Thanh An Commune (Thanh Chuong District): Striving for comprehensive results

(Baonghean) - Thanh An is a mountainous commune in Zone 3 of Thanh Chuong district, with a large area of ​​3,800 hectares, and the furthest residential area is 17 km from the commune center. During the 2010-2015 term, the commune's Party Committee spent considerable time dealing with officials who had committed violations in the previous term. At times, some positions were vacant, and some officials had to work twice as hard. Despite this, with the understanding that difficulties should not affect the implementation of political tasks or weaken local movements, the Thanh An Party Committee and government strived and were determined to lead and direct the implementation of the local political tasks, paying attention to Party building and strengthening the political system.

The Quan Thanh historical site in Thanh An commune was restored thanks to contributions from people who have moved away from their hometown.

Looking back at the 2010-2015 term, Thanh An achieved encouraging results. The economy consistently experienced significant growth, with an average growth rate of 13.74% over the five years (2010-2015). Per capita income increased from over 12 million VND/person in 2010 to over 16.23 million VND/person in 2014, and is projected to reach over 17 million VND/person in 2015. The economic structure shifted in the right direction, with agricultural production making a significant mark during the term, ensuring crop yields, focusing on intensive farming, introducing new varieties into production, and increasing productivity and output. While the total annual grain production in 2010 reached 1,936 tons, it increased to 2,077 tons in 2014, and is projected to reach 2,445 tons in 2015.

The increasing area of ​​tea cultivation each year brings a significant source of income to many households in Thanh An.

Taking advantage of its abundant land and large hilly areas, during the past term, the Party Committee and government of Thanh An commune focused on leading and directing the people to expand the tea cultivation area by 170 hectares, bringing the total tea area in the commune to 450 hectares, double the area of ​​rice cultivation. From tea cultivation, many farmers in Thanh An have invested in intensive farming, increasing productivity and bringing in considerable income. The cultivation of high-yield cassava varieties has expanded from 40 hectares with a yield of 35 tons/ha (in 2010) to 80 hectares with a yield of 39 tons/ha (in 2014). Forest planting has also been promoted, with an average of 50 hectares of new forest planted each year, totaling 250 hectares throughout the term, bringing the total planted forest area of ​​the commune to 700 hectares. Farm-based economic activities continue to be encouraged and facilitated by the commune, with 265 households participating, many of whom earn 50-80 million VND/hectare/year. In implementing land consolidation, Thanh An is considered one of the communes that has performed well, with the number of land consolidation zones per household decreasing from 5-7 zones/household to an average of only 1-3 zones/household after consolidation. Despite being a mountainous area and considered a disadvantaged district, during the 2010-2015 term, Thanh An completed 4 new rural development criteria, bringing the total number of achieved criteria to 9 out of 19.

The industrial, handicraft, and service sectors have seen many positive changes. Production of fired and unfired bricks, household furniture; construction services; automobile transportation; agricultural mechanization; agricultural supplies, etc., continue to develop, generating significant income for the people and the locality. Attracting investment and constructing key projects such as schools, roads, irrigation canals, and a broadcasting system has been a priority for the commune. Total investment in construction in the area over the past five years reached 13.66 billion VND, of which nearly 7.4 billion VND came from the state budget.

Thanh An Commune Secondary School achieved national standards during the 2010-2015 term.

In terms of socio-cultural aspects, the most notable achievement is the planned and invested construction of cultural centers and sports fields in the hamlets, integrated with other facilities. Four out of fifteen hamlets and three out of four units have achieved the title of "Cultural Hamlet." The percentage of families meeting cultural standards is 76.4%; 21% meet the standards for "Sports Families." The commune focused on completing the public address system with a total cost of 350 million VND. With the support and assistance from Thanh An's children living away from home, the commune renovated and restored the Thanh Temple, costing over 250 million VND. The Thanh Temple was built in the 23rd year of Tu Duc's reign (1870) to worship Confucius and other virtuous and accomplished figures who contributed to the people and the nation; it has now become a historical and cultural site, contributing to the spiritual and cultural life of the people of Thanh An commune.

Recognizing that investing in education is investing in development, the Party Committee and the local government of Thanh An commune have issued resolutions and plans to build school infrastructure, improve the quality of education, socialize education, and promote learning and talent development. Based on contributions from the people and allocations from the local budget totaling 2 billion VND, the commune completed the infrastructure of schools, creating conditions for the successful construction of two schools meeting national standards within the term: a secondary school and a primary school. As a result, the quality of education in the schools has improved, with 27 students achieving provincial-level excellence; 528 students achieving district-level excellence; and 151 students admitted to universities and colleges within the past five years.

The fields of health, population, and family planning have made significant progress, maintaining the commune's national standard in healthcare. The material and spiritual lives of the people have improved; the poverty rate decreased from 37.5% (in 2010) to 15.6% (in 2014). Political security and social order are ensured. Party building and strengthening the political system have received due attention and care; leadership and management capacity have improved significantly, and the cadre has matured in the new mechanism.

To achieve the above results, the Party Committee and the government have been dynamic and creative in management and administration, creating high consensus throughout the Party and the people. They have reformed their leadership methods, being flexible, close to the people and the locality, promptly resolving obstacles and difficulties; promoting democracy, mobilizing the people's strength to implement the political tasks of the commune; and strengthening inspection and supervision of task implementation. The Fatherland Front and mass organizations have reformed their methods of operation to better fulfill their roles, functions, and tasks, contributing to building national unity and successfully implementing the local political tasks.

Based on the achievements made, for the 2015-2020 term, Thanh An set the goal of continuing to maximize internal resources and leverage external resources to invest in infrastructure development. It will focus on the comprehensive development of all economic sectors, improving the people's living standards, building a cultural life, and maintaining national defense and security. The aim is to achieve an average annual economic growth rate of 9%; an average per capita income of 40 million VND/year; a reduction in the poverty rate to 5%; an average production value per hectare of cultivated land of 50 million VND/hectare/year; and to build and achieve two new rural development criteria each year. In addition, it aims to build a national standard kindergarten to ensure that all three levels of education meet national standards; maintain the title of a national standard commune in healthcare; have 10 out of 15 hamlets achieve the cultural hamlet title; and have over 85% of families achieve the cultural family status. The goal is to recruit 70-75 new party members throughout the term; and for over 50% of party branches and committees to achieve the "clean and strong" status throughout the 2015-2020 term.

With a spirit of unity, promoting democracy, wisdom, responsibility, and innovation, the Thanh An Commune Party Congress for the 2015-2020 term is a congress of the will, aspirations, and strength of the people, together with the entire political system, for the common goal of comprehensively developing Thanh An in the new term.

Nguyen Danh Luong

(Secretary of the Party Committee of Thanh An Commune)