The Government’s regular meeting - February 2010

RESOLUTION

The Government’s regular meeting - February 2010

The Government convened its regular meeting for February on March 2-3, 2010 to discuss and decide the following issues:

1. The Government discussed and approved reports on socio-economic performance in February and the first two months; world and Việt Nam’s economic forecasts;  macro-economic performance, reasons and solutions; the implementation of the Resolution approved at the Government’s regular meeting in January 2010 and the Government’s working agenda for February; the preparation and issuance of documents stipulating the enforcement of laws  and ordinances; the situation of the Lunar New Year holiday; administrative reforms in February; inspection work, settlement of complaints and accusations, and anti-corruption in February. These reports were presented by the Minister of Planning and Investment, the Minister of Finance, the Chairman of the National Financial Supervisory Commission, the Governor of the State Bank of Việt Nam, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Government Chief Inspector, and the Minister, Chairman of the Office of Government.

The socio-economic performance in the first two months had many achievements. Industrial value increased 13.6% against the same period of 2009; agricultural-forestry-seafood production continued to grow; service sector boomed, trade and tourism remained stable; domestic goods, particularly consumer goods dominated the market; export turnover rose; the management of currencies, interest rate, and exchange rate was very active, flexible and cautious, following market rules and practical demand of the economy; political security and social safety were secured; hygiene and food safety were well-managed, epidemics were put under control.

The Government ordered ministries, sectors, and localities to actively prepare and secure the supply of goods, tighten market management, organize the Lunar New Year Holiday for all people, assist social policy beneficiaries, residents in natural disaster-hit areas, poor households, unsupported old people, orphans, the handicapped, officers and soldiers of all military forces. Thanks to special attention of the Party, Government, and its grass-roots authorities, people could enjoy the Lunar New Year Holiday in a happy, healthy, and economical atmosphere.

Emerging from the practical socio-economic performance, many problems still remain and continue bothering the people and the business community: Droughts and epidemics hinder agricultural production; the increase in world price of materials and fuels leads to high input expenses; at the same time, the adjustment of exchange rate and the raise in price of petrol, oil, electricity, and clean water are still under-performed in information dissemination, which affects the price premises and increases the consumer price index (CPI); trade deficit remains high; traffic accidents, the violations of traffic regulations, and crimes are on the rise.

The Government evaluated that the CPI in February rose higher against the same period last year but the rate is not as high as the earlier forecast. Looking at the current socio-economic conditions, the Government believed that overall objective and socio-economic targets adopted by the National Assembly could be achieved once the whole political system, people and the business community link hands together. Ministries, sectors, and localities were asked to continue carried out solutions stipulated in the Government’s Resolution 03/NQ-CP dated on January 15, 2010 on key measures for the implementation of the socio-economic plan and State budget estimation in 2010, focusing on comprehensive solutions to ensure macro-economic stability and social security, to control high inflation, and to strive for higher economic growth rate. The measures are as follows:

- The State Bank of Việt Nam will closely supervise the monetary, interest and exchange rate markets; regulate monetary tools in a flexible, active, and cautious manner; maintain the growth of total payment volume and credit debt at 25%; prevent high inflation rate, meet the liquidity of the national economy and banking system; regulate market interest rate in line with the situations of inflation and capital supply; regulate foreign currency market and exchange rate flexibly in order to encourage export, reduce trade deficit, and improve international payment balance; direct and instruct commercial banks in granting loans for businesses; consolidate inspection and supervision over trading activities of credit organizations that relate to gold, foreign currencies and foreign currency management in conformity with the laws, pay more attention to the regulation on fixing the selling-buying price for foreign currencies, avoid speculation or illegal restoration of foreign currencies which goes against the State Monetary Policy.

- The Ministry of Finance serves as the main implementer, in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other relevant agencies, to keep an eye on price fluctuation of domestic and international markets, analyze in time the changes and propose measures to adjust related policies; continue regulating price policy on the basis of market mechanism and State management; review and tightly inspect the roadmap and scenarios for the increase of market price, and registered prices of some key commodities, especially petrol, transportation, cement, steel and iron, fertilizers, food, milk, and medicines; proactively take actions to amend market defects, constraint the concomitant price hike, especially of input materials; publicize the selling prices of electricity and coal for stable electricity generation of the whole 2010; regulate fiscal policies in a flexible and supervisory manner, striving to increase budget collection and  use State budget effectively while reducing the overspending down to the National Assembly’s preset target. Chairmen of provincial and municipal People’s Committees will direct their competent affiliates to expand inspection and supervision over the registration and publicizing the selling prices as well as selling goods at the publicized prices; seriously give penalties to any violation relating to price management regulations, any misuse of the State’s adjustment policy to improperly push up the prices, any speculation or illegal restoration of commodities.

- The Ministry of Planning and Investment serves as the main implementer, in collaboration with ministries, sectors and localities, to focus on removing obstacles and bolster production, business and investment; speed up the implementation and disbursement of projects using State budget, governmental bonds, State’s development credit, ODA and FDI; review and firmly terminate ineffective works while prioritizing capital for more effective projects; speed up the economic growth, reform economic structure, develop agriculture and rural, and ensure social security.

- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development serves as the main implementer, in collaboration with ministries, sectors, and localities to mobilize all resources for preventing and fighting against forest fires, effectively put an end to deforestation; overcome droughts to secure water for the Winter-Spring crop, effectively address epidemics in plants and domestic animals; cooperate with the State Bank of Việt Nam to assist coffee planters selling their products especially during this time when the world’s coffee price decreases, thus allowing the planters to have enough capital for continuing production.

- The Ministry of Industry and Trade will focus on speeding up industrial production, encouraging businesses to renovate technologies, apply new management methods, use domestic input materials for production, and save spending cost for higher competiveness and business efficiency; strengthening trade promotion activities, encouraging domestic commodities consumption, and revitalizing the “Buy Việt Nam” campaign to expand domestic production capacity to replace import products, taking measures to control importation of luxurious goods to keep trade deficit under 20% of the total export turnover; seeking new export markets; tightening domestic market management, fighting against speculation and unplanned price increases in order to stabilize markets and prices.

- The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism serves as the main implementer, in collaboration with ministries, sectors, and localities to enhance examination and instruction of organizing economical, safe, and practical festivals; restraint disorder and insecurity, impose heavy penalties to any wrong-doings activities at the festivals.

- The Ministry of Public Security serves as the main implementer, in collaboration with ministries, sectors, and localities to consolidate patrol, control and mitigate traffic accidents and congestion; strictly impose serious penalties to any traffic order and safety violation; enhance the prevention and eradication of crimes and social evils.

- Ministries, sectors, and localities must pay more attention to anti-corruption, settlement of complaints and accusations from residents and businesses. The Ministry of Home Affairs collaborates with relevant ministries and sectors to summarize the implementation of the Overall Program on administrative reforms in the period of 2001-2010; speed up administrative reforms, focusing on trimming 30% of administrative procedures in the second stage of the Project 30 on streamlining administrative procedures in State management.

- The Ministry of Information and Communications will direct mass media to disseminate fully, timely and accurately all the country’s socio-economic performance as well as the Government’s guidelines and measures on price control to stabilize the national macro-economy, create confidence and social consensus, encourage people and enterprises to continue striving for the realization of the pre-set targets; ministries, sectors, and localities must be active in providing information adequately and timely to the public so that people can understand and support the guidelines, policies and instructions of  the Party, State, Government, ministries, sectors and localities.

2. The Government listened to the Minister of Planning and Investment presenting a Project on renovation and transformation of economic structure in the period of 2011-2020 which focuses on establishing a higher efficient, productive and competitive national economy.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment will cooperate with relevant agencies to collect the Government members’ comments and finalize the Project. Thereon, the Ministry will select proper contents and put them into the socio-economic development strategy of the 2011-2020 period, the socio-economic development plan of the 2011-2015 period; propose solutions which should be immediately implemented in the Government’s performance in 2010; and perfect strategies and planning schemes for related sectors and fields.

3. The Government listened to reports presented by the Minister of Construction and the Minister of Planning and Investment on the Master Plan on the Construction of Hà Nội until 2030, with vision to 2050, and the investment of the Hà Nội–Hồ Chí Minh City Express Railway Project.

- The Ministry of Construction will serve as the main implementer, in collaboration with the Hà Nội Municipal People’s Committee and relevant agencies to collect the Government members’ comments, continue to clarify unclear issues presented in Hà Nội’s Master Plan, then collect comments from the Hà Nội People’s Council, specialists, and scientists to finalize it; further collect appraisal opinions from the State Assessment Council and make a report on the Plan to the National Assembly before submitting it to the PM for approval.

- The Ministry of Transport will serve as the main implementer, in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and relevant agencies to collect the Government members’ comments to perfect the Report on the Hà Nội–Hồ Chí Minh City Railway Express Project, then ask for guidelines from the Politburo and the Party Central Committee before sending it to the PM for consideration and submission to the National Assembly for approval.

4. The Government discussed Bills on: Environment Protection Tax; Việt Nam Sea; Natural Resources (amended); and Inspection (amended), presented by the Minister of Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Government Inspector General, and the draft Decree on business registration presented by the Minister of Planning and Investment.

- The Ministry of Finance will serve as the main implementer, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, the Office of Government, and other relevant agencies to collect the Government members’ comments to perfect the Bill on Environment Protection Tax; the Minister of Finance, assigned by the PM, will submit the Bill to the National Assembly.

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will serve as the main implementer, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, the Office of Government and relevant agencies to collect the Government members’ comments, then perfect the Bill on Việt Nam Sea; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, assigned by the PM, will submit the Bill to the National Assembly.

- The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will serve as the main implementer, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, the Office of Government and relevant agencies to collect the Government members’ comments to perfect the Law on Natural Resources (amended); the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, assigned by the PM, will submit the amended Law to the National Assembly.

- The Government Inspectorate will serve as the main implementer, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, the Office of Government and relevant agencies to collect the Government members’ comments, and continue to study, amend and finalize the Bill on Inspection (amended) with focus on clarifying the relations between administrative and professional inspectors, ministerial and general department-level (or lower) inspectors, functions-obligations-competence of the Government Inspectorate; make a report on the Bill to the PM for comments before presenting it to the Government for discussion at its regular meeting in March 2010, and then submit the Bill to the National Assembly.

- The Ministry of Planning and Investment will serve as the main implementer, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, the Office of Government and relevant bodies to collect the Government members’ comments to perfect the Draft Decree on  business registration, then submit it to the PM for signature and issuance./.