Exploiting advantages, creating breakthroughs in socio-economic development

On January 4, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, the Government held its regular meeting in December 2011 to discuss the draft report reviewing the direction, administration, and implementation of the Government's Working Regulations in 2011 and the 2012 Work Program; report on administrative reform in 2011; inspection, complaint and denunciation settlement, and anti-corruption fight in 2011; and implementation of Vietnam's international commitments in 2011.

In addition, the Government also listened to reports and discussed the Project to improve the operational efficiency of the state-owned enterprise sector; the issue of extending the deadline for paying corporate income tax in 2012 for small and medium-sized enterprises and enterprises using many workers; and the Government's report on the draft Decree on the management of gold trading activities.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung delivered a concluding speech at the meeting. (Photo: Duc Tam/VNA)

The draft report on reviewing the direction, management, and implementation of the 2011 Working Regulations and the 2012 Working Program of the Government presented by Minister and Head of the Government Office Vu Duc Dam shows that in 2011, the world situation changed rapidly, complicatedly, and unpredictably, affecting Vietnam's socio-economy. In the country, inflation and interest rates increased, serious natural disasters and floods occurred in many places; production and business faced many difficulties, and the risk of macroeconomic instability became a major challenge...

In that context, the Government has focused on proactive, flexible and decisive direction and management to achieve the set tasks and goals. Up to now, although there are still many difficulties and challenges, in general, the socio-economic situation in 2011 has achieved important results.

Right from the beginning of the year, the Government issued Resolution 02 on key solutions to direct and implement the socio-economic development plan and the state budget estimate for 2011. In the face of many fluctuations in the domestic and international socio-economic situation, adversely affecting our country's economy, the Government promptly issued Resolution No. 11, at the same time reported to the Politburo to issue Conclusion No. 02, reported to the National Assembly to issue Resolution No. 59, setting out key tasks to achieve the top goal of curbing inflation, stabilizing the macro-economy, and ensuring social security.

In focusing on implementing the task of curbing inflation and stabilizing the macro-economy, the Government has implemented tight and prudent monetary and credit policies; flexibly operated monetary policy tools to control and stabilize the money market, curb inflation, gradually reduce credit interest rates in line with the gradual decline in inflation; ensured liquidity of the banking system; focused on measures to reduce the budget deficit; resolutely cut investment in ineffective, not really necessary, slow-progressing, and prolonged projects; focused capital on important, urgent, and near-completion projects and social security programs.

Thanks to the strong and synchronous implementation of many solutions, the goal of curbing inflation and stabilizing the macro economy has achieved positive results. Since the second quarter, the price increase has gradually decreased, increasing by 18.13% for the whole year; credit interest rates have tended to decrease; exports increased by 33.3% compared to 2010, exceeding the set target; trade deficit was equal to 9.9% of total export turnover, much lower than the National Assembly's target of 18%; foreign exchange reserves increased from 3.5 weeks of imports to 7.5 weeks of imports, budget deficit decreased to 4.9% of GDP (the plan was 5.3%).

The Government has also focused on directing the overcoming of difficulties, maintaining and developing production and business, ensuring reasonable growth; focused on ensuring social security, paying attention to solving pressing social issues; strengthening national defense and security, maintaining social order and safety; actively and proactively implementing effective foreign affairs activities; focusing on implementing the Government's Working Regulations, associated with innovating working methods, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of direction and administration.

Regarding the Government's Work Program in 2012, the Government identifies the general goal in its direction and administration as prioritizing inflation control, macroeconomic stability, maintaining growth at a reasonable level associated with growth model innovation and economic restructuring, improving quality, efficiency and competitiveness; ensuring social welfare, social security and improving people's lives.

The key tasks to achieve the above objectives are identified as focusing on stabilizing the macro-economy, curbing inflation, ensuring major balances of the economy; removing difficulties, promoting production and business development and expanding the market; restructuring the economy, innovating the growth model towards improving efficiency and competitiveness; continuing to effectively implement social security policies, developing social welfare; continuing to innovate and improve the effectiveness of direction and administration, and implementing well the Working Regulations and work programs.

Discussing the review of the direction, administration, and implementation of the 2011 Working Regulations and the 2012 Working Program of the Government, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and members of the Government said that, looking back at what was achieved and what was not achieved in the socio-economic development in 2011, the direction and administration of the Government in 2011 had great advantages such as: The Government seriously implemented the Party's policies and resolutions; linked the direction and administration with practice, analyzed, evaluated, and forecasted the situation, thereby promptly identifying, adjusting, and proposing appropriate policies and solutions for the country's socio-economic development.

Over the past year, the Government has frankly looked at the difficulties and challenges; clearly seen the advantages in the development process; thoroughly grasped the viewpoint on stability and development; implemented the motto of growth and development going hand in hand with social progress and equity, affirming the viewpoint that in the more difficult the context, the more attention must be paid to caring for social security. In management and direction, the Government has directed synchronously and comprehensively, but always focused on key points, directing the resolution of urgent immediate issues associated with the calculation to ensure factors of sustainability and long-term sustainability.

All members of the Government have upheld their sense of responsibility to the Party, the country, the people, and the tasks of their sectors; done a good job of information and propaganda, creating social consensus in implementing socio-economic development goals, publicizing information, honestly, frankly, and transparently providing information about what has been done and what has not been done; the work of explaining and answering questions has been carried out more effectively and richly from the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers to Ministers and heads of sectors.

Emphasizing that in the context of general difficulties in 2011, the Government has managed the economy more systematically and proactively; the policies have been consistent, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh, Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong, Governor of the State Bank Nguyen Van Binh... proposed that in 2012, ministries and branches need to spend more time on the work of drafting laws and ordinances; overcome the backlog of documents detailing the implementation of laws and ordinances; promote administrative reform; effectively implement the work of preventing and combating corruption, waste, and practicing thrift; overcome the situation where the work program is both heavy and does not cover all the activities of the Government; effectively implement the information and reporting regime as well as the statistical and forecasting work to serve the direction and administration activities of the Government; At the same time, ministries and branches need to coordinate more closely in directing and implementing the country's general socio-economic development tasks.

Regarding strategic breakthroughs, Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong said that training human resources, especially high-quality human resources, is an issue that needs special attention in 2012 and the following years to meet the increasingly high demands in the innovation process. In addition, promoting international integration, expanding export markets, especially for goods considered to be Vietnam's strengths; removing difficulties for production and business; inspection and supervision work; ensuring social security and welfare; vocational training and job creation for rural workers... are also major tasks that many members of the Government believe need to be focused on in the direction and administration of the Government in 2012.

In addition to the above advantages, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also pointed out a number of shortcomings and weaknesses in the direction and administration that need to be overcome in terms of state management in law-making, planning, resource management, etc. In this spirit, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung emphasized that one of the key tasks of the Government this year is to create all favorable conditions and an open environment for socio-economic development, focusing on three bottlenecks: infrastructure, institutions and human resources.

Therefore, ministries, sectors and localities must focus on removing obstacles in state management to attract all resources for development investment (Public-Private Partnership - PPP, Build-Operate-Transfer - BOT, Build-Transfer-BT in infrastructure investment), sector and sector planning strategies (steel, cement, automobile manufacturing, etc.), inspection, supervision, and ensuring discipline, especially for state-owned enterprises. In addition, the Government focuses on effectively directing pressing social issues regarding food safety and hygiene, crime prevention, environment, etc. The Ministry of Health focuses on reviewing the planning of the hospital system, including developing specific criteria for regional hospitals, and at the same time developing plans to effectively solve the problem of hospital overload and implement universal health insurance - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung requested.

Regarding the issue of mineral resources, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung affirmed that the Government resolutely requires ministries, sectors, localities and enterprises to strengthen strict management of mineral resource exploitation towards efficiency, sustainability, deep processing and environmental protection. The Prime Minister also noted to strengthen the fight against corruption, at the same time publicly and transparently handle corruption cases in accordance with legal procedures, creating trust among the people.

Regarding the Project “Improving the operational efficiency of the State-owned enterprise sector”, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stated that restructuring is necessary to help enterprises better fulfill the role assigned by the State and improve production and business efficiency, especially effectively performing the leading role in promoting socio-economic development, stabilizing the macro-economy, ensuring major balances of the economy, issues related to social security, national security and defense, etc. of the country.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung requested relevant ministries and branches to continue reviewing the legal framework for the operation of state-owned economic groups, especially the implementation mechanism, the state ownership model, clarifying the responsibilities of the board of directors and the sector management ministry regarding planning, operation, capital management, inspection, staff management, and corporate governance mechanisms. In the immediate future, focus on building a specific roadmap towards concentrating capital on the main business lines, internal management regulations, first of all reviewing and amending the operating charter, financial and staff regulations, and defining the functions of the Board of Directors and the General Director./.

According to (TTXVN/Vietnam+)