Removing difficulties to promote development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas

The lives of ethnic minority people have improved thanks to the National Target Program on Socio -Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas

In 2024, under the close direction of the Provincial People's Committee and the close coordination of departments, branches and local authorities, the National Target Program has achieved many positive results. The economic growth of the ethnic minority region is estimated at over 7.5%; the average income per capita reached over 50 million VND. Transport, health,education and cultural infrastructure were invested synchronously, with many indicators reaching from 99 to 100%. The multidimensional poverty rate in the whole region decreased to 5.47% (of which, poor households were 1.91%; near-poor households were 3.56%), a significant decrease compared to the previous year.

Infrastructure investment has been synchronously developed and social security has been paid attention to, creating an important premise for the sustainable development of ethnic minority areas. Security and order have been maintained, and religious activities have been ensured in accordance with regulations. The province has also proactively integrated public investment programs, implemented models such as resettlement areas associated with preserving ethnic culture, and developed community tourism in districts such as Lac Duong, Don Duong, Di Linh, Cat Tien, etc., thereby creating a new direction for sustainable livelihoods of the people.

Despite many positive results, according to the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions, the implementation of the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas still faces many difficulties and challenges. Ms. Cil Bri - Director of the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions said that one of the biggest obstacles at present is the progress of capital disbursement, especially career capital, which is still slow compared to the requirements due to overlapping subjects of application between programs. Some key projects such as: support for residential land, production land, housing construction, population arrangement, production development according to value chains... are facing many difficulties due to the lack of specific guidance documents from the Central Government or overlapping regulations that are not close to local reality.

In addition, the merger of the district-level ethnic affairs management apparatus into the Office of the People's Council and People's Committee of the district has caused many localities to lack specialized staff, or new staff have not yet fully grasped the policy, causing confusion in the implementation process.

In order to overcome the shortcomings and accelerate the implementation of the set goals, the province is resolutely implementing many synchronous solutions. At a recent working session with the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Van Tuan directed that the Department needs to step up propaganda and raise awareness of ethnic policies; speed up the disbursement of public investment capital; departments, branches and localities must be determined to complete the goal of eliminating temporary houses before June 30.

According to Ms. Cil Bri, in the coming time, the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions will focus on urging investors to accelerate the disbursement of capital in 2025 and capital transferred from previous years. At the same time, it will advise on adjusting related resolutions and policies to better suit the new development stage. The review and re-demarcation of regions I, II, and III is also being accelerated to ensure that support policies are targeted to the right subjects and maximize efficiency.

The Department will also enhance the spirit of initiative and responsibility in advising on the implementation of national target programs, especially the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas. In addition to coordinating with departments, branches and localities to promptly remove obstacles in the implementation and disbursement of contents, sub-projects and projects using transitional capital and capital allocated in 2025; The Department also focuses on advising on policy orientations for the period 2026 - 2030, in accordance with the two-level local government model (provincial and communal levels).

At the same time, the Department will coordinate with the Department of Finance and related departments and branches to organize grassroots working groups to guide the implementation of ethnic and religious work in general and national target programs in particular, ensuring no interruption in the implementation of ethnic policies in the context of converting to a two-level government model at the local level.

The National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas is a sustainable development strategy with a long-term vision. In the coming period, enhancing the proactiveness and responsibility in advisory and management work at all levels will be the key factor determining the effectiveness of policy implementation. Only when the policy truly “touches” each person and each village can the goal of comprehensive and sustainable development be realized, as well as narrowing the development gap between regions, ensuring social security and promoting the internal strength of ethnic minority people.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/xa-hoi/202505/go-kho-de-day-manh-phat-trien-vung-dtts-va-mien-nui-165532b/