Final article: Injecting youthful energy into village and hamlet Party branches.

Similarly to the Ngoc Khanh hamlet Party branch, the 9A Party branch in Hung Trung commune (Hung Nguyen district) accomplished a very difficult task: in 2010 alone, it helped 10 households escape poverty. According to the Secretary of the 9A hamlet Party branch, Hoang Duc Linh, the method of assistance was very simple: the Party branch mobilized skilled people in the hamlet to mentor and assist poor households, helping them learn the trade and earn money. Wealthier households also lent interest-free capital to poor households for a certain period to engage in small-scale trading or livestock farming.

Through the two specific examples above, we want to affirm one thing: even if the party membership is aging and insufficient, in places where the secretary and the party committee are dynamic, the leadership and direction of the assigned tasks still proceed smoothly and with high creativity. Therefore, to improve the leadership capacity and fighting strength of village and hamlet party branches, the first priority is to focus on improving the quality of the party committee, especially the branch secretary. This is an urgent immediate solution that needs to be implemented right away. Comrade Hoang Van Phi, Secretary of the Hung Nguyen District Party Committee, affirmed: "To enhance the capacity and fighting strength of grassroots Party organizations in rural areas, it is first necessary to improve the capacity and fighting strength of village and hamlet Party branches because they are the political 'nucleus' at the grassroots level. In particular, we should focus on the Party committee members, headed by the Party branch secretary. Because 'the quality of the cadre determines the quality of the movement,' the strength or weakness of a Party branch largely depends on the level of competence, ability, way of thinking, and methods of its leaders and managers."

In the long term, to improve both the quality and quantity of village and hamlet Party branches, it is necessary to strengthen Party development work. Special attention should be paid to young people and those directly involved in agricultural production. To achieve this, there must be a source of employment and job creation within the locality to retain young people. They can leave farming without leaving their hometown, and they can remain farmers, but with high and stable incomes. In Hung Tan commune (Hung Nguyen district), thanks to the successful implementation of the new rural development movement, the commune has established 157 family farms, each generating at least 150 million VND per year and providing employment for at least 4 to 5 workers.

This is the source for Party development and the creation of Party committee members for the branches. Comrade Phan Dinh Du - Secretary of the Party Committee of Thanh Khai commune (Thanh Chuong district) said: Previously, each year the Party branches in the Party committee admitted 10 to 12 Party members, all of whom were of working age. However, since the Rao Gang Brick and Tile Factory and two other brick and tile factories in the area suffered losses and had to cease production, the number of Party members admitted has decreased to only 3-4 people per year. In some years, the entire Party committee did not admit any Party members because there were no jobs locally, and the children had to leave to work far away, thus depleting the pool of potential members.

To create a pool of Party members, the commune's Party Committee has adopted a policy of attracting private businesses and companies to invest in the locality, aiming to provide employment for young people locally. And in this new rural development plan, the commune has allocated 3.2 hectares of land in the central area to build a commercial and small-scale industrial zone, both to address surplus labor and to create a foundation for Party development.

Many other localities have adopted a policy of mobilizing mass organizations such as the Women's Union and the Farmers' Association to monitor and identify outstanding members, recommending them to Party branches for training and admission into the Party. This is also a good solution in the current situation of a shortage of potential members. However, it is only a temporary solution because those admitted are already approaching middle age. The crux of the matter remains the need to add more young vitality to the village and hamlet Party branches. This solution requires considerable time and a specific roadmap to be realized.

Clearly, to enhance the leadership capacity and fighting strength of village and hamlet Party branches, many synchronized solutions must be implemented. Among these, adding young members and improving the quality of the Party committee staff are just two of those solutions, but they are two fundamental and most decisive ones. Therefore, they need to be promptly directed and implemented by Party committees at all levels.

Thanh Phuc - Khanh Ly