Removing obstacles and improving the efficiency of cooperative operations.
(Baonghean.vn) - This issue was discussed at a working session between the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council and the Provincial People's Committee on the afternoon of April 13th, as part of the monitoring program on the effectiveness of cooperative activities. Attending the meeting were: Mr. Hoang Viet Duong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Mr. Dinh Viet Hong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; and representatives from several provincial departments and agencies.
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| Overview of the working session. Photo: Minh Chi |
According to a report by the Provincial People's Committee, after six years of implementing the 2012 Cooperative Law, Nghe An province has focused on directing and has now basically completed the reorganization of cooperative activities.
As of December 31, 2017, the province had 645 cooperatives; including 208 newly established cooperatives and 388 cooperatives converted according to the law, 33 cooperatives that ceased operations but had not yet been dissolved, and 16 cooperatives that were operating but had not yet been converted.
In terms of types, cooperatives are mainly agricultural cooperatives, providing input services for agricultural production, preservation, processing, and product consumption for farmers. Some cooperatives are dynamic, linking with businesses to implement production along the value chain, increasing farmers' income.
The most noticeable impact comes from non-agricultural cooperatives and people's credit funds. In 2017, the collective economic sector and cooperatives contributed approximately 6.8% to the province's GRDP.
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| Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Viet Hong speaks at the working session. Photo: Minh Chi |
During the working session, through monitoring activities in several localities, members of the Provincial People's Council Standing Committee's monitoring team pointed out many shortcomings, limitations, and difficulties in the current operation of cooperatives.
In particular, agricultural cooperatives are often small in scale; their management structures are not synchronized, and their staff are older with limited capacity and qualifications, leading to ineffective management and operation.
Revenue and competitiveness of cooperative services remain low; the implementation of support policies for cooperatives is both limited and untimely; internal credit activities within cooperatives are projected to have potential risks…
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| Transaction counter at Dien Ky People's Credit Fund, Dien Chau district. (Photo: Archival image) |
According to Ms. Thai Thi An Chung, Deputy Head of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Provincial People's Council, agricultural cooperatives currently account for a large number, and product branding is a crucial factor determining product output.
However, based on on-site monitoring, the policy to support brand building and development for cooperatives has not been implemented. Therefore, in the future, we request that the Provincial People's Committee pay attention to this issue, contributing to improving the operational efficiency of cooperatives.
Members of the supervisory delegation also pointed out that cooperatives are having difficulty accessing loan capital for production development and requested the Provincial People's Committee to direct the State Bank of Vietnam, Nghe An branch, to resolve this issue.
Assessing the effectiveness of cooperatives in the province as not yet high, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Viet Hong stated that the main reasons are that some Party committees and authorities have not truly paid attention to leading and directing the reform and improvement of cooperatives' operational efficiency; and the resources for implementing policies to support and encourage cooperatives have not met the requirements.
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| Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Hoang Viet Duong speaks at the working session. Photo: Minh Chi |
Speaking at the meeting, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Hoang Viet Duong requested the Provincial People's Committee to continue directing departments, agencies, and localities to pay attention to creating favorable conditions for the development and improvement of the economic efficiency of cooperatives.
Comrade Hoang Viet Duong also suggested that the Provincial People's Committee should direct the inspection and evaluation of the effectiveness of internal credit activities of cooperatives, along with assigning specific responsibilities to agencies and units managing this activity; and at the same time, pay attention to resolving issues and creating conditions for cooperatives to access loan capital.
The Provincial People's Committee also needs to direct and consolidate the task of training and developing cooperative management staff under a single authority to increase efficiency and strengthen this activity.
