure through legally regulated cooperative and business models, with the state reimbursed at zero cost, is not a matter of privatization.

Socialization should not lead to a loosening of state management. Specifically, issues such as service quality, fees for public services, and land management should all be managed by the state, ensuring that the interests of all three parties—the state, investors, and the people—are protected.

For projects like National Highway 1 and the Ho Chi Minh Highway, where 50% of the funding comes from government bonds and the remainder from private sector investment, the transportation sector has adopted a policy of encouraging private sector investment through the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model. This means the State signs a contract with the investor for a specific period, ensuring quality requirements such as a 4-year warranty, full disbursement of funds, strict implementation of mutual quality monitoring mechanisms, and selection of transparent and capable investors.

On this occasion, the Deputy Prime Minister also requested the transport sector and urged local people to continue inspecting and monitoring the investment in National Highway 1 and the Ho Chi Minh Highway through the Central Highlands to ensure the quality and progress as planned.

Creating favorable conditions to promote the private economy.

Responding to a question from delegate Vu Tien Loc (Thai Binh) regarding the government's policy on promoting the private sector, the Deputy Prime Minister clarified that the private sector plays a significant role in the economy, creating jobs, contributing to GDP, and generating budget revenue.

Since the enactment of the 2005 Enterprise Law, this sector has experienced remarkable growth, with nearly 500,000 enterprises and over 4 million individual business households that have the potential to develop into enterprises. However, the overall situation of these enterprises remains relatively simple, and their added value is not yet high.

Therefore, the need for large-scale and highly competitive businesses is crucial in the context of integration. The government advocates for a more favorable business environment, coupled with macroeconomic stability, to create conditions conducive to the development of the private sector; alongside this, it aims to improve the legal environment regarding bankruptcy; avoid criminalizing economic cases; implement the equitization of state-owned enterprises ensuring equality, openness, and transparency; and accelerate administrative procedure reforms, the Deputy Prime Minister stated.

Strictly control public debt.

Questioning the Deputy Prime Minister about the government's solutions for managing public debt, National Assembly representative Tran Hoang Ngan (Ho Chi Minh City) stated that this is a concern for National Assembly representatives and voters nationwide. In response, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that the public debt-to-GDP ratio is always a controversial issue.

The most important aspect of public debt management is the ability to borrow and repay. In Vietnam, due to development needs, especially infrastructure development, the rate of increase in public debt is higher than GDP growth. Currently, public debt in our country is at 62%/65% of GDP (the level permitted by the National Assembly).

The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that the government is very cautious in managing public debt. The Prime Minister has issued Directive 02 with several measures to ensure public debt management, such as strengthening public spending management, increasing long-term borrowing, increasing domestic borrowing, and borrowing ODA from abroad at low interest rates (an average of 1.6% per year); strictly managing loans guaranteed by the government; and collecting all outstanding debts.

It is also important that the government continues to maintain macroeconomic stability, boost economic growth, and improve the investment environment to control public debt.

Adopting a proactive mindset for international economic integration.

During this morning's questioning session, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also answered questions from many delegates expressing concerns about the context of 2015, when Vietnam joined the ASEAN Community and several major agreements came into effect or were completed in negotiations and signed. These questions included those from delegates Tran Hoang Ngan, To Van Tam (Kon Tum), and Nguyen Ngoc Bao (Vinh Phuc). The Deputy Prime Minister stated that immediately after Vietnam joined the WTO in 2007, in 2008, we were immediately caught in the global economic crisis.

The main reasons are the accumulated shortcomings in the country's economy over many years, businesses' failure to respond promptly, and limited experience in leadership, management, and operation in responding to crises. The Deputy Prime Minister stated that in 2015, based on previous experience, we need to proactively and actively prepare for integration.

AFTA presents a great opportunity but also a challenge that could lead to defeat on our home turf. Therefore, we need many measures to seize this opportunity, such as perfecting the legal framework, improving the investment environment, restructuring the economy, and, most importantly, strong innovation from the people, businesses, and the entire country.

Regarding Vietnam's accession to the ASEAN Community, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized three pillars: political and security, economic, and socio-cultural. Over the past period, Vietnam has been one of the three countries actively implementing these aspects effectively, achieving many positive results.

However, joining the ASEAN community at the end of 2015 also presented challenges, requiring significant effort in various aspects; among them, the issue of preserving national cultural identity upon joining the ASEAN common home was a pressing requirement that the Party and State paid close attention to and directed the implementation of.

Responding to a question from delegate Nguyen Thi Kim Be (Kien Giang) regarding the policy of supporting and temporarily storing rice, and also sending a message to farmers nationwide, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasized that the policy of supporting and temporarily storing rice is necessary to ensure the rights of farmers regarding commodity prices.

Recently, the government decided to temporarily stockpile 1 million tons of paddy rice in the Mekong Delta, a policy that prevented farmers from being subjected to price manipulation. Regarding the question of why direct support wasn't provided to farmers, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc explained: Farmers lack adequate storage facilities to protect their rice from moisture and mold. Furthermore, the financial resources for purchasing and stockpiling the rice are limited. The government will study appropriate solutions to ensure the best possible support for farmers.

The right issues have been selected for questioning.

Concluding the questioning session with Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung stated that the Deputy Prime Minister had answered 24 questions from National Assembly deputies, totaling 30 questions.

The Speaker of the National Assembly assessed that the Deputy Prime Minister's response went straight to the point and addressed the issues raised, but of course, there are still some areas that need further work to achieve results.

Summarizing the entire question-and-answer session of the 9th National Assembly session, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung stated that after 2.5 days of questioning four ministers, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc clarified issues under the government's responsibility and directly answered questions. In total, there were over 130 opinions from National Assembly deputies and over 200 questions were discussed in the plenary session during the question-and-answer period of the 9th session.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung assessed that the results of the questioning showed that the National Assembly had correctly selected the topics for questioning, including pressing issues arising in daily life, which are also strategic and long-term issues of concern to voters nationwide and the National Assembly.

The questioning session took place in a democratic, frank, and constructive atmosphere. Members of Parliament posed concise, clear questions, focusing on the issues being questioned. Many representatives reiterated their questions to clarify matters of concern with government members; they frankly pointed out shortcomings and weaknesses, and requested that ministries and agencies continue to implement solutions to address them.

Government members directly addressed the questions raised, not shying away from thorny and complex issues, clarifying many points raised by delegates, taking personal responsibility, and expressing their determination to bring about change. This questioning session also resolved several specific issues.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung stated that the National Assembly welcomes the seriousness, openness, and high sense of responsibility of the ministers in addressing the commitments made to delegates and voters. After each questioning session, there is an assessment, summary, and consensus on the work of each sector and field.

The Chairman of the National Assembly stated that, following this session, the National Assembly requests that governments at all levels and sectors implement necessary measures in a coordinated manner to bring about positive changes regarding the issues raised in the questioning. The Standing Committee of the National Assembly will continue to organize questioning and explanation sessions at its meetings; the National Assembly's agencies will supervise the issues raised in the questioning and organize explanation sessions in their respective fields, meeting the demands of the people and voters nationwide.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung also stated that the National Assembly Standing Committee will study and draft a resolution on interpellation and answers to interpellation to be submitted to the National Assembly for approval at this session, serving as a basis for implementation by all levels and sectors.

According to VNA