Part 3: Paying attention to the Party, the people's hearts beat as one.
In its journey to realize the resolutions of the Party Congress at all levels, Nghe An is demonstrating that the strength derived from exemplary leadership and the spirit of unity and harmony between "the Party's will" and "the people's aspirations" is the decisive factor. Typical stories from the Party Branch of the Fishery Association in Quynh Lap commune, or the example of the Party Secretary of Thanh Lien commune, not only inspire people's confidence but also serve as vivid evidence of connecting political ideals with community aspirations.
News Team • October 31, 2024
In its journey to realize the resolutions of the Party Congress at all levels, Nghe An is demonstrating that the strength derived from exemplary leadership and the spirit of unity, harmonizing "the Party's will" and "the people's aspirations," is the decisive factor. Typical stories from the Party Branch of the Fishery Association in Quynh Lap commune, or the example of the Party Secretary of Thanh Lien commune, not only inspire people's confidence but also serve as vivid evidence of connecting political ideals with community aspirations. When officials not only speak but also act, resolutions become a real force, creating strong progress in socio-economic development and contributing to improving the lives of the people.
The Party cell of the Fishery Association in Quynh Lap commune, Hoang Mai town, is a model established based on the local reality that Party members working in the fishing industry face many difficulties in rural Party cells due to the nature of fishing, which requires them to spend at sea for at least 15 days each month. Established in July 2021, by August 2023, the Party Committee of Quynh Lap commune had conducted a review of the two-year pilot program of this new Party cell model, the only one in Nghe An province dedicated to Party members who are fishermen.
Attending the meeting and reviewing the two-year pilot program for establishing Party branches in the Fisheries Association, the Standing Deputy Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, Hoang Nghia Hieu, highly appreciated the effectiveness of the model, which actively contributes to strongly promoting the core role of the Party organization in leading and directing offshore fishing activities and protecting the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland's seas and islands. Based on this, he requested the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department to evaluate the model and advise the Provincial Party Standing Committee to consider replicating similar Party branch models.
The formation and effective operation of the Fisheries Association Party Branch model in Quynh Lap commune, Hoang Mai town, owes a great deal to the role of Party Branch Secretary Phan Van Hai.
"Party members must be more exemplary than others; only then will the people trust them," that was the constant thought of Party Branch Secretary Phan Van Hai, who pioneered bringing resolutions to the forefront, not only through words but also through his actions.
The fleet of 18 Party members in the branch sailed across the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin; pioneering the conquest of the Hoang Sa fishing grounds, both fishing and exploiting marine resources, while affirming the will to protect the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland's sea and islands; propagating and mobilizing fishermen to comply with the State's policies and laws, especially not engaging in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Thanks to this, the seafood exploitation industry in Quynh Lap has grown stronger and more sustainable; in 2023 alone, out of the total revenue of over 1,200 billion VND for the entire commune, the Fisheries Association contributed 70%.
Leaving the coastal area of Hoang Mai and returning to the mountainous region of Thanh Chuong, when mentioning Phan Ba Ngoc, the Party Secretary and Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Lien commune, everyone speaks highly of him as an exemplary leader, official, and Party member who has transformed Thanh Lien from a poor commune into an advanced new rural commune and is now striving to achieve the goal of becoming a model new rural commune by the end of 2024.
Previously, Thanh Lien commune had dozens of hectares of unproductive agricultural land, causing people to become disillusioned with farming and scattered to seek livelihoods elsewhere. At that time, Comrade Phan Ba Ngoc, though not yet the commune leader, took on the responsibility of managing 2 hectares of land for fruit tree and green pumpkin cultivation as a Party member and commune official. After work, he rolled up his sleeves and toiled in the fields. Ultimately, the land rewarded his efforts, bringing in hundreds of millions of dong annually from farming. Following the success of Comrade Ngoc's economic model, other members of the Commune Party Committee also learned from and successfully emulated his example.
“The leaders of the commune unanimously agreed that, as officials, we must know how to teach the people about rice cultivation, fruit tree farming, pig farming, and disease prevention; and to know, we must get our hands dirty. Therefore, in our leadership, we assign each person to a specific area: one for crop cultivation, another for livestock farming, another for services, etc., with the aim that when discussing or proposing any policies of the commune Party Committee for leadership, it must be thorough and accurate. Correct policies, combined with capable and effective leadership, will lead the people to listen, trust, and follow,” Comrade Phan Bá Ngọc shared.
Seeing the officials succeed, the people trusted and followed suit. As a result, Thanh Lien, which was once a commune with no farms or family-run agricultural enterprises, now has over 50 large farms and family-run agricultural enterprises; including 10 farms that generate over 300 million VND/year in income. Large-scale specialized fruit-growing areas have begun to form, with the main product being Dien pomelo trees, covering an area of over 30 hectares, the largest in the district.
Producing small quantities makes it easier to sell, but if the whole village produces on a commercial scale without guaranteed outlets, they face the situation of "good harvest, low prices; high prices, poor harvest." Therefore, Comrade Phan Bá Ngọc personally hired trucks to transport long beans, green squash, etc., to Vinh City and even to Hai Duong to sell them, and then established connections to find stable outlets for the farmers' produce.
Under the leadership of Comrade Phan Bá Ngọc, Thanh Liên commune has become one of the most outstanding localities in Thanh Chương district, transforming it into a livable rural area with an average per capita income of 54 million VND in 2023.
The Thanh Lien commune Party Committee has excellently fulfilled its nhiệm vụ (tasks) for 10 consecutive years, including 9 years as an outstanding Party Committee, and Comrade Ngoc has been an outstanding Party member for 12 consecutive years; in 2022, he was awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the Prime Minister.
"With his words and actions, Secretary Phan Bá Ngọc truly embodies unity within the entire Party Committee; he inspires confidence and consensus among cadres, Party members, and the people to build the commune," said Mr. Lê Văn Khương, a resident of Liên Trường hamlet, Thanh Liên commune.
President Ho Chi Minh advised: "A living example is worth more than a hundred propaganda speeches." However, the Resolution of the 19th Congress of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, term 2020-2025, points out the sad reality: "The effectiveness of studying and following the regulations on setting examples is not high in some places"; this includes both objective and subjective reasons, but importantly, it is due to "the low sense of responsibility, dedication, dynamism, creativity, and professionalism in performing tasks of a portion of cadres and civil servants."
Therefore, the Congress unanimously agreed that one of the main tasks and solutions to enhance the leadership capacity and fighting strength of the Party is to "continue to effectively implement Directive No. 05-CT/TW and Resolution No. 4 of the Central Committee (12th term) in conjunction with strictly implementing the regulations on exemplary conduct of the Central Committee and the province... Publicly disclose the exemplary conduct of cadres and Party members, especially key leading cadres at all levels, to both set an example for the masses and to allow the masses to monitor the exemplary conduct of cadres and Party members."
Implementing Regulation No. 2993-QD/TU, dated July 19, 2019, of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee on the responsibility of setting an example for cadres and Party members, first and foremost the members of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, members of the Provincial Party Committee, and key leading cadres at all levels in Nghe An province, many new models and effective approaches have been implemented in the province, creating widespread impact. Notable examples include: "Building the image of a reputable cadre and Party member among the people" in Dien Chau district; "3 no's, 3 right's, 3 needs, 3 against's" in Nghia Dan district; "Building the image of a model Party branch secretary in working style" in Que Phong district; and "Listening to the people, explaining things to the people, and earning the people's trust" at the Provincial Police Department. “Upholding the responsibility of setting an example for leaders of grassroots Party organizations, specialized agencies, and socio-political organizations in provincial-level agencies,” “Shining Examples Around Us” at the Party Committee of the Provincial Agencies Bloc...
In mid-2023, the road connecting National Highway 7B to 48E, passing through three communes: Bac Thanh, Xuan Thanh, and Tang Thanh (Yen Thanh district), with a total length of nearly 4 km, was upgraded to a width of 12.5 m. Of this, nearly 1 km passes through Tang Thanh commune, requiring the clearance of over 1,500 m² of land.2This land belongs to 45 households. This project lacks funding for compensation and land clearance, even though all the land is residential and the market price is around 10 million VND/m².2.
Knowing it would be a personal loss, but for the common good of the community, Mr. Truong Dang Long, from Hamlet 3, Tang Thanh Commune, along with his two children, did not hesitate to voluntarily hand over 100 square meters of land.2worth approximately 1 billion VND without needing compensation.
“Officials went down to the people, explaining things thoroughly so they understood; they also listened, absorbed, and resolved people's opinions in a thoughtful, reasonable, and fair manner. I feel that my sacrifice was worthwhile, and I am happy and satisfied because the road is now completed, making my house and my village more spacious and beautiful,” he said enthusiastically.
Not only in the implementation of the aforementioned road project, Tang Thanh commune is truly a shining example of implementing the motto "the people know, the people discuss, the people inspect, the people supervise, and the people benefit," especially in the construction of new rural areas.
According to Dao Van Khai, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Committee of Tang Thanh commune: Based on research into the prescribed criteria, the commune's Party committee and government have concretized these into policies, tasks, and requirements regarding planning, standards, and techniques... to convey information to the people, and the people themselves discuss how to implement them.
For example, in the construction of cultural centers and cultural and sports facilities in hamlets and communes, criteria are issued regarding the area of the grounds, meeting halls, accompanying facilities, and a support mechanism of 1 billion VND. Based on this, in each hamlet, people hold meetings to discuss implementation methods, establish construction committees, mobilization committees, community investment monitoring committees, etc., to carry out the project.
As a result, Tang Thanh commune has completed the construction of new rural areas and advanced new rural areas, and has mobilized more than 208 billion VND, of which the people contributed more than 120 billion VND to build model new rural areas.
In 2023 alone, throughout Nghe An province, the people contributed nearly 537 billion VND and donated 97,132 square meters of land.2People contributed land; 450,939 man-days of labor and voluntarily demolished many architectural structures, trees, and crops... to build new rural areas, advanced new rural areas, and model new rural areas. Thanks to the consensus and unity of the people, the percentage of communes meeting the new rural area standards in Nghe An is quite high, accounting for 77.85%, equivalent to 320 out of 411 communes; of which 101 communes have met the advanced new rural area standards, accounting for 31.56%, and 16 communes have met the model new rural area standards, accounting for 5% of new rural communes; 9 district-level units have completed the task/met the new rural area standards and 1 unit is currently submitting to the Central Government for assessment and recognition.
To enhance the leadership capacity and fighting strength of Party organizations at all levels, this term, Nghe An province also has a policy of strengthening contact and dialogue with the people; considering this a normal practice, especially before implementing new policies or resolving practical difficulties and grievances. This is because it is the shortest path for "the Party to understand the people, and the people to understand the Party," and only when the people understand the policies and guidelines will they be able to know, discuss, implement, inspect, supervise, and benefit from them.
In Nghia Dan district, from the beginning of the 2020-2025 term to the present, the head of the district Party committee and government has organized 5 dialogues, including: dialogues with 12 communes that have achieved the new rural development goals to unify viewpoints and policies for continuing to build advanced new rural areas; dialogues with 10 communes that have not yet achieved the new rural development goals to be determined to achieve them within the term; dialogues with units implementing commune mergers in the 2023-2025 period; dialogues with Party branch secretaries of hamlets and villages throughout the district on Party member development; and dialogues with secretaries and heads of hamlets and villages in 6 communes in ethnic minority areas.
Through dialogue, many policies and guidelines are fully and thoroughly communicated to officials and people at the grassroots level. Conversely, the district also gains a more timely and in-depth understanding of the thoughts and aspirations from practical experience, fostering shared awareness and action for implementation.
Deputy Head of the Nghia Dan District Party Committee's Mass Mobilization Department, Truong Minh Hoai, cited an example: in 10 communes that had not yet achieved the new rural development goals in 2020, besides internal difficulties, some local officials and residents had a "reluctance to reach the goal" mentality for fear of having their state support cut. However, through dialogue with district leaders, commune officials and residents were "enlightened" because the achievements of new rural development are primarily enjoyed by each family and community in the locality, not by central, provincial, or district officials. This gradually eliminated the mentality of "waiting and relying." Now, after only 4 years, all 10 of the lower-ranked communes have successfully reached the goal.
Comrade Ngoc Kim Nam - Member of the Standing Committee and Head of the Mass Mobilization Department of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee - affirmed: The motto "the people know, the people discuss, the people do, the people inspect, the people supervise, and the people benefit" has been implemented quite seriously and concretely by Party committees and the political system in the province at all levels, creating conditions to promote representative democracy, while expanding direct democracy, contributing to socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security, and building a clean and strong Party and government throughout the province. This is most clearly demonstrated in the results of the National Target Program for New Rural Development, effectively promoting the motto "the people are both the subjects and the direct beneficiaries".
During the 2020-2025 term, the Standing Committee of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee issued Project 07 on November 24, 2021, on "Innovating and improving the effectiveness of contact, dialogue, and implementation of conclusions of heads of Party committees and governments at all levels after contact and dialogue with the people in the province during the 2021-2025 period." As a result, from 2020 to the present, all levels in the province have organized 715 dialogue sessions between heads of Party committees and governments and the people. The Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee issued Resolution No. 04-NQ/TU, dated November 19, 2021, on reforming and improving the quality and effectiveness of the Fatherland Front and political and social organizations in the period 2021-2025, with particular emphasis on promoting the critical role of the Fatherland Front and political and social organizations, which represent the people, in providing feedback to the Party Committee and the government.
