There is still a passive approach in monitoring and providing feedback on development programs for ethnic minority areas.

On September 21st, the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front organized a conference to evaluate the implementation of Project 1 of the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in 2024, following monitoring, in Tra Vinh province.

Authorized by the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and Mr. Nguyen Huu Dung, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (Head of the monitoring delegation), Mr. Nguyen Huy Chi, Head of the Ethnic Affairs Department of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (Deputy Head of the monitoring delegation), chaired the meeting.

Mr. Nguyen Huy Chi, Head of the Ethnic Affairs Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, chaired the conference.

The conference aims to continue fulfilling the role and responsibilities of the Vietnam Fatherland Front in supervision work; especially contributing to raising awareness and responsibility of each individual, agency, and organization within the Vietnam Fatherland Front system regarding the supervision of the National Target Program for socio -economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2021-2030, Phase I: 2021-2025.

This is an opportunity and a condition for delegates to discuss issues related to the implementation of Project 1 under the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in Tra Vinh province. From there, they can proactively prevent and stop negative violations; promptly identify difficulties, obstacles, and limitations; propose solutions to competent authorities in accordance with regulations; and promote the people's right to self-governance.

The conference received many insightful contributions and shared experiences in implementing the monitoring work of the Community Investment Monitoring Board and the People's Inspection Board regarding the implementation of Project 1. They exchanged and shared innovative and effective approaches to improving the content and methods of monitoring to suit the specific conditions in each locality in ethnic minority and mountainous areas. They also shared the difficulties encountered during the implementation process.

Authorized by the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Mr. Nguyen Huy Chi, Head of the Ethnic Affairs Department of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, delivered the concluding remarks at the Conference.

Authorized by the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, at the Conference, Mr. Nguyen Huy Chi acknowledged the achievements after nearly 3 years of implementing the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas (2022, 2023, 2024) in Tra Vinh province. In particular, he highlighted the contents related to Project 1 (Addressing the shortage of residential land, housing, production land, and clean water).

According to Mr. Nguyen Huy Chi, the review and selection of beneficiaries was carried out in a public, transparent, and democratic manner from the grassroots level; ensuring the right beneficiaries, the right quotas, avoiding overlaps, and involving the participation and consensus of the people and communities in the areas being reviewed. At the same time, priority was given to selecting those in greater need, such as: ethnic minority households facing specific difficulties; ethnic minority women; and those affected by natural disasters in the area…

Mr. Nguyen Huy Chi stated that the results of implementing the Program in the province over the past period have made a significant contribution to the task of economic development and improving the lives of people in ethnic minority areas. Transportation infrastructure in the region has been improved to enhance trade, facilitate the flow of goods, and meet the travel needs of the people.

The basic irrigation system meets production requirements; socio-cultural infrastructure has received investment attention. Many programs and projects implemented in the region have been completed and put into use, yielding practical results; contributing to narrowing the development gap between ethnic minority areas and other regions of the province; aiming to gradually reduce the number of particularly disadvantaged communes and hamlets by 2025.

Support policies that directly impact ethnic minority communities, especially those under Project 1 of the Program, have been decisively implemented by all levels and sectors. They have promptly addressed difficulties and urgent needs regarding living conditions for poor households in ethnic minority areas, helping many households gradually stabilize their lives and rise out of poverty.

According to Mr. Nguyen Huy Chi, in addition to the achievements, the implementation of Project 1 of the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in Tra Vinh province in 2024 also faced some difficulties. Specifically, the progress of implementing projects, sub-projects, and component contents of the Program (including Project 1), as well as the disbursement rate of planned capital, was quite slow and did not meet the targets set in the Plan, especially the recurrent expenditure capital.

Policies that have a direct and significant impact on the lives of ethnic minority communities, such as policies supporting housing and production land, always face immense pressure in creating land funds for implementation. Policies supporting vocational retraining (instead of providing production land) have low support levels from the state budget (no more than 10 million VND per household), and have not been truly effective in helping beneficiaries escape poverty.

Local authorities, departments, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front at the provincial, district, and commune levels, as well as the Front Work Committees, have been passive in implementing, monitoring, and providing feedback on the Program in their respective areas.

“The opinions exchanged at the Conference will be received and compiled by the Supervisory Delegation and submitted to the Standing Committee to serve as a basis for perfecting the contents related to the implementation of Project 1 under the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in the coming time in an effective and practical manner. Authorized by the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, I would like to acknowledge and commend the contributions, enthusiasm, and sense of responsibility of the delegates who participated and offered opinions at this Conference,” said Mr. Nguyen Huy Chi.

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