Do not interrupt the big program

After the administrative boundary arrangement, Thai Nguyen province continues to implement the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development for Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas with many practical contents, contributing to improving people's lives. However, the progress of implementation and capital disbursement in some northern communes of the province is still slow.

The national target program on socio -economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas contributes to supporting the northern mountainous communes of the province to develop infrastructure and improve people's lives (photo taken in Dinh Hoa commune).

Creating sustainable livelihoods

In Na Don village, Thanh Mai commune, many households are directly benefiting from community development support projects under the National Target Program (NTPP) for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Bien, one of the households participating in Sub-project 2 from 2023, shared: Thanks to the support fund from the Program, my family was given 5 goats and 1 buffalo for breeding, and was also instructed on care techniques and disease prevention for livestock. Thanks to that, the livestock has grown healthily, and to date the herd has multiplied to more than 10 animals and initially brought in a good income from selling commercial goats. In 2025, my family escaped poverty and is currently continuing to expand livestock farming to stabilize the economy.

Also benefiting from the project, Mr. Hoang Huu Thang excitedly said: In 2024, my family was supported with a female buffalo. Thanks to good care, the buffalo has now given birth to a calf. Besides raising livestock, my family also focuses on developing agriculture and planting production forests to increase income, stabilize the economy and have conditions to take care of our children's education. My family has escaped poverty.

Dao ethnic people in Ngan Son commune grow peach trees with high economic efficiency.

In 2025, Thanh Mai commune (after the merger) was allocated more than 15.4 billion VND from the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas. However, by the end of June 2025, the commune had only disbursed nearly 20% of the capital, slower than the set plan. Faced with this situation, the local Party Committee and government have directed strongly and mobilized the participation of the entire political system to speed up the disbursement progress.

Mr. Mai Trung Tuyen, Vice Chairman of Thanh Mai Commune People's Committee, said: The implementation of national target programs has always been directed by the local Party Committee and government. Many models have been effective, contributing to creating livelihoods and improving people's lives. In the coming time, the commune will continue to inspect and review the models being implemented, evaluate their suitability and advise on more reasonable resource allocation to ensure practical effectiveness.

In Tan Ky commune, the work of reviewing and implementing the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas is being carried out proactively and closely to reality. Mr. Bui Nguyen Quynh, Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, informed: In 2025, the commune was allocated nearly 32 billion VND for projects, of which Project 4 invests in essential infrastructure, the disbursement progress is quite good, up to now, 13 projects have been advanced and settled, with more than 3.3 billion VND (reaching 50% of the plan).

Speed ​​up disbursement progress

Although many localities have proactively implemented specific solutions, the disbursement progress of the Program's capital is still slow. According to the State Treasury's report, as of July 20, 2025, the total development investment capital under the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas in the province has disbursed 403.8/841.3 billion VND, equivalent to 48% of the plan. The newly disbursed public capital reached 98.3/932.2 billion VND, equal to 11% of the plan.

New traffic roads have been invested in upgrading and expanding in Dong Phuc commune.

To speed up the disbursement progress, the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions continues to advise the province on key solutions such as: Strengthening leadership and direction of ethnic affairs; reviewing and systematizing relevant legal documents; promptly issuing resolutions suitable to reality.

The province also requested departments, branches and localities to proactively implement projects, complete documents and procedures according to regulations; link disbursement with emulation and reward movements and responsibilities of leaders.

At the same time, coordination between all levels and sectors should be strengthened; difficulties in site clearance should be removed; propaganda should be promoted and people should be encouraged to actively participate in livelihood support projects. The inspection and monitoring of progress, clarification of responsibilities and strict handling of violations should also be emphasized to improve the efficiency of investment capital use.

In recent years, Phu Thong commune has had many improvements thanks to the implementation of the National Target Program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

Mr. Hoang Thanh Oai, Director of the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions, said: In 2025, the central budget will be allocated in two phases (in April and June), right at the time when localities are completing their apparatus after the merger, causing difficulties in accessing and implementing at the grassroots level.

In that situation, immediately after the two-level local government began operating stably, the Department advised the Provincial People's Committee to direct the communes in the Program to review the assigned tasks, targets and budgets. The handover of tasks from the district to the commune was carried out continuously, without interruption.

At the same time, Steering Committees for Program implementation at all levels were established to speed up the progress of implementation and disbursement of capital, especially for capital items with low disbursement rates.

Currently, localities are focusing on implementing the Program, ensuring that its implementation is not interrupted after the merger. The work of reviewing and adjusting the investment portfolio continues to be promoted at the grassroots level. For the Program to be effective, there needs to be close coordination from the provincial to the communal level, early stabilization of the organizational apparatus after the merger, clear assignment of responsibilities to each unit, and close monitoring of the implementation progress, helping the people in the highlands to soon benefit from the policy.

In the period of 2021-2025, the communes in the northern region of Thai Nguyen province will implement 7 projects to relocate and stabilize residents in difficult areas, with a total investment of more than 136 billion VND. To date, 6 projects have been completed in the communes of Cao Minh, Nghia Ta, Tan Ky, Thuong Quan, Phuc Loc and Phong Quang. The items include: roads, housing, electricity, domestic water and auxiliary works.

The remaining project in Na Hoi village (Phuc Loc commune) has reached 50% of the volume, expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025. The projects contribute to stabilizing the lives and livelihoods of the people in the long term.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202508/khong-de-gian-doan-chuong-trinh-lon-6615a44/