Improving the effectiveness of the People's Council's operations.

(Baonghean) - During the recent harvest season, farmers in Khanh Tan and Long Dong hamlets of Nghi Khanh commune (Nghi Loc district) were very excited because the new BTE1 rice variety, which the locality had piloted on 3 hectares, yielded high productivity and efficiency. Mr. Nguyen Van Son (head of Khanh Tan hamlet) said: This is the result of feedback from the people during meetings with voters regarding the implementation of crop restructuring. The introduction of new varieties into production is both less susceptible to pests and diseases and yields an average of 3 quintals/sao (previous varieties only yielded 2.5 quintals/sao). The commune also organized field workshops to introduce the new rice variety into mass production…

It can be said that, thanks to the effective organization of meetings, voter outreach, supervision, and monitoring of the resolution of voters' requests, the quality of the commune People's Council's activities has been continuously improved. Mr. Vu Dinh Vinh, Vice Chairman of the Nghi Khanh Commune People's Council, stated: "The voter outreach meetings of People's Council representatives at all levels in the area have been widely publicized to the people, and the content of these meetings has been broadcast live on the public address system."

Before each meeting, the People's Council representatives in the six electoral units, in coordination with the Fatherland Front committees in the hamlets, meticulously prepared in all aspects, providing a full report on the planned agenda of the People's Council meeting and the socio-economic situation of the locality so that the people could understand and participate in giving their opinions. Therefore, the meetings at all six locations took place in a democratic, open, and frank atmosphere. Through these meetings with constituents, the representatives became closer to the people, paying attention to and listening to their opinions, especially the suggestions and recommendations from voters, in order to address and propose solutions to the competent authorities to best and most quickly resolve the legitimate rights of the people.

Regarding issues related to the commune People's Committee's proposals and projects on mobilizing the people's internal resources, the Standing Committee of the Council directs the expansion of voter outreach down to each hamlet. Based on the compiled opinions of voters in each hamlet, the Council determines that the conditions are sufficient before bringing the matter up for discussion at the meeting to seek the unanimous approval of the delegates. If the conditions are not yet sufficient, the process is halted to continue propaganda, mobilization, and gathering of people's opinions. Therefore, policies and initiatives, when approved, receive high levels of consensus. For example, the commune People's Committee's 2013 initiative to mobilize people's resources for building new rural areas (100,000 VND per household) received strong support from the people. The first phase of collection was planned from January to June, but to date, over 80% of the target has already been achieved.

Improving the quality of the sessions is also a priority for the Commune People's Council. They maintain a good system of People's Council group meetings, meticulously prepare and provide reports and presentations in a timely and concise manner 10 days in advance for delegates to study, and allocate sufficient time for delegates to discuss and contribute ideas to the issuance of highly feasible resolutions. The questioning mainly focuses on existing problems, limitations, and pressing issues raised by voters. The responses from members of the Commune People's Committee are more responsible and include plans and solutions to address each issue raised. The activities at the Commune People's Council sessions are conducted openly and democratically, by inviting representatives of the voters (village heads, deputy village heads, heads of mass organizations) to attend, and broadcasting the sessions live.

Before and after each session, commune People's Council representatives must publicly report to the people on the work they have done, and request the people's comments and evaluations. This promotes the people's right to supervise the local government and elected representatives. The summary report of voter opinions from these meetings clearly shows how many opinions have been addressed and specifically answered in writing, and which opinions remain unresolved. This clarifies the responsibilities of each unit and level, and builds voter trust.

The Standing Committee of the People's Council also regularly monitors, urges, requests, and supervises the People's Committee to improve its responsibility in resolving the opinions and recommendations of voters. As a result, many voter concerns have been addressed promptly, such as: the issue of some households dumping construction materials and planting trees encroaching on the road; addressing saltwater intrusion through the culvert causing flooding of rice seedling areas in Khanh Dong hamlet; expanding the drainage culvert at But Pagoda to ensure agricultural production; promptly repairing the commune's public address system in some areas that were damaged and not providing adequate information; and reviewing the assessment of poor and near-poor households…

At the Nghi Khanh Commune People's Council, in addition to developing and issuing high-quality resolutions that comply with the law and are consistent with reality, the quality of supervision and monitoring of the resolution of recommendations after supervision has been gradually improved, contributing to the promotion of its role as an elected body representing the will and aspirations of the people at the grassroots level.

Khanh Ly