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The Government will hold its regular monthly meetings in the form of teleconferences, attended by the chairmen of municipal and provincial people’s committees the length and breadth of the country, according to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
The PM made this announcement whilst chairing the cabinet’s February meeting in Hanoi on March 2-3, where he discussed the nation’s ongoing socio-political stability, despite grappling with economic difficulties during the first two months of the year.
He asked every minister, State agency head and people’s committee chairman to maintain a high sense of responsibility in addressing socio-economic matters and monitoring the effective implementation of all that falls under their remit.
“Ministries, sectors and localities shall proactively supply information to the press, and the press shall take responsibility for providing readers with truthful, accurate and prompt information regarding Party guidelines and State policies, to help them gain a thorough understanding of these matters,” PM Dung said.
He asked the ministries, sectors and local authorities to continue to flexibly carry out the five groups of socio-economic solutions, as stated in Governmental Resolutions 30/2008/NQ-CP and 01/NQ-CP.
The cabinet members discussed the country’s socio-economic performance over February and the first two months of the year, forecast the future national and global economic situation and debated measures to curb economic decline, maintain economic growth and ensure social welfare.
They listened to reports on the inspection and settlement of the public’s petitions and denunciations, the results of the ongoing fight against corruption and administrative reform and other papers relating to the creation of several new pieces of legislation.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, industrial production fetched 106 trillion VND during the first two months of 2009, representing a meager 2.5 percent year-on-year increase.
During this period, exports earned 8 billion USD, a drop of 5.1 percent year on year, while imports posted a 43.1 percent decrease, posting just 7.73 billion USD.
The ministry also reported that the consumer price index in February rose by 1.17 percent over January’s figure and was 16.13 percent higher than over the same period last year.
The country reached ODA funding agreements totalling 25 million USD with donors for two programmes and projects during the reviewed period, while disbursing 125 million USD of previously-committed ODA.
At a press briefing on the Government’s February meeting on Mar. 3, Minister and Director of the Government Office, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, spoke of the Government’s provision of Tet subsidies for the nation’s poor, confirming that the majority of these disadvantaged people benefited from this policy.
When grilled over the discovery of wrongdoings and discrepancies in several localities’ provision of this subsidy, Minister Phuc noted that this was unpopular. “The wrongdoing must be mended seriously and violators will be punished overtly and strictly,” Minister Phuc said.
As journalists expressed concern over the country’s poor exports performance, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Thanh Bien, assured reporters that his ministry is adopting bold measures to boost exports, including intensifying trade promotion campaigns, expanding markets, diversifying forms of trade, and enhancing the capacity and professional skills of market forecasters.
At the press briefing, Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Bui Hong Linh rejected reports that up to 2 million Vietnamese people will lose their jobs during 2009.
He confirmed that any unemployed Vietnamese nationals, whether inside or outside the country, will receive financial support in accordance with law.
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