>>> EU project supports local economic development in Vietnam
This information was given at the mid-term workshop for the project ‘Strengthening local governance for local economic development in Vietnamese cities’ (LoGoViC), co-organised by the Association of Cities of Vietnam (ACVN) and the Hai Duong city’s People's Committee on September 19, in the capital of northern Hai Duong province – one of three cities to benefit from the project.
The EUR425,000 project, donated by the EU and the German Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), is being implemented by ACVN in collaboration with KAS during a two-year period in the three cities of Hai Duong, Hue and Tay Ninh. It aims to strengthen local governance and promote poverty alleviation through capacity building activities for municipal governments and local HBs.
Reporting after one year of implementation of the project, Dr. Marion Fischer, EU Project Co-Manager, said that the project analysed administrative and business environments from the point of view of public officials and household businesses and clarified the role of HBs and the situation of local governments to promote local economic growth and cities of great liveability.
Dr. Fischer quoted figures from a census in 2012, saying that most Vietnam enterprises were of small and medium scale (a total of over 333,800) with micro businesses accounting for a relatively large proportion. Some HBs were not even in this number.
HBs were under direct administration of city People’s Committees and were a big source of economic power and local economic growth holding a big potential for improving liveability in cities, Fischer stressed. She added that participatory planning, administration and service provision with HBs makes the People’s Committee an agent of change and progress.
Dr. Vu Thi Vinh, Secretary General of ACVN said that in the past year, the project has helped urban officials access knowledge, develop orientation skills and co-ordinate the planning and implementation of economic development strategies, as well as assisting HBs to raise awareness of their role in the community and connecting HBs with local authorities in the piloted cities.
The scheme has focused on actions to improve governance methods for good local economic growth, enhance business environment and raise capacity of HBs, including training of local officials and HBs on skills relevant to the management of household businesses, reform of administrative procedures and improvement of the delivery of public administrative procedures to HBs, improving inter-sectorial co-ordination and accountability, and facilitating better access to loans to HBs.
As far as Chairman Ta Quang Dang of Hai Duong municipal Business Association was concerned, developing human resources should be a top priority in the process of improving business environment and strengthening local governance.
A business environment making the business registration more favourable with legislation relevant to HBs to be revised to enhance the status of HBs in socio-economic development would contribute to stimulating investment and facilitating capital flow rotation, thereby increasing revenues to the budget through tax collecting from HBs operation, Dr. Fischer suggested. To facilitate access to loans from banks, she also recommended enabling HBs to use their products as guarantee for loans.
At the workshop, participants also shared their experiences in implementing economic development projects in co-ordination with ACVN at local level, including activities in support of Soc Trang city businesses and HB development through community-based tourism by homestay models of Tan Cuong Tea Speciality Area in Thai Nguyen city.
