The Government’s regular meeting – May 2011

RESOLUTION

The Government’s regular meeting – May, 2011

The Government convened its regular meeting on June 1-2 during which it discussed and decided the following issues:

1. Reports: On progress and outcomes of the elections for the 13^th National Assembly and People’s Council at all levels for 2011 – 2016 term; socio-economic performance in May and first five months of 2011, socio-economic development forecast of the first half of this year; the progress of the implementation of the Government’s Resolution 11/NQ-CP dated on February 24, 2011; list of projects with public investment cut; the progress of the implementation of the resolution adopted at the Government’s April meeting and the Government’s working agenda for May; the settlement of complaints and denunciations, the corruption fighting in May; the administrative reform in May. These reports were presented by the Minister of Home Affairs, the Minister of Planning and Investment, the Minister-Chairman of the Office of Government, and the Government Chief Inspector.

a) The Government highly appreciated the successful outcomes of the elections for the 13^th National Assembly and People’s Council at all levels for 2011- 2016 term following the effort by the entire political system and the active participation of the whole country’s voters. The elections took place in a democratic, equal and lawful manner; political security, social order and safety were secured during the elections.

The Government assigned the Ministry of Home Affairs to continue instructing localities to prepare and effectively carry out tasks at the beginning of the 2011-2015 term of the People’s Council and People’s Committee at all levels; to summarize the Government’s instructions for the elections and the elections.

b) The Cabinet members were unanimously agreed that after five months of drastic deployment of the Government’s Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP dated on January 9, 2011 and the Resolution No. 11/NQ-CP dated on February 24, 2011 on containing inflation, stabilizing macro-economy, and ensuring social welfare, positive results have been attained: Foreign currency and gold markets have been stabilized, exchange rate has been put under control; foreign currency reserve increased; credit growth controlled; banking system’s market liquidity has been gradually improved; State budget collection and expenditure fairly rose; overspending met preset target; expenditure savings have been strictly observed to shift resources for social welfare targets; the consumer price index’ growth pace has slowed down and tended to gradually dip; export turnover continued rising with over three time higher than planned figure; the cut, reallocation, and cancellation of public investment have been made under the spirit of the Government’s resolutions. The national economy maintained quite high growth rate; industrial production outpaced the preset target, most noticeably, the power supply has been ensured for production and daily life; despite adverse weather conditions, agricultural production gained stable development; total retail sales of commodities and services soared against the same period last year. Social welfare was given due attention and made progress; administrative reform and corruption fighting have been sped up. National defense was consolidated; political security and social order and safety were maintained. Diplomatic work gained positive achievements. The constructive achievements reflect the rightfulness of the measures for curbing inflation, stabilizing macro-economy, and ensuring social welfare enshrined in the Resolution 11.

However, the economy still faces with many difficulties and challenges like: high inflation, those it gradually fell down recently, particularly in the context of negative impacts of the world’s rising prices of energies and food as well as rising inflation in many countries around the world; high trade deficit, slow growth pace resulting job and income reduction; high interest rates affecting production and business; securities market shrinkage; real property market showing signs of complication; foreign investment reduction; and adversity against the poor and low-income groups.

Under the above circumstance, the Government requested ministries, sectors and localities to consistently and seriously implement the solutions enshrined in the Resolution 11, focusing on keeping the 2011 inflation rate under 15%; economic growth rate at around 6%; reducing State budget overspending to less than 5% and trade deficit under 16%; saving regular expenditure by 10%, while paying attention to the following key tasks:

- The State Bank of Việt Nam continues its tightened, cautious, and flexible monetary policy in a bid to maintain the credit growth at less than 20% this year, total means of payment at around 15-16%, with quarterly and monthly even allocation in accordance with real market situation; for securing market liquidity, the State Bank of Việt Nam should maintain flexible interest rates; asks commercial banks to create consensus in lowering interest rate levels, avoiding unhealthy competition; continues closely supervising the foreign currency and gold markets, especially for the last months of the year; develops measures to increase foreign currency reserve, control bad debts, closely supervise credit quality, ensure the liquidity of the whole banking system; expands inspection of observation of legal regulations by credit organizations and gives serious punishments to related offenders; develops project on restructuring the banking system to heighten the quality, efficiency and safety of the banking system.

- The Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Finance and other relevant agencies to give instructions to and supervise the cut and reallocation of public investment in line with the spirit of the Resolution 11 until June 30, 2011. After that, the Ministry recollects the capital to the State budget that is wrongly allocated by ministries, agencies and localities; sums up and reports to the PM for considering which projects are urgent and need immediate solutions in the fields of national defense-security, program on assisting quick and sustainable poverty reduction in 61 poorest districts under the Government’s Resolution 30a, power projects, those bridges facing possible collapse, children’s cardiovascular center and oncology center of Bạch Mai Hospital; finalizes the Government’s Report on socio-economic performance and budget estimate of the first six months of 2011, forecast of socio-economic performance and budget estimate for second half of 2011, then reports them to the Government’s Party Committee for consideration, asking for the Politburo’s comments before submitting them to the National Assembly.

- The Ministry of Finance takes prime responsibility to coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, relevant agencies and provincial and centrally-governed People’s Committees to continue instructing competent affiliates to manage and control prices in accordance with the Ordinance on price management and other related documents, avoiding price hikes of essential commodities; consistently regulates prices of power, petrol and coal on the basis of market rules with proper roadmaps, at proper times, and in line with the preset target of inflation curbing and social welfare guarantee; flexibly regulates tax tool to secure budget collection increase; studies and design tax exemption and reduction projects for small and medium-sized enterprises, then submits them to the Government in June, 2011 for consideration and submission to the National Assembly Standing Committee.

- Ministries, sectors and localities continue removing barriers against the production increases; prioritizing capital for urgent and pro-social welfare works, agriculture and rural areas development, small-and medium-sized enterprises, auxiliary industries, pro-export production, profit-making industries.

- The Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible for coordinating with other ministries, agencies and localities to implement adopted solutions for encouraging and boosting export activities, determining to control and reduce import of non-essential commodities in order to keep trade deficit under 16% of the country’s total export turnover; continues ensuring power supply for production and daily life; at the same time, encouraging the development of new and recycled energies for power generation; economical and efficient use of power.

 - The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs works with other ministries and relevant agencies to study and develop ways of adjusting regional minimum salary levels of business sector, submit them to the Government for consideration in its regular meeting for June, 2011; coordinates with localities to assist low-income groups, people who work in centralized industrial parks and free laborers.

- The Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Finance coordinate with the State Bank of Việt Nam to analyze, evaluate and report to the Government in June about the performance of the real property and securities markets, then put forth measures to the Government to organize and manage these markets for efficient operations of the markets, contributing to economic growth.

- The Ministry of Information and Communications coordinates with other ministries, relevant agencies and localities to continue pushing up information dissemination for economic entities and people to know the Party and State’s guidelines and policies. Ministries, agencies, and localities actively and timely provide full information regarding their activities to the mass media; works with the mass media to develop programs to popularize the Party’s guidelines, State’s policies, and Government and all-level administrative echelons’ instructions regarding their assigned State management competence.

- Ministries, agencies and localities review their functions, obligations, competence and structural organization, the propose aspects that should be adjusted or supplemented in order to perfect the structural organization of the Government tenure 13; sum up the implementation of the Government’s working Regulations, put forth necessary adjustments; continue accelerating administrative reform, corruption fighting, and settlement of complaints and denunciations.

2. The Government listened to the Minister of Home Affairs to present a Report on outcomes of the implementation of the Master Program on State administrative reform for 2001 - 2010 and another similar Master Program for 2011 – 2020 period; the Government’s draft Decree on promulgation of another Master Program on State administrative reform for 2011 - 2020.

The Government discussed and agreed to adopt the Summary Report on the implementation of the Program on State administrative reform for 2001 - 2010 period and an other similar Program for 2011 – 2020 period; assigned the Ministry of Home Affairs to coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Office of Government to collect the Cabinet members’ comments at the meeting, supplement and finalize the Summary Report and draft Decree on promulgation of the Program on State administrative reform for 2011 – 2020 period, then submit them to the PM for signature.

3. The Government commented on a Summary Report on the Project on  “Five million hectare afforestation” and a Plan on forest protection and development in 2011 - 2020 period, presented by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development takes prime responsibility to collaborate with other relevant ministries, agencies and localities to collect the Cabinet members’ comments, finalize the Report and develop the Plan in accordance with the five-year socio-economic development Plan for 2011 – 2015 period, ten year socio-economic development Strategy for 2011 – 2020 period, submit them to the PM for approval; and act under the PM’s assignment and on behalf of the Government to submit the reports to the National Assembly Standing Committee.

4. The Government commented on the Draft Decree on the implementation of the State owners’ rights and obligations over State-owned one-member limited liability companies and State’s capital share in other companies, presented by the Minister of Planning and Investment.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for coordinating with other relevant ministries and agencies to collect the Cabinet members’ comments, finalize the draft decree, then submit it to the PM for consideration and issuance.

5. The Cabinet members agreed to adopt the content of the Draft Decree seniority allowance for teachers presented by the Minister of Education and Training.

The Ministry of Education and Training takes prime responsibility to collaborate with other relevant ministries and agencies to collect the Cabinet members’ comments, and finalize the above-mentioned draft decree, and submit it to the PM for signature.

6. The Government commented on the Việt Nam’s Planning Scheme on human resource development for 2011 - 2020 period presented by the Minister of Planning and Investment.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is entrusted to collaborate with other ministries, agencies and localities to collect the Cabinet members’ comments on the Scheme at the meeting, finalize and submit it to the PM for approval.

7. The Government listened to and discussed the Bill on legal popularization and education presented by the Minister of Justice; Minister-Chairman of the Office of Government is to make a report of the Cabinet members’ comments on the Bill.

The Ministry of Justice is assigned to work with the Office of Government and relevant agencies to collect the Cabinet members’ comments, and finalize the Bill on legal popularization and education; act under the PM’s assignment to submit the Bill to the National Assembly Standing Committee./.

(For reference only)