Difficulties and challenges
Muong Nhe is a mountainous district located on Vietnam’s border with China and Laos. One of the border junctions is called A Pa Chai, which means ‘the cock-crow that three countries can hear together'. The district comprises 16 communes (11 border communes) with a population of 59,330 from 11 different ethnic groups including the Thai, Kinh, Mong, Ha Nhi, Kho Mu, Si La, Xa Phang, Dao, San Chi, Cong, and Khang.
All of the communes are poverty stricken but benefiting from the Government’s Programme 135 which has provided needy ethnic minority households with assistance for housing, productive land and clean water. Since the implementation of Government Resolution 30a on rapid and sustainable poverty reduction in the country’s 62 poorest districts, Muong Nhe has enjoyed investment programmes and special projects for forest care, protection and planting, and agricultural production development, as well as assistance with exporting labour.
However, changeable natural conditions affecting human health, crops and livestock have had negative impacts on the implementation of Muong Nhe’s socio-economic development plan. According to secretary of the Nam Ke commune Party Committee, Lo Van Sung, flash floods often destroy land and crops and cause diseases in humans and livestock.
As a western border district, Muong Nhe is faced with very specific issues. Secretary of the Muong Nhe district Party Committee, Po Diep Sang, said that over the seven years from 2002 to 2009, the district separated and established new communes three times, bringing the number of communes from six in 2002, when the district was established, to 16 in 2009. Many new communal cadres moved in from other places and knew little about the local area or ethnic minority languages, which posed difficulties for leadership, disseminating information and mobilising people. The number of staff from the Mong ethnic group is too little compared to population. 70% of the population in Muong Nhe district is Mong but most of them are itinerants from other places with no permanent registered address, which presents challenges in training new personnel.
The large proportion of itinerants in Muong Nhe has also caused difficulties for local government management. In 2002, there were six communes with 106 villages and a population of about 20,000. Today the district has 16 communes, 157 villages and 59,330 people, with itinerants accounting for three quarters of the district's population. The wave of mass migration into the area, reclaiming land from the old forests for cultivation, and even the Muong Nhe nature reserve watersheds have seriously affected the ecosystem. In addition, hostile forces that take advantage of democracy to intentionally promote illegal religious activities still remain a big problem.
Remarkable results
Thanks to care and investment from the Party and State, as well as the efforts of the district authorities and people, the average annual economic growth rate is now 9.75%. Food production reached 352 kg per person per year, providing enough basic food for the entire district. Technical infrastructure has also gradually been improved. In 2002, only two communes had roads leading to the district centre. Now, all communes have roads; 13 villages in seven communes have access to the national grid; and 70% of households have been provided with a clean water supply.
Culture, education and healthcare in the district have also seen remarkable progress in both quantity and quality. There were only six elementary schools and four junior schools in 2002; now there are 55 schools with 884 classrooms and 18,708 students. There were previously only five communal health centres and two regional clinics, but now Muong Nhe has a central hospital, three regional clinics and 16 communal health stations with 148 hospital beds. 128 out of 152 villages have their own nursing staff and programmes on preventing malaria, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, polio and tetanus have been implemented in all 16 communes.
Mr Po Diep Sang, stressed the need to strive towards socio-economic development targets and help people rise out of poverty as quickly as possible.
In the first six months of 2011, the winter-spring rice crop covered 31.7/80 hectares, an increase of 6.8 hectares over the same period in 2010, and farmers are gradually applying scientific and technological advances in rice production.
Some short-term industrial crops were also cultivated including sesame (108 hectares), peanuts (278 hectares), cotton (7 hectares), and soybeans (566.2 hectares). There are now 50,429 head of livestock, an increase of 1,737 compared to the same period last year, and disseminating information to raise community awareness of protecting the forest has also been a key focus recently.
According to Sung A Ky, head of Huoi Khon village in Ke Nam commune, the living conditions of his family and people are much improved. “We now have roads, clean water, and schools, and many households have received housing assistance from the Party and State”, he added. 60 year-old Giang Thi Pao, a Mong woman from Huoi Khon village in Nam Ke commune, says, “My family of 12 has settled here since 2005. Our life is much better than it used to be; we have more food and cattle, and our children can go to school. The Party and State also helped us to build this house.”
With its past achievements in socio-economic development, it seems that Muong Nhe’s goal of reducing poverty is on the road to great success.
