A two-day discussion, chaired by National Assembly Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien, is being broadcast live, during which issues of interest are to be further illuminated through arguments between deputies and Cabinet members or between deputies.
Many deputies agreed with the Government’s assessments of the country’s socio-economic performance in 2016, which said that while numerous difficulties still remained, positive socioeconomic changes had been made.
Deputy Nguyen Huu Cau from the Central province of Nghe An appreciated the new Government for its resolve to work harder to serve the people and hoped that that spirit would continue well in the form of action in 2017 and in further years to come.
However, many voiced their concern about high public debts, debt repayment pressures and inefficient State-owned enterprises.
Deputy Nguyen Huu Cau proposed tightening budget disciplines and public debt management. The National Assembly should tighten the public debt cap and task the Government with seeking to curb public debts, he said.
The Government asked the National Assembly to approve public debts, Government debts and national foreign debts, accounting for 65%, 55% and 50%, respectively, of the country’s GDP in 2017 and 2016-2020.
Cau suggested that public debts, Government debts and national foreign debts should not exceed 63%, 50% and 47% of GDP by 2020 and asked the Government to quickly deal with five projects struggling against rising investment capital, namely Thai Nguyen iron and steel, Phuong Nam paper pulp, Ninh Binh nitrogenous fertilizer, Dung Quat bioenergy and Dinh Vu fibre projects, as well as individuals and organisations involved.
Regarding the improvement of the business environment, many deputies related that the Government had made aggressive efforts to tackle difficulties for businesses, citing the issuance of Resolution 19 on major tasks and solutions in the field in 2016 and 2017 with visions towards 2020 and Resolution 35 on supporting enterprises’ development with a vision towards 2020, and expressed their hope that these were to create a breakthrough and a new chapter for enterprise development.
However, many considered that some local administrations and offices had not taken the creation of action plans to realise Resolution 19 and Resolution 35 seriously, seeing it as a hindrance in making the business environment better.
Deputy Nguyen Ba Son of the Central city of Da Nang proposed that the Government, ministries and sectors continue screening business and investment conditions and regulations so that the National Assembly could revise those no longer active.
Besides, the private sector should have a louder voice and stronger involvement in the legislative process, especially in legislation relating to enterprises’ rights and interests, Son noted.
Regional economic development and connectivity also caught the interest of deputies, as they viewed these issues as important to spurring the national economy’s growth. The issue was recognised by the Party and State and has been continuously clarified through the Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Party Congress.
Nguyen Ba Son argued that regional connectivity among some provinces and cities remained lacking and that its long-term effects were yet to be secured by legal mechanisms.
Key economic zones, meanwhile, had failed to prove their leading role in narrowing development gaps between regions, Son noted, stressing the need for the Government to continue reforming its planning work and analysing regional strengths, among others.
Deputies asked local administrations and cities to promote the responsibility of their leaders in organising coordinating activities, and in jointly implementing the Government’s relevant policies.
