Vietnamese government to refrain from administratively managing economy

By    May 4, 2016 | 11:09 pm PT
Vietnam’s annual economic growth rate this year must reach the target of 6.7 percent, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in the first meeting with his cabinet on Wednesday.

Vietnam wrapped up its leadership transition last month, and the new administration has aimed for a change in the way the government runs.

The new government will shift from enforcing administrative orders to proactively creating the conditions to serve the public interest, said the Prime Minister.

The government will refrain from issuing administrative orders to control the economy so that it can let the market economy run by itself as much as possible, said the Prime Minister.

He also added that “ask-give” mechanism, which is widespread at all levels of administration and common in many governance activities, will soon be eliminated since the mechanism changes people who are supposed to be served to the ones who are managed, not let alone the mechanism creates loopholes for corruption.

“We need to boost decentralization, local authorities are supposed to be left to deal with what they are capable of handling well, the central Government and the Prime Minister are not supposed to hold on to such things,” said the Prime Minister.

The central government will focus on shaping policies, developing legal framework and creating favorable business and investment conditions, Prime Minister Phuc highlighted.

Start-up spirit

Vietnam is determined to uphold the spirit of boosting the growth of the business sector.

“The government has a high opinion of businesses. [It] will try to resolve difficulties in time so that businesses can grow,” said Prime Minister Phuc, adding that the government will maintain its protection of people’s rights over holding property and doing business.

The government is working on a draft policy on how to support businesses so that they can become the momentum of the economic growth.

Statistics show that more than 35,000 companies were newly established in the first four months of this year and doubled the registered capital to VND248 trillion ($11 billion) from the same period last year.

“This drastic change is due to the enforcement of Investment Law and Business Law which has help improved the business and investment environment,” said Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung.

However, many things still need to be done, as the new cabinet suggested. They include easing regulations and rules so that businesses can get better access to resources such as land, capital and labor.

Sustainable development

With the growth target of 6.7 percent, the government has also promised to ensure social welfare and improve the people’s well-being.

The government will step up the fight against unsafe and contaminated food following the public outrage about food safety and hygiene.

For instance, the government has introduced new law on food safety which sentences offenders to as many as 20 years in prison.

Concerning recent massive fish deaths along the central coastal areas, the Prime Minister requested related authorities to find the cause as soon as possible, examine discharge process at manufacturing facilities, help people in the affected areas to recover from the aftermath, and punish individuals who exploited the mass fish kills and promoted public disorder.

 
 
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