Directive No. 04/2003/CT-BTC on strengthening the construction of financial staff teams who are Khmer and Cham ethnic people for communes, wards, and towns in the Mekong Delta provinces.

DIRECTIVE

DIRECTIVE NO. 04/2003/CT-BTC OF THE MINISTER OF FINANCE ON MARCH 19, 2003 REGARDING STRENGTHENING THE CONSTRUCTION OF FINANCIAL OFFICER GROUPS FROM THE KHMER AND CHAM ETHNIC GROUPS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE SOUTHWESTERN PROVINCES

Directive No. 12 CT/TW dated April 16, 2002 of the Politburo on strengthening national defense and security in the Southwest region clearly states that the Southwest region holds a particularly strategic position both politically, economically, and socially, as well as in terms of national defense and security. However, the pace of economic and social development in this region has not been commensurate with its potential; the level of production and socio-economic infrastructure remains low. The goal set forth is to concentrate all efforts to build the Southwest region into a key area for rapid economic and social development while effectively combining it with the task of firmly ensuring national defense and security.

Currently, the number of financial officers who are members of the Khmer and Cham ethnic groups working in the Southwest provinces is very low, especially those involved in accounting work at commune, ward, and town levels. In recent years, many localities have paid attention to the construction, training, and enhancement of the cadre group of Khmer and Cham ethnic officers working in the finance sector. These cadres have made significant contributions to implementing the common tasks of the sector. However, the training, enhancement, and utilization of Khmer and Cham ethnic cadres in the Southwest provinces still have many shortcomings; most cadres have not attended basic training courses, thus their cultural level and professional competence are limited (only 70% have completed secondary school, 8% have a university degree, 52% have a primary or intermediate level education, and approximately 40% have not received specialized vocational training).

To contribute to achieving the aforementioned goals, the renewal and improvement of the quality of the grassroots political system at commune, ward, and town levels according to the Resolution of the Fifth Plenum of the Ninth Party Congress, in which the construction and enhancement of the quality of Khmer and Cham ethnic cadres in the Southwest provinces become particularly important tasks, the Minister of Finance requests the heads of units under and directly affiliated with the Ministry, the Directors of Provincial Finance and Price Departments, Tax Bureau Chiefs, and National Treasury Directors in the Southwest provinces (Long An, Dong Thap, An Giang, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Can Tho, Soc Trang, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau) to organize the implementation of the following contents:

1/ To instill in civil servants and employees the viewpoint of the Party: The people of the Southwest region, including the Khmer and Cham ethnic groups, are integral and inseparable parts of the Vietnamese community. It is necessary to implement well the ethnic policy of the Party and the State, promoting the spirit of equality, solidarity, mutual assistance among ethnic groups in the region.

2/ To implement well the contents and requirements stipulated in Directive No. 03/2002/CT-BTC dated September 6, 2002 of the Minister of Finance regarding the strengthening of the construction and training of financial officers at commune, ward, and town levels, paying special attention to the cadre group of Khmer and Cham ethnic officers currently working at the unit.

3. The Department of Finance and Prices has the responsibility to assist the People's Committee of the province in:

+ Identifying communes and wards that need to allocate or supplement financial-accounting officers from the Khmer and Cham ethnic groups; the number of financial-accounting officers from the Khmer and Cham ethnic groups needed to be allocated or supplemented for communes and wards.

+ Taking the lead in coordinating with the Tax Bureau and the National Treasury of the province to develop plans for transferring and assigning competent officers, especially encouraging officers from the Khmer and Cham ethnic groups currently working at District Finance Departments, Tax Branches, and National Treasury Offices to strengthen financial-accounting work at communes and wards, particularly in areas where the Khmer and Cham ethnic groups are concentrated.

+ Taking the lead in coordinating with the Tax Bureau and the National Treasury of the province to develop plans for training and enhancing the skills of officers from the Khmer and Cham ethnic groups currently working at District Finance Departments, Tax Branches, and National Treasury Offices (including training to achieve secondary school completion, university, college, and vocational high school levels in finance and accounting; enhancing knowledge according to the training program for commune and ward financial officers issued by the Ministry of Finance).

+ Guiding District Finance Departments to develop plans and select children of Khmer and Cham ethnic groups through local recruitment to report to the People's Committee of the province for training at central and provincial finance and accounting colleges and universities. Striving to ensure that by 2006, all communes and wards with concentrated Khmer and Cham populations will have at least 50% of their commune and ward financial officers from the Khmer and Cham ethnic groups, all of whom will have a minimum educational level of intermediate finance and accounting.

4/ The Director-General of the General Taxation Administration and the Director-General of the National Treasury are responsible for directing tax offices and National Treasury offices in the Southwest provinces to closely coordinate with the Department of Finance and Prices to implement well the training, enhancement, and transfer plans of officers currently working at District Finance Departments, Tax Branches, and National Treasury Offices to strengthen the communes and wards according to local requirements.

5/ The College of Finance and Accounting IV (Ho Chi Minh City) is responsible for proactively working with relevant agencies in the 12 Southwest provinces to accept training for cadres with college and vocational high school levels in finance and accounting, including incumbent cadres and children of the Khmer and Cham ethnic groups according to the requirements of the Southwest provinces.

The heads of the aforementioned units must organize the development of specific plans to implement the tasks assigned in this Directive and incorporate them into their unit's annual work program, while periodically reporting to the Ministry on the results of implementation. The Director of the Cadre Organization and Training Department and the Head of the Ministry’s Office shall be responsible for monitoring, urging, evaluating, and reporting to the Minister on the results of each unit's implementation of this Directive and the entire Finance sector.