Decision No. 143/2001/QD-TTg approves the National Target Program on Poverty Reduction and Employment for the period 2001-2005.

Pursuant to …;

Approving the National Target Program on Poverty Reduction and Employment for the Period 2001-2005

Based on Decision No. 71/2001/QĐ-TTg dated May 4, 2001 of the Government on National Target Programs for the period 2001-2005;

 

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Government Organization Law dated September 30, 1992;

At the proposal of the Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and the Minister of Planning and Investment,

Approves the "National Target Program on Poverty Reduction and Employment for the Period 2001-2005" which includes the following contents:

DECISION:

Article 1. The National Target Program on Poverty Reduction and Employment for the Period 2001-2005 is a comprehensive inter-sectoral program within the national strategy for socio-economic development, aimed at creating favorable and appropriate conditions to support poor individuals, households, and poor communes in developing production, increasing income, accessing social services, reducing poverty, decreasing unemployment rates in urban areas, and improving labor utilization rates in rural areas, adjusting the labor structure to match the economic structure, ensuring employment for those seeking work, and enhancing the quality of life for the people.

I. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM:

1. General objectives:

a) Poverty reduction:

2. Specific Objectives:

- Reducing the rate of poor households (according to new criteria) below 10%, with an average annual decrease of 1.5-2% (approximately 280,000 to 300,000 households per year), without allowing chronic poverty to reoccur;

- Poor communes must have essential infrastructure (small irrigation systems, schools, health clinics, residential roads, electricity, potable water, markets).

b) Employment generation:

- Creating jobs for 1.4-1.5 million workers each year;

- Reducing the unemployment rate in urban areas below 6% and raising the labor utilization rate in rural areas to 80% by 2005.

1. Poverty reduction sector:

II. CONTENTS OF THE PROGRAM:

Includes the following policies and projects:

a) Support policies for poor individuals, households, and communes, including: healthcare support, education support, social welfare policies, exemption from agricultural land use tax, assistance for poor individuals in housing, labor tools, and production land.

b) Direct poverty reduction support projects include:

- Group of general poverty reduction projects:

+ Project providing credit for poor households to develop production and business activities;

+ Project guiding poor individuals on how to engage in productive activities, promoting agriculture, forestry, and fisheries;

+ Project establishing poverty reduction models in special regions (coastal areas, highlands, border areas, islands, revolutionary bases, deep inland areas of the Mekong Delta).

- Group of poverty reduction projects for poor communes (with 25% or more poor households and lacking essential infrastructure) not included in Program 135:

+ Project building essential infrastructure in poor communes (small irrigation systems, schools, health clinics, residential roads, electricity, potable water, markets);

+ Project supporting production and developing industries in poor communes;

+ Project training and enhancing the capacity of cadres working on poverty reduction and cadres in poor communes;

+ Project stabilizing displaced residents and establishing new economies in poor communes;

+ Project settling down and farming in poor communes.

2. Employment sector:

a) Activities aimed at job creation are carried out in three directions:

- Developing the economy and society to stabilize jobs for those already employed and create new job opportunities through focusing on key economic development programs that generate many jobs;

- Promoting labor and expert exports;

- Strengthening direct activities to create jobs and develop the labor market.

b) Direct activities to create jobs and develop the labor market are implemented through the following projects:

- Project organizing loans for small-scale projects to create jobs through the National Employment Support Fund;

- Project enhancing the capacity and modernizing Employment Service Centers;

- Project surveying, statistics, and building a labor market information system.

III. IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD:

- Project on training and capacity building for labor management and employment staff.

III. TIME OF IMPLEMENTATION:

The National Target Program on Poverty Reduction and Employment shall be implemented over a five-year period (2001-2005).

IV. FINANCIAL ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM:

It is anticipated that the Program will mobilize approximately 22.580 billion VND, including the following sources:

a) Poverty reduction sector:

It is anticipated to mobilize approximately 16.245 billion VND (excluding international cooperation funds for poverty reduction), including the following sources:

- Central budget;

- Local budget;

- Community mobilization;

- Credit capital (approximately 10.000 billion VND);

- Integrated capital;

b) Employment sector:

It is anticipated to mobilize approximately 6.335 billion VND, including the following sources:

- Central budget;

- Local budget;

- Recovered capital (approximately 4.600-4.700 billion VND);

- Other sources.

Annually, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance shall allocate funds based on the objectives, contents, and current regulations to ensure the Program operates effectively and achieves its goals.

V. ORGANIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM:

The National Target Program on Poverty Reduction and Employment operates under a multi-sector mechanism. Responsibilities of relevant ministries and sectors are allocated as follows:

1. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs is the leading agency managing the Program, providing continuous support to the Government in organizing, managing, coordinating activities with other ministries, sectors, localities, and summarizing the implementation status of the program; researching and building social security policies, assisting poor households with housing; leading and coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas, the Ministry of Health, the State Bank of Vietnam, related ministries and sectors, and provincial People's Committees in managing and implementing projects:

- Project for training and capacity building for poverty reduction staff and poor commune cadres;

- Project for establishing poverty reduction models in special areas;

- Project enhancing the capacity and modernizing Employment Service Centers;

- Project for enhancing and modernizing employment service centers;

III. IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD:

- Project on training and capacity building for labor management and employment staff.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for leading:

- Coordinating with the Ministry of Finance to balance and allocate annual plans to implement the Program, in coordination with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs according to the current planning regulations;

- Coordinating with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and related ministries and sectors to guide localities in integrating other related programs with the National Target Program on Poverty Reduction and Employment within the same area from planning to implementation.

3. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for leading:

- Coordinating with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to allocate and ensure state budget funding annually for the Program in accordance with the State Budget Law;

- Guiding financial management mechanisms for mobilized funds for the Program;

- Directing and organizing timely and full disbursement according to the approved budget and objectives;

- Studying and proposing measures to exempt agricultural land use tax for poor households;

4. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development leads: Researching and building assistance policies for poor households regarding labor tools, production land, coordinating with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Fisheries, the National Committee on Population and Family Planning, related ministries and sectors, and localities in managing and implementing projects:

- Project for constructing essential infrastructure in poor communes;

- Project for supporting production and developing industries in poor communes;

- Project for guiding poor people in business practices, promoting agriculture, forestry, and fisheries;

- Project for stabilizing spontaneous migrants and building new economic zones in poor communes;

- Project on settling and stabilizing populations in poor communes.

5. The State Bank of Vietnam leads, coordinating with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, related ministries and sectors, and localities in directing credit banks serving poor households to manage and implement loan projects for poor households to develop production and business.

6. The Ministry of Health leads, coordinating with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, related ministries and sectors, and localities in researching and implementing health examination and treatment policies for poor people.

7. The Ministry of Education and Training leads, coordinating with related ministries and sectors in researching and implementing education assistance policies for poor people through integration and implementation of the National Target Program on Education and Training.

8. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas leads, coordinating with related ministries and sectors in managing and implementing poverty reduction and employment projects in areas with ethnic minority populations.

9. The National Committee on Population and Family Planning leads, coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in managing and implementing projects for stabilizing spontaneous migrants and building new economic zones in poor communes.

10. Ministries, agencies at the level of ministries, and government agencies have the responsibility to research and build assistance policies for poor people, poor households, and poor communes, and to direct the implementation of the poverty reduction and employment program within their respective jurisdictions.

11. Provincial People's Committees organize the construction and implementation of the National Target Program on Poverty Reduction and Employment at the local level; report periodically to the Prime Minister and the Program management agency on the implementation status of the Program.

12. Proposing the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and central agencies of mass organizations to participate in the implementation of the National Target Program on Poverty Reduction and Employment; participating in supervising the implementation of the Program at all levels.

Article 2. Establish a Steering Committee for the National Target Program on Poverty Reduction and Employment to assist the Prime Minister in implementing the Program.

The Steering Committee is responsible to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and mass organizations for organizing and implementing the Program.

Article 3. This Decision takes effect fifteen days after the date of signature.

Article 4. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial and municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government are responsible for implementing this Decision.