Decision No. 03/2003/NQ-CP of the Government's regular meeting in January 2003

RESOLUTION

Regarding the regular government meeting in January 2003

On January 28, 2003, the Government convened its regular monthly meeting for January 2003, discussed and adopted the following issues:

1. The Government heard the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment's report on the results of inspecting land management and usage; the State Inspector General's report on the results of inspecting and supervising investment construction activities pursuant to Decision No. 273/QĐ-TTg dated April 12, 2002 of the Prime Minister.

Land management and investment construction work in recent times have made some progress, with many construction projects being put into use, contributing significantly to economic growth and improving social welfare. Land has been used more effectively; certificates of land use rights for agricultural land for households and individuals have been basically completed, and are currently being implemented for forest land and land used for specific purposes; compensation and land clearance work have facilitated the renovation and construction of infrastructure, production, business, and public welfare projects. However, land management and investment construction work still have many weaknesses: Compliance with regulations on basic investment construction has not been strict enough; losses, waste, and corruption remain significant. Planning and land use planning have been slow, with low quality; a comprehensive legal framework for strict land management and severe handling of violations such as improper land use or delayed utilization, unauthorized land allocation or leasing, illegal land encroachment or transfer, unreasonable and corrupt land-for-project exchanges, and inadequate inspection of project quality by investors and state management agencies, as well as ineffective supervision and inspection by functional agencies, have not been established. Responsibilities have not been clearly defined, and violations have not been properly addressed.

The Government requests that ministries, sectors, and localities strictly review, identify individual and collective responsibilities, take serious measures to address them, and implement effective corrective actions. Continue to strengthen inspection and supervision, promptly rectify violations in land management and investment construction work. Within their respective mandates, ministries, sectors, and localities must strictly enforce laws on land and investment construction, and promptly study and submit proposals to competent authorities for amending and perfecting mechanisms and policies on land management and investment construction to quickly resolve existing issues and irregularities, and bring these activities into order.

2. The Government heard the Minister of Home Affairs present the draft Ordinance Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Civil Servants Ordinance; and heard the Chairman of the Government Office's report summarizing the opinions of Government members on the draft Ordinance.

Since its issuance in 1998 and subsequent amendments in 2000, the Civil Servants Ordinance has served as a legal basis for managing and building a cadre of civil servants to meet socio-economic development requirements. However, to date, some provisions of the Ordinance have revealed limitations and inadequacies in managing cadres and civil servants, in administrative reform, staffing, salary policy reform, and the socialization of public service activities.

Amending and supplementing the Civil Servants Ordinance at this stage is truly necessary and urgent, primarily to include grassroots-level cadres and civil servants according to the spirit of Resolution No. 5 of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee, enhancing the quality and effectiveness of grassroots political system operations; separating administrative staffing from public service staffing, promoting decentralized cadre management to strengthen the strength and unity of the political system, contributing to the administrative reform process, and meeting the requirements of industrialization and modernization.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is tasked with leading, coordinating with the Government Office, the Ministry of Justice, and related agencies, incorporating the opinions of Government members, and promptly completing the draft Ordinance for submission to the Prime Minister for consideration and to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

3. The Government heard the State Inspector General's report on the situation of complaints and denunciations in 2002.

In 2002, the Government, ministries, sectors, and localities took many effective and coordinated measures to handle complaints and denunciations, contributing to stabilizing the political, economic, and social situation to serve national development goals.

Complaints and denunciations at local levels have shown a decreasing trend, but appeals to higher levels continue to increase and become complex. In complaint resolution, some localities and agencies are hesitant, shirk responsibility, avoid issues, or handle cases subjectively without strictly implementing higher-level regulations on complaint resolution; some policies and laws are incomplete and lack coordination, making it difficult to examine and conclude complaint resolutions.

The Government requires ministries, sectors, and localities to implement state policies and laws on complaint and denunciation resolution. In 2003, they need to thoroughly review and resolve lingering and protracted complaints and denunciations; emphasize the role and responsibility of grassroots and district levels in complaint resolution; innovate and improve the effectiveness of public reception and complaint letter processing work, while focusing on studying and amending laws on complaints and denunciations to perfect relevant regulations.

4. The Government reviewed the report on the January 2003 socio-economic situation presented by the Minister of Planning and Investment.

The economic and social situation in January 2003 continued to maintain a growth trend: industrial and agricultural production remained stable; the service sector was active, major goods serving the Tet holiday were diverse, meeting consumer demand, with purchasing power increasing significantly both in rural and urban areas; exports were promoted; investment, finance, and monetary work had a good start; traffic order and safety initially showed improvement, requiring focused guidance to enhance progress.

However, 2003 still faced significant difficulties and challenges: the trend of trade deficit would intensify when Vietnam implements reduced import tariffs according to the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) accession roadmap, affecting domestic production; weather conditions continued to be complex, impacting agricultural production and people's lives; social evils, traffic accidents, and traffic congestion remained pressing issues.

The Government requests ministries, sectors, and localities to promptly implement the plan allocation for grassroots units, quickly develop action programs to implement Resolution No. 02/2003/NQ-CP on several main policies and measures that need to be prioritized to fulfill the tasks of economic and social development in 2003, promote production and exports, limit imports to reduce the trade deficit; swiftly implement investment construction plans; proactively prevent and control forest fires; reduce traffic accidents and traffic congestion. During the Tet holiday, ministries, sectors, and localities need to prepare well for the people to celebrate Tet joyfully, healthily, thriftily, ensuring political security and social order and safety.