LookAtVietnam – Several ministers faced deputies on November 18, as the National Assembly questioned top Government officials for a second day on many issues.

Workers toil at the site of the Son La Hydro-electric Plant. The proliferation of hydro-power projects was one of the concerns raised by deputies at yesterday’s National Assembly meeting.

Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang was asked about the construction of new hydro-electric facilities by Deputy Vo Minh Thuc from Phu Yen Province, who suggested that the developers of many hydro projects were earning high profits and receiving preferential treatment from the Government.

Hoang said hydroelectric power was one of potentials the nation needed to tap to meet demand for electricity as well as prevent floods and ensure supplies of water to downstream regions.

All facilities were built based on approved plans in which localities had been involved in, Hoang said.

He admitted, however, that his ministry lacked the human resources to inspect the implementation of all of these plans.

“The ministry has inspected only a third of the 35 provinces that have plans for hydroelectric facilities,” Hoang said.

Some of these projects needed to be reconsidered, as well, due to the impacts of climate change and the lack of proper statistics, he added.

“Existing hydrographical statistics no longer conform with current climate conditions,” Hoang said.” And 70 per cent of our water resources come from other countries, while gauging stations are located within our territory.”

Hoang urged the National Assembly to take “a fair view towards hydroelectric facilities”, and he rejected Thuc’s allegations that they were being built solely for profit. Most of the dams were being built in remote and mountainous areas, posing considerable difficulties and dangers to the builders.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen added that his ministry would upgrade river gauging stations and agreed that planning of hydroelectric facilities should be reviewed in-light of the impacts of climate change.

The ministry was already working with a Chinese partner in hydrography, Nguyen added.

Shifting to a question from Ha Noi Deputy Chu Son Ha regarding the campaign to promote made-in-Viet Nam products, Hoang said the programme included both domestic market promotions and a movement to increase the use of Vietnamese products in industrial zones and remote and isolated regions.

He stressed the importance for enterprises to improve product quality and reduce prices to win the trust of consumers.

Deputy Tran Du Lich from HCM City questioned the minister about the impact of the recession on the domestic electronics sector.

“Established brands like Vietronics Tan Binh, Binh Hoa or Hanel now survive only by doing outsourced work at low profit for Chinese companies,” said Lich. “How is the ministry fulfilling its responsibility if a leading industrial sector is at the point of death, even as we are trying to encourage the use of domestic products?”

Hoang admitted it was a sad story, but he attributed the situation to a number of causes.

“First, there are problems with our policy and strategy, for which the ministry should take responsibility,” Hoang said. “Second, further support is needed to stimulate the sector to compete with foreign rivals who are dominating the domestic market. Third, there’s a dearth of human resource, particularly skilled workers and technicians.”

Lich suggested the problem was a symptom of a larger weakeness in the nation’s preparedness for international economic integration in all sectors, not only in electronics.

Hoang also replied to a number of deputies’ concerns about the flow of low-quality and counterfeit products into Viet Nam and discussed the possibility of technical barriers to prevent these illegal imports.

Responding to questions from deputies about the role of the Viet Nam Food Association in administering rice exports, Hoang said the Government had temporarily suspended rice exports last year to ensure cooking security following a season in which weather had damaged the rice crop.

Deputy Nguyen Thi Kha from Tra Vinh Province asked if the current Government regulation fixing the wholesale price of rice at least VND3,000/kg with the aim of ensuring farmers a minimum profit margin of 30 per cent profit was practical. Kha said she believed it would profit brokers only.

Hoang admitted it was a problem due to the practices of brokers and price disparity among different provinces in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region.

Deputy Danh Ut from Kien Giang Province expressed concern that rice exports this year could exceed 6 million tonnes, 36 per cent more than last year, while prices were 38 per cent lower. He said there were too many rice export enterprises, setting up unhealthy competition and possible dumping.

Hoang said that, although the nation had 205 enterprises involved in rice exports, 70 per cent of export volume was through 11 major enterprises.

Many of these enterprises worked inefficiently due to poor financial capacity and trading experience, Hoang said.

To address the issue, a new regulation would require stricter controls on traders and include conditions for storage, professional qualifications and pricing, he said, adding that rice exporting would become a conditional line of business.

In the afternoon, Minister of Home Affairs Tran Van Tuan was questioned by National Assembly deputies about bribery for promotion of State employees, management of awards programmes, and administrative reform.

Deputies Le Van Cuong from Thanh Hoa Province, Nguyen Huu Phuoc from Ben Tre Province and Trinh Thi Nga from Phu Yen Province all asked about the problem and Tuan admitted that it had not been completely wiped out.

Tuan said thoroughly setting the problem would take time and require the participation of the entire society. The ministry would initially tighten its supervision of the selection and appointed of officials.

“Viet Nam has sufficient legal provisions to deal with the phenomenon. Anyboby found to commit this act will be dealt with according to law,” he said.

Check on employees

Deputies Nguyen Ngoc Minh from Ninh Thuan Province, Duong Thi Thu Ha from Lao Cai Province, Dang Nhu Loi from Ca Mau Province and Phuong Huu Viet from Bac Ninh Province asked Tuan to evaluate the quality of State employees.

Tuan said that, during 2006-08, some 2 million officials and staff had received training. Ninety per cent of the country’s officials and staff were annually evaluated in fulfilment of their duties, and these evaluations reflected an increase in the quality of State employees compared to 20 years ago, when 30-40 per cent did not meet minimum qualifications for the positions they held.

However, he said, the quality of education and training in some sectors and localities had not met professional needs.

Deputies Bui Thi Le Phi from Can Tho and Tran Thi Hoa Ry from Bac Lieu Province asked about inappropriate salary policies for employees working in rural and remote areas and in the healthcare sector.

Tuan said that a decree regulating support for officials and staff in rural and remote areas would take effect in January and was expected to give greater priority and encouragement to such people. However, he said, salary adjustments for these sectors and regions needed to be carefully considered for their impact on other social fields.

Minister of Health Nguyen Quoc Trieu confirmed that a decree on prioritising healthcare staff based on profession and work regions was under consideration, adding that the draft Law on Medical Practice had provisions aimed at narrowing the gap in healthcare services between regions.

Regarding the concern of deputies Ry and Le Van Hung from Hung Yen Province on awards, Tuan said that a small number of awards had been inappropriately presented due a lack of management oversight.

Therefore, a draft regulation on management and organisation of business awards had been submitted to the Prime Minister for approval while waiting for the Law on Emulation and Awards to be revised, he added.

Addressing concerns about the progress and effectiveness of administrative reform, Tuan noted that a set of administrative formalities would reduce outstanding regulations by 30 per cent in the near future.

Deputies Phuoc from Ben Tre Province and Dang Van Khanh from Ha Noi raised a question on why the focus was on administrative formalities, not human resources.

Tuan said that the Government had already reviewed international experience on the issue and realised that administrative procedural reform played a leading role in economic development.

Once unnecessary administrative procedures were reduced and a single-window system effectively implemented, administrative procedures would no longer create such wastes of time and money, he said.

Minister and Government Office head Nguyen Xuan Phuc suggested that administrative reform was a central part of socio-economic development and human resources for this cause needed to be sufficiently allocated.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News