Removing barriers and unlocking resources for the implementation of Program 1719 (Part 2): The difficulty doesn't entirely lie in a lack of determination.

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - Despite achieving many important results, it is estimated that by the end of 2025, Thanh Hoa will still have 4 out of 23 targets of the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, giai đoạn 2021-2030, phase I: from 2021 to 2025 (referred to as Program 1719) that will not be completed.

Young people in Na Meo commune are building rural roads, contributing to the effective implementation of Program 1719.

According to information from the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religion, four targets are expected to be unmet: the number of communes and villages escaping from extremely difficult areas; average per capita income; and the percentage of high school-aged children attending school. These are all challenging targets, directly impacted by other targets and the disbursement rate of program funds. For example, the target for average per capita income in 2024 was supposed to reach 66.2 million VND/person, but the actual result was only 42.39 million VND/person; the percentage of high school-aged children attending school was supposed to reach 98.9%, but the projected figure for the end of this year is only 95%...

Meanwhile, according to statistics, the total central government budget allocated annually to the province for the implementation of Program 1719 for the period 2021-2025 is over 2.7 trillion VND. As of June 31, 2025, the province had disbursed approximately 1.7 trillion VND, reaching 76.8% of the planned capital. Of this, development investment capital disbursed amounted to over 991.6 billion VND, reaching 84.27%, and recurrent expenditure capital disbursed amounted to 716.6 billion VND, reaching 68.3% of the planned capital. While these figures might seem low, compared to the national average, this rate is higher than that of other provinces benefiting from Program 1719.

There are many reasons for this. Many localities believe that, despite introducing numerous new projects and sub-projects with more practical implementation methods compared to previous phases, Program 1719 still has many policies that are unsuitable and difficult to apply. Among these is the policy supporting housing land under Project 1 (Addressing the shortage of housing land, housing, production land, and clean water). Specifically, the support level of 40 million VND per household for housing land consolidation is low, inconsistent with market land prices and the economic conditions of poor households. This reality has led to many former mountainous districts having to return funds because people were not enthusiastic about receiving the support.

Mr. Ha Van Nhiet, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Phu Le commune and former Head of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Department of Quan Hoa district (formerly), said: Although Party committees and authorities have gone door-to-door to propagate and persuade households living in areas at high risk of natural disasters to relocate, in reality, even with an additional 40 million VND in support from Program 1719, they still do not have enough money to buy land, let alone build a house. Furthermore, the condition for receiving support is that they must complete the procedures and obtain a land use certificate, which makes it difficult for people. Therefore, many households in this category have requested not to receive the state support money. And Quan Hoa district (formerly) had to return the allocated funds to the provincial budget.

For example, Sub-project 3 of Project 5 (Developing vocational education and job creation for ethnic minority and mountainous workers), as stipulated, is implemented by vocational education institutions and vocational education management agencies at all levels in ethnic minority and mountainous regions. However, this area has few colleges and vocational schools, mainly consisting of Vocational Education and Continuing Education Centers, thus lacking a basis for allocating funds...

Furthermore, many sub-projects and projects within the program have been slow to receive guiding legal documents from the central government. There is even a lack of uniformity and consistency in these guiding documents, making implementation difficult in many localities. For example, the target beneficiaries of Project 7, according to Decision No. 1719/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, are district health centers, while according to the Ministry of Health 's guidance in Decision No. 2415/QD-BYT, they are district health centers and district hospitals in ethnic minority and mountainous areas. Similarly, the Ministry of Education and Training has not yet issued teaching and literacy guidance materials for the implementation of Sub-project 1 of Project 5. Significantly, the implementation of Sub-project 1 of Project 9 (Investment in the development of very small ethnic minority groups and ethnic groups facing many difficulties) has yet to be implemented due to the lack of legal documents clearly defining the implementation methods...

Thanks to funding from Program 1719, the lives of ethnic minority people in Hoi Xuan commune have been steadily improving.

The aforementioned shortcomings and inadequacies are the main reasons why Thanh Hoa still has 4 targets that are difficult to achieve. However, that's not all; in reality, Program 1719 was approved by the Prime Minister in October 2021, but the central government only decided to allocate funds for its implementation in the second quarter of 2022. Therefore, the actual disbursement rate reflects the results of over 3 years of implementation, not the entire 5-year period.

However, it must be frankly acknowledged that in the implementation of Program 1719, there is still a situation where Party committees and authorities in some localities have not paid sufficient attention to focused and targeted leadership and direction, lacking decisiveness and specificity. Some localities have not truly focused on conducting on-site surveys when preparing investment projects, leading to difficulties in implementation and the need to reallocate funds. Evidence of this is that, to date, many projects under the central government's funding list with large budgets cannot be implemented, such as the projects to preserve and promote the value of Co Phuong Cave and Con Moong Cave relics...

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions, Le Minh Hanh, despite facing numerous difficulties, the implementation of Program 1719 over the past period has yielded many valuable lessons. Among them, the lesson of strengthening the decisive and thorough leadership and guidance of Party committees and authorities, and the synchronized and active participation of the entire political system, plays a crucial role. Simultaneously, effective propaganda and mobilization efforts, fostering self-reliance and self-improvement, and encouraging people to strive for prosperity are also essential. However, internal efforts alone will not be enough if Program 1719 for the 2026-2030 period is not appropriately designed to act as a lever to promote socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous regions.

Text and photos: Do Duc

Final article: Policy adjustments are necessary.

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/go-bo-rao-can-khoi-thong-nguon-luc-thuc-hien-chuong-trinh-1719-bai-2-cai-kho-khong-hoan-toan-o-su-thieu-quyet-tam-256164.htm