Key investments create effective poverty reduction push

Focused investment

In recent times, Bac Giang province has actively directed and implemented the National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction. According to the report of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, in the period of 2021-2025, the central budget development investment capital supported the province with 368.9 billion VND. Along with the above support, the province and districts arranged additional funding, and local people promoted their internal strength and self-reliance to escape poverty.

The project to renovate and upgrade the inter-commune road An Ba - Tuan Dao (Son Dong) is under construction.

After nearly 5 years of implementation, poverty reduction work in the province has had positive changes. By the end of 2024, the poverty rate in the whole province will be 1.73% (from 24,639 households in 2021 to 8,310 households). In Son Dong district alone, the poverty rate will decrease from 25.8% (5,350 households) in 2021 to 10.26% (2,176 households), the district no longer has poor households who are meritorious people.

Promoting the achieved results, this year, the province aims to reduce the poverty rate to below 1%. At this time, the Central Government has allocated 138 billion VND from the public investment fund to the province to implement socio-economic development projects. The Provincial People's Committee has completed the first capital allocation with 67.3 billion VND (50.3 billion VND from the central budget; the rest is from the provincial budget).

In 2025, Bac Giang will receive 138 billion VND from the Central Government's public investment fund to implement socio-economic development projects and sustainable poverty reduction. To date, the province has allocated 67.3 billion VND in the first phase, of which 50.3 billion VND is supported by the Central Government budget and the rest is from the provincial budget.

According to Mr. Hoang Van Vy, Deputy Head of the Department of Economic Cooperation and Rural Development (Department of Agriculture and Environment), in order to focus on key and concentrated investments and avoid spreading out and overlapping beneficiaries and areas, this year, the functional sector advised the province to determine investment projects that must meet the criteria of long-term and sustainable benefits. The focus is on investing in vocational education development, vocational training, job creation; building inter-regional and connecting transport infrastructure; and eliminating temporary and dilapidated houses for poor households.

These are decisive factors that help people stabilize their lives, become self-reliant, increase their income and escape poverty sustainably. Specifically, in the field of employment, the province focuses on investing in infrastructure construction and information technology equipment to modernize the labor market information system, form an online job exchange; build facilities to develop vocational education in disadvantaged areas. Prioritize investment in developing socio-economic infrastructure, eliminating temporary and dilapidated houses for poor households in Son Dong district.

Strive to reach the finish line on time

Currently, investors are focusing on implementing and accelerating the progress of approved projects. In addition to favorable factors, during the implementation process, units still encounter many difficulties and obstacles because at this time, localities are restructuring and streamlining their apparatus, leading to changes in the agencies in charge of implementing the program. In addition, many projects encounter difficulties in site clearance.

In the 2021-2025 period, Son Dong district was allocated more than 370 billion VND to support investment in the construction of 9 projects to develop transport and healthcare infrastructure; maintain and repair 44 inter-village roads; repair pumping stations, solidify canals and dozens of other important projects and works. Although the poverty rate of the district in 2024 has decreased significantly, the number of poor households is still the highest in the province.

According to Ms. Tong Thi Huong Giang, Vice Chairwoman of the District People's Committee, at weekly and monthly meetings, the District Poverty Reduction Steering Committee directed member agencies and units to regularly report on progress, arising problems and expected completion time. Immediately after the policy of organizing a two-level government (including province and commune), Son Dong stopped construction of two medical station construction projects in Thanh Luan and Huu San communes; the remaining projects are being accelerated, striving to complete before May 30, 2025.

Implementing the project of modernizing labor market information and establishing an online job exchange in the period of 2023-2025 (with a budget of more than 10 billion VND), the Provincial Employment Service Center actively directed the winning bidder to concentrate human resources to organize the construction of facilities, install equipment, train and transfer technology... Mr. Nguyen Xuan Son, Director of the Center, said that up to now, the project items have been basically completed, and the unit is completing procedures to disburse in April.

The national target program for sustainable poverty reduction is entering the final stage. Experience from localities that have done well shows that to successfully reduce poverty, there needs to be strong determination in the leadership and direction of Party committees and authorities and the self-reliance of the people themselves. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen socialization and help the poor access more basic social services, focusing on jobs, housing, and socio-economic infrastructure, towards the goal of sustainable poverty reduction and preventing relapse into poverty.

To speed up the disbursement of capital in the following months, the Provincial People's Committee directed departments, branches, sectors and localities to focus on removing difficulties in implementing investment procedures, strengthening coordination between relevant units, ensuring effective use of public investment capital in 2025. Thoroughly implementing the direction of the province, local authorities, functional agencies and construction units are making efforts to remove bottlenecks in electricity, environment, traffic, etc.

For example, in Tuan Dao commune (Son Dong), the process of renovating and upgrading the An Ba - Tuan Dao inter-commune road encountered difficulties because some households did not agree to hand over the land. The leaders of the commune People's Committee directly went to each related household to persistently propagate and persuade the families to agree. Thereby helping the construction unit ensure the project implementation time.

Comrade Bui Quang Huy, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment said: To achieve the set goals, in addition to focusing on implementing solutions under the direction of the province, agencies, units and localities need to continue to promote administrative reform, creating favorable conditions for poor and near-poor households to access and effectively use preferential policies on credit, education, training, health, etc. Strengthen inspection and supervision, promptly detect and prevent violations, and overcome shortcomings in implementing poverty reduction projects. Pay attention to praising, honoring and replicating advanced examples, good initiatives, experiences and models in implementing poverty reduction work.

Article and photos: Hai Van

Source: https://baobacgiang.vn/dau-tu-trong-diem-tao-cu-hich-giam-ngheo-hieu-qua-postid416101.bbg