Decision No. 29/2013/QD-TTg On certain support policies for solving residential land issues and employment for poor ethnic minority groups with difficult living conditions in the Mekong Delta region from 2013 to 2015

Pursuant to …;

On certain support policies for solving residential land issues and employment for ethnic minority groups living in poverty and facing difficult living conditions in the Mekong Delta region during the period from 2013 to 2015ethnic minorities living in poverty with difficult lives in the Mekong Delta regionperiod from 2013 to 2015

________________

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

At the proposal of the Minister of Planning and Investment,

The Prime Minister promulgates this Decision on certain support policies for solving residential land issues and employment for ethnic minority groups living in poverty and facing difficult living conditions in the Mekong Delta region (Mekong Delta) during the period from 2013 to 2015.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decision stipulates certain support policies for solving residential land issues and providing loans for employment creation for poor ethnic minority households with difficult living conditions who have been legally residing stably in localities within the Mekong Delta region comprising 13 provinces and cities: Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Dong Thap, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Hau Giang, An Giang, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, and Can Tho city.

Article 2. Applicability

Poor ethnic minority households with difficult living conditions, determined according to the criteria set forth in Decision No. 09/2011/QĐ-TTg dated November 30, 2011 of the Prime Minister on establishing poverty and near-poverty standards applicable for the period from 2011 to 2015 managed by the People's Committee of communes and wards at the time of investigation and not yet having residential land, production land, and not benefiting from state support policies on residential land, and having capital needs to create employment and increase household income, shall be supported.

Article 3. Principles and Purpose of Use

1. Principles:

a) Directly allocate land to households without residential land for housing purposes, and provide financial support to those needing capital for vocational activities or to redeem transferred or mortgaged production land;

b) Land allocation or financial support must ensure transparency, fairness, democracy, and correct targeting through local authorities and mass organizations, conducted through evaluations at the village and ward levels;

c) Each subject mentioned in Article 2 of this Decision shall only be provided with a policy on residential land and loan support for occupational conversion once as stipulated in Article 4 of this Decision.

2) Purpose of Use:

a) Households allocated residential land must build houses and may not transfer, mortgage, or sell the land to others for ten years from the date of land allocation by the State. During this period, if a household relocates elsewhere, they must return the allocated land to the local authority;

b) Households and workers receiving loan support for occupational conversion must use the funds for their intended purpose.

Article 4. Support Policies

1. Residential Land Support:

a) Based on the residential land fund, residential land quota, and local budget capacity, the provincial People's Committee shall consider and decide on allocating land for housing to poor ethnic minority households in accordance with local conditions and customs and in compliance with land laws;

b) The maximum central government budget support for purchasing residential land directly for each household without residential land is 30 million VND per household;

c) Local government budget support for each household to purchase land for housing depends on local land prices, annual budget balance capacity, and other legitimate sources, but must be at least 10% of the central government budget support;

d) In areas with favorable land conditions, local authorities can use the support funds to organize leveling, create flat surfaces, and develop infrastructure to allocate residential land to beneficiaries.

2. Loan Support for Employment Creation and Production Development:

a) Local authorities shall encourage poor ethnic minority households without production land but with unemployed or unstable employment laborers to shift to other occupations in rural areas. These individuals will be prioritized for loan support to create new jobs, develop production, and increase household income;

b) Poor ethnic minority households with difficult living conditions benefiting from loan policies for production development and business operations shall comply with the provisions of Article 3 (except paragraph a of Clause 1) of Decision No. 54/2012/QĐ-TTg dated December 4, 2012 of the Prime Minister on "Issuing policies for loan support for production development for particularly disadvantaged ethnic minority households during the period from 2012 to 2015";

c) For individual cases where households previously transferred or mortgaged production land, now lack land, but genuinely have production experience, need land for production, and obtain agreement from the transferee or mortgagee to redeem the land at a low price or persuade relatives to sell at a reduced price, the loan amount shall be based on actual needs, but not exceeding 30 million VND per household. Interest rate policies and other policies shall be implemented as stipulated in Article 3 of Decision No. 54/2012/QĐ-TTg issued by the Prime Minister on December 4, 2012;

Such individual cases must be strictly reviewed by local authorities and mass organizations at the commune and ward levels and reported to the People's Committee of districts, towns, and cities (belonging to provinces) for decision;

d) Workers attending vocational training shall benefit from policies stipulated in Decision No. 1956/QĐ-TTg dated November 27, 2009 of the Prime Minister on "Vocational Training for Rural Labor until 2020"; workers going abroad for work shall benefit from support policies stipulated in Decision No. 71/2009/QĐ-TTg dated April 29, 2009 of the Prime Minister on "Project to Support Poor Districts in Promoting Labor Export to Contribute to Sustainable Poverty Reduction from 2009 to 2020" and other current policies.

Article 5. Sources of capital and financial mechanisms for implementation

1. The sources of capital for the period 2013 - 2015 include annual central budget support, local budgets, and other lawful sources to implement the policy.

a) Targeted central budget support for localities to purchase land for beneficiaries to build housing is allocated according to the annual investment capital plan for the period 2013 - 2015;

b) The central budget provided through the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies for lending to support occupational conversion is implemented in accordance with Decision No. 54/2012/QĐ-TTg dated December 4, 2012, issued by the Prime Minister on "Issuing policies for lending capital to develop production for particularly difficult ethnic minority households during the 2012 - 2015 period."

2. Financial mechanism:

The central budget provides targeted support to localities and allocates funds to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies based on the annual budget estimates of the units; manages, uses, and settles accounts for this support fund in accordance with current regulations;

Article 6. Implementation Organization

1. Provincial People's Committees mentioned in Article 1 of this Decision are responsible for directing and organizing the implementation of the Decision;

a) Publicly announce standards, target groups, and direct the establishment of specific lists of poor ethnic minority households with difficult living conditions in their locality, approve plans for annual targeted support funds, and submit them to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, and the Committee for Ethnic Minorities before August 30 each year for consolidation and submission to the Prime Minister for decision in the following year's budget plan;

b) Direct the integration of funds for implementing the policies of this Decision into programs, projects, and other policies in their jurisdiction;

c) Delegate the People's Committees of districts, towns, cities (under provinces) to approve lists of beneficiaries of the policies at the local level as a basis for the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to proceed with lending and debt recovery;

d) Concentrate on directing and inspecting districts, towns, cities (under provinces) to properly implement the policies outlined in this Decision in terms of purpose and target group; prevent waste and corruption; report periodically (every six months) on the implementation results to the Committee for Ethnic Minorities for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister, while sending the results of the implementation of this Decision to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance;

2. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities leads and coordinates with relevant ministries and sectors to compile and develop a general plan to implement the policies stipulated in this Decision; guide localities in implementing the Decision; monitor, urge, and inspect; periodically review and summarize the implementation of the Decision, and report to the Prime Minister;

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment leads and coordinates with the Ministry of Finance to compile plans and allocate annual targeted support funds for localities; provide funds to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies according to the state budget estimates annually, and submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision;

4. The Ministry of Finance provides funds to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies according to the progress of implementation; direct the work of monitoring, supervising, and strictly inspecting the allocation of funds to the correct target groups, preventing waste and corruption;

5. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment directs localities in the Mekong Delta region to unify solutions related to land issues, quickly issue land use rights certificates to households benefiting from the policy, and concentrate on directing the resolution of other issues within their functions and responsibilities;

6. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs directs subordinate agencies (at local levels) to lead and coordinate with social organizations and enterprises to focus on job creation for target groups and promptly guide localities in the Mekong Delta region in implementing related policies;

7. The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies guides loan procedures and debt recovery processes and may delegate part of the lending process to grassroots-level political and social organizations. The handling of risky loans is carried out in accordance with the current regulations of the Prime Minister on issuing mechanisms for handling risky loans at the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies. Based on this Decision and guidance documents from the Committee for Ethnic Minorities, the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies supplements and revises loan procedure and process guidelines; reports periodically on implementation results to the Committee for Ethnic Minorities for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister, while sending the results of implementing this Decision to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance;

8. Relevant ministries and sectors, according to their functions and responsibilities, are responsible for inspecting and supporting localities in effectively implementing the policies stipulated in this Decision;

Article 7. Effective Date

This Decision takes effect from July 15, 2013, and replaces Decision No. 74/2008/QĐ-TTg dated June 9, 2008, of the Prime Minister on certain policies to support the resolution of residential land, production land, and employment for poor ethnic minority households with difficult living conditions in the Mekong Delta region during the 2008 - 2010 period.

Article 8. Responsibility for Implementation

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-affiliated agencies, and Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region are responsible for enforcing this Decision./.