Many opinions assess that, compared to the general development of the country and each locality, the lives of ethnic minorities are still difficult; the rate of poor, near-poor households and the risk of falling back into poverty is still high.
Therefore, the draft documents submitted to the 14th National Party Congress, which set out the requirements to promote the positivity, self-reliance and self-reliance of ethnic minorities in socio-economic development, rising out of poverty and sustainable multidimensional poverty reduction, are correct and necessary.
Implementing the resolutions of the Party Central Committee, Party committees at all levels and Party organisations in many localities always identify sustainable poverty reduction as not only a socio-economic task but also a top political imperative, a measure of the quality and capacity of Party organisations.
Nguyen Truong Giang, Secretary of the Thu Lum Commune Party Committee, Lai Chau Province, acknowledged: Up to now, during the 13th Party Congress, the province’s multidimensional poverty reduction work has achieved many outstanding results, especially in ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, remote areas, border areas, and islands.
The draft Political Report and Appendix 4 assessing the 5-year implementation of the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy for the 2021-2030 period further affirm the Party’s political determination in the task of sustainable poverty reduction. From here, the role of Party committees and authorities, especially at the grassroots level, in thoroughly grasping and implementing this important work is a measure of the capacity of the Party organisation.
Up to now, during the 13th Party Congress, the province’s multidimensional poverty reduction work has achieved many outstanding results, especially in ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, remote areas, border areas, and islands. The draft Political Report and Appendix 4 assessing the 5-year implementation of the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy for the 2021-2030 period further affirm the Party’s political determination in the task of sustainable poverty reduction. From here, the role of Party committees and authorities, especially at the grassroots level, in thoroughly grasping and implementing this important work is a measure of the capacity of the Party organisation.
Nguyen Truong Giang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Thu Lum Commune, Lai Chau Province
Thu Lum is the westernmost border commune of the Fatherland, home to the Ha Nhi, La Hu, and Dao ethnic groups, who have faced poverty. Promoting the will of self-reliance of ethnic minorities in the commune and rising out of poverty is one of the key tasks that the Party Committee of the commune is determined to carry out in the 2020-2025 term. Right from the beginning of the term, the poverty reduction programme was included in the Resolution of the Commune Party Congress, concretised into action plans, thematic resolutions, and permeated to each Party cell.
Accordingly, the Commune Party Committee has integrated poverty reduction targets into monthly and quarterly resolutions, using poverty reduction results as criteria for assessing the quality of grassroots party organszations and party members. This solution has created profound changes. In the period of 2020-2024, Thu Lum has reduced the rate of poor households from 58.6% to 40.7%.
The Party Committee coordinated with the Commune People’s Committee and socio-political organisations to diversify livelihoods according to the advantages of the highlands, encouraged the expansion of high-value medicinal plant growing areas under the forest canopy, and linked with the policy of paying for forest environmental services.
Thereby, it significantly contributed to the results of increasing the forest cover rate in the area to 82.52% (higher than the provincial average). In 2025, the commune supported the construction of social houses for nearly 190 poor and near-poor households. The average income per capita of the commune is currently more than 34 million VND/year. The commune has 5 OCOP products that have been recognised.
From July 1, 2025, Thu Lum commune (new) has a larger area, after merging Thu Lum commune and Ka Lang commune. Lessons learned about the role of the Party organisation in promoting the positivity, self-reliance and self-strengthening of ethnic minorities in socio-economic development have continued to be thoroughly grasped by the Thu Lum Commune Party Committee in the new development period.
The content of the Commune Party Committee’s resolution for the 2025-2030 term puts poverty reduction at the center of leadership and direction throughout, from the commune to the village and hamlet party cells.
According to Giang, in remote, isolated, border and island localities, the Party organisation, with the core being the head of the Party Committee, plays an important role in promoting the positivity, self-reliance and self-strengthening of ethnic minorities in socio-economic development, rising up to escape poverty and sustainably reducing multidimensional poverty.
Therefore, it is necessary to seriously implement the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws on encouraging and protecting grassroots cadres and party members who dare to think, dare to do, dare to innovate, dare to take responsibility for the common good.
This plays an important role in orienting cadre work by helping to eliminate fear, fear of mistakes, fear of responsibility, creating conditions for grassroots cadres to promote creativity and decisiveness, especially in border areas and ethnic minority areas.
