The policy is correct in principle, but lacks focus.

(Baonghean) - The New Rural Development program is entering its final stages, and localities urgently need investment capital to complete the remaining criteria. Therefore, the allocation of government bonds in 2015 is of great importance to the communes.

In 2015, the government bond capital allocated to Nghe An province for the National Target Program on New Rural Development was 232 billion VND, an increase of 7 billion VND compared to 2014. Although the capital was larger, it was distributed to more communes (285 communes across the province), resulting in a lower amount of capital per commune compared to the previous year. In 2014, priority was given to communes committed to achieving New Rural Development standards according to Decision 63 of the Provincial People's Committee, including 15 communes, with 4 billion VND allocated to each. In addition, communes registered to achieve standards between 2012 and 2015 received 1-1.3 billion VND/commune; poor communes received 2.3 billion VND/commune. This capital is extremely significant for localities in investing to complete some criteria for New Rural Development, contributing to reducing the burden of mobilizing contributions from the people in the communes benefiting from the capital.

However, through the review and evaluation of the Central Steering Committee for the National Target Program on New Rural Development, it was found that the allocation of capital to the communes in 2014 did not comply with Resolution 65 of the National Assembly and Decision 195 of the Prime Minister. Therefore, learning from the previous year's experience, in 2015 Nghe An allocated government bond capital for the National Target Program on New Rural Development in accordance with Resolution 65 of the National Assembly. The total allocation over three years (from 2014 to 2016) remained unchanged for the following target groups: particularly difficult coastal communes, communes in poor districts under Decree 30a; communes that achieved New Rural Development standards in 2015; and other communes. This year, pilot New Rural Development communes received an allocation of 750-800 million VND/commune; poor communes received 1 billion VND/commune.

Construction of the Nghia Binh commune stadium (Nghia Dan district).

To date, the 232 billion VND in government bond funds have been specifically allocated to 285 communes throughout the province. According to Mr. Hoang Dinh Ngoc, Head of the Planning and Coordination Department - Office of the National Target Program for New Rural Development in the province: With this relatively even allocation, the advantage is that all communes building new rural areas receive support from government bond funds. However, the limitation is that it lacks focus and priorities, making it difficult to achieve the target set in Resolution 03 of the Provincial Party Committee, which aimed for 20% of communes in Nghe An to meet the new rural area standards by the end of 2015 (equivalent to 87 communes). However, as of May 2015, only 36 communes in the province had met the new rural area standards, posing a significant challenge.

For mountainous communes like Thanh Lien (Thanh Chuong district), building new rural areas faces certain difficulties compared to other communes. However, Thanh Lien has found creative ways to gradually complete the criteria. In particular, they utilize integrated funding sources to build rural infrastructure projects that serve the practical interests of production and the lives of local people. Mr. Dinh Viet Nam, Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said: "To complete the 19 criteria in building new rural areas requires a very large investment, therefore, the annual allocation of government bond funds is extremely important for our commune. To date, Thanh Lien has completed 17 criteria, with the most difficult remaining being schools and rural transportation, which urgently need investment for construction and expansion." In 2015, we learned that Thanh Lien commune was allocated 800 million VND from government bonds. The local community was very pleased and decided to invest in building a centralized waste disposal site, a sports stadium, and several rural roads to achieve the goal of becoming a New Rural Area this year.

Currently, Tay Hieu commune (Thai Hoa town) has achieved 18 criteria for New Rural Development and is urgently completing several projects such as a multi-functional cultural center and upgrading the rural market. To complete all 19 criteria for New Rural Development in 2015, the commune was allocated 800 million VND in government bonds to implement the New Rural Development program. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Chau, Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, happily shared: "Building a New Rural Development program requires a very large investment capital. The locality is currently short of funds, so the allocated government bond capital is very valuable to our commune. Currently, the commune is processing the disbursement of this capital. This capital will help the locality pay off some of the construction debts to contractors for the cultural center, rural market, and school. Although the capital is not yet substantial, it will promptly provide the locality with funds to disburse to contractors, giving them the resources to accelerate the construction of some remaining items so that Tay Hieu commune can achieve New Rural Development status in 2015."

To date, 36 out of 431 communes in the province have met the criteria for New Rural Development (NRD), but compared to the target of 87 communes meeting NRD by the end of 2015, the pace is still slow; the NRD construction movement is uneven across regions, especially in mountainous and coastal areas where the construction speed is far slower than planned. The capital needed for NRD investment is substantial, but the support provided is insufficient. On average, the government bond investment supporting each commune over three years is 1.75 billion VND, while the average NRD project cost per commune is no less than 150 billion VND. Therefore, to encourage communes to achieve the New Rural Area standard in 2015, Nghe An province issued Decision 1340/2015 to support cement for road construction in the fourth phase for communes that achieved the New Rural Area standard in 2015, with an average allocation of 6 km per lowland commune and 8 km per mountainous commune.

Along with government bond funding, in recent years, the mobilization of contributions from the people, expatriates, and businesses has led localities to prioritize the allocation of resources for infrastructure development, which is the most important factor in transforming the face of rural areas, creating momentum for socio-economic development, and increasing direct benefits for the people.

Text and photos:Quynh Lan