Resolution No. 31/2012/QH13 on the Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2013

RESOLUTION

On the Plan for Economic and Social Development in 2013

OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM

BASED ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM IN 1992 AS AMENDED AND COMPLEMENTED BY RESOLUTION NO. 51/2001/QH10;

Based on the examination of reports from the Government, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, relevant agencies of the National Assembly, and opinions of National Assembly deputies,

RESOLUTION:

I. ON THE SITUATION OF IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN 2012

In 2012, the world economy continued to experience complex fluctuations, and the domestic economy faced many difficulties and challenges. With the efforts of the entire political system, business community, and people nationwide, there were certain positive changes in economic and social development. The macro-economy was more stable, inflation was contained. Industrial production showed signs of recovery; agricultural production, despite facing many difficulties, still developed steadily; tourism and services increased significantly; restructuring the economy and implementing the three strategic breakthroughs were prioritized and initially implemented; social welfare and public benefits were basically guaranteed; education, training, science and technology, culture, information, and communication achieved some results; political security, public order, and social safety were maintained; foreign affairs and national defense were strengthened, ensuring independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

However, the pressure of inflation and macro-economic instability remained significant; targets for economic growth, total social investment, new job creation, poverty reduction rate, forest coverage rate did not meet the plan. The money market experienced complex developments; interest rates and bad debts of banks were at high levels; operations of some commercial banks lacked transparency and harbored many risks. Enterprises faced many difficulties in production and business, especially in accessing credit capital, with a large amount of inventory; the number of enterprises that had to cease or reduce their activities remained high. The real estate market was sluggish and had not shown signs of recovery; the stock market declined sharply; the gold market was highly volatile; the situation of smuggling, fake goods, and substandard products was not effectively curbed, negatively impacting production, consumption, and social psychology. Slow economic growth adversely affected employment and poverty reduction; the living conditions of the people, particularly policy beneficiaries, the poor, and low-income workers, were affected. Education and training, healthcare, and food safety still did not show fundamental improvements. Traffic accidents decreased but remained at a high level. Complaints, crimes, social evils, and corruption continued to evolve in a complex manner.

The National Assembly requests the Government to continue focusing on directing the resolution of inventory and bad debts until the end of the year. Efforts should be concentrated on processing high-inventory items, mainly steel, cement, construction materials, and condominium apartments; promoting publicity and encouraging discount sales to attract consumers; expanding export markets, especially agricultural, aquatic, and seafood products; encouraging businesses to use each other's products. Commercial banks, particularly state-owned commercial banks and state-controlled joint-stock commercial banks, must share and participate in resolving difficulties alongside enterprises; financial institutions need to recognize that resolving difficulties for enterprises is also resolving difficulties for themselves; they should promptly complete the review of unfinished construction projects that have been delayed or suspended, accelerate the settlement of outstanding construction debts; focus on completing key projects that are crucial for the country's economic and social development, industries, regions, and localities. Urgently direct the disbursement of programs and national target programs to ensure quality.

II. ON THE OBJECTIVES AND KEY INDICATORS FOR 2013

1. General Objective

Strengthening macro-economic stability; lower inflation and higher growth compared to 2012. Accelerating the implementation of the three strategic breakthroughs linked to economic restructuring and changing the growth model. Ensuring social welfare and public benefits. Enhancing external relations and international integration. Strengthening national defense, security, and maintaining political and social stability. Creating a solid foundation for further development in subsequent years.

Consumer price index increase below 5%.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to increase by about 5.5%.

Export turnover to increase by about 10%.

The trade deficit ratio relative to total export turnover to be around 8%.

The budget deficit of the State not exceeding 4.8% of GDP.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth rate to be around 8%.

Total investment for socio-economic development to be about 30% of GDP.

The poverty rate to decrease by 2%, specifically in poor districts by 4%.

Create jobs for approximately 1.6 million workers.

The proportion of workers with vocational training is expected to reach 55-57%, of which the proportion of workers with vocational training of three months or more with certificates is expected to reach 22.5%.

The proportion of trained labor to reach 49%.

The proportion of children under five suffering from malnutrition to decrease below 16%.

The number of hospital beds per ten thousand people (excluding health station beds) to reach 22 beds.

The ratio of heavily polluting facilities treated to reach 84%.

The ratio of industrial parks and export processing zones in operation with centralized wastewater treatment systems meeting environmental standards to reach 75%.

Forest coverage rate to reach 40.7%.

III. MAIN TASKS AND SOLUTIONS

1. Closely coordinating fiscal and monetary policies in mobilizing and utilizing resources for economic development while ensuring inflation control and macro-economic stability. Improving the quality of forecasting and analyzing domestic and international market trends, taking appropriate measures for management; ensuring balance between supply and demand of goods and services, adjusting prices of certain state-managed commodities flexibly according to the schedule with reasonable dosage. Addressing inadequacies in management, stabilizing the gold market, ensuring domestic gold prices close to international levels, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of citizens regarding property. Attracting and accelerating the disbursement of foreign direct investment, official development assistance, managing indirect foreign investment effectively; improving mechanisms to ensure the interests of the State and related parties to attract more projects through public-private partnership models; creating favorable conditions to attract international tourists and remittances.

2. Continue to remove difficulties and create conditions for enterprises to access loans, reduce interest rates on credit in line with the decrease in inflation; encourage commercial banks to provide low-interest loans for agricultural sectors, export production industries, supporting industries, small and medium-sized enterprises, high-tech enterprises, enterprises that create many jobs, and enterprises building housing for low-income people; closely monitor to ensure strict compliance with state regulations, especially interest rate regulations and access to credit; continue measures to reduce bad debts, allowing restructuring of loans for activities related to production and business operations, particularly enterprises operating in construction that have completed projects but have not yet received budget payments; implement policies to address difficulties in the real estate market. Focus on removing difficulties and obstacles to ensure the progress of large-scale industrial projects. For projects expanding National Highway 1A and National Highway 14, issue government-guaranteed bonds and mobilize other forms of investment to implement them. Support domestic contractors to enhance their capacity to participate more in large-scale infrastructure construction projects. Strengthen quality management of basic construction projects to ensure project effectiveness and safety for the people. Implement measures to protect 3,812,000 hectares of rice-growing land.

3. Expand markets to promote exports, limit imports of non-essential consumer goods and luxury items; strengthen market management to combat smuggling and counterfeit goods, develop domestic markets, and establish non-tariff barriers consistent with international commitments to restrict imports of outdated machinery and equipment, protect consumers' rights, and improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese products. Practice thrift and combat waste in production and business activities, daily life, and national budget expenditures, reduce meetings, limit organizing festivals and anniversaries, cut down on overseas trips funded by the state budget, including those for state-owned enterprises with controlling stakes. Continue to effectively implement the campaign "Vietnamese People Prefer Vietnamese Goods."

4. Continue to effectively implement fundamental and comprehensive educational reforms to focus on breakthroughs in human resource quality. Improve the effectiveness of vocational training for rural workers; intensify job creation measures and implement salary reform plans; strengthen state management over labor, including sending workers abroad and foreign workers in Vietnam. Concentrate appropriate investment in preventive healthcare, health care for the population, enhancing medical ethics and service quality; expand and increase support levels for purchasing health insurance cards for certain disadvantaged groups. Prioritize government bond funds for unfinished district hospitals, especially in mountainous areas, remote regions, and economically disadvantaged areas; broaden social welfare policies, pay attention to implementing policies for the poor, revolutionary veterans, and those in difficult circumstances. Create incentives for scientific and technological activities. Develop policies to encourage social resource mobilization for environmental protection; strengthen guidance to implement measures to prevent and stop illegal deforestation and mineral extraction that harms the environment.

5. Proactively prevent and effectively combat all acts of corruption. Focus on resolving complaints and petitions effectively, especially mass complaints and petitions related to land; resolve most pending, complex, and long-standing complaints and petitions causing public dissatisfaction by 2013 and report to the National Assembly at its sixth session.

6. Implement comprehensive measures to fundamentally change the situation regarding law violations and crime prevention; ensure food safety; continue to reduce traffic accidents and congestion; promote and effectively implement traffic culture campaigns; effectively implement occupational safety and fire prevention work.

7. Promote the nationwide movement to protect national security. Strengthen defense and security positions in key areas, border regions, islands, and seas to firmly safeguard national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; maintain political stability and social order and safety. Actively prevent hostile forces' anti-state activities. Continue to expand and closely integrate defense, security, and diplomatic activities; harmonize diplomatic relations; deepen and stabilize relations with partners, especially neighboring countries, regional powers, major countries, and potential partners and traditional friends for national development and protection.

8. Continue to review and amend regulations to reduce administrative procedures, accelerate economic system reform, and improve socialist-oriented market economy institutions. Enact and perfect policies and solutions to promote economic restructuring and model transformation growth. Emphasize leadership responsibility, improve the quality and efficiency of the state administrative apparatus. Review the division of state management responsibilities, clearly define central and local economic management responsibilities, link responsibilities with authorities, obligations with benefits, and match capabilities and development levels of localities. Strengthen administrative discipline and public service ethics, build public trust and consensus, enhance guidance, inspection, and supervision of local governments, while creating favorable conditions for citizens, communities, and social organizations to participate in oversight.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

The Government, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuracy shall organize the effective implementation of the National Assembly's Resolution in accordance with their respective functions.

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the Ethnic Council, the Committees of the National Assembly, the Delegations of the National Assembly, and National Assembly deputies shall supervise the implementation of this Resolution.

The Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, member organizations of the Front, and social organizations established in accordance with the law shall supervise and encourage all strata of the people to implement effectively the Resolution of the National Assembly.

The National Assembly calls on compatriots, soldiers throughout the country, and our compatriots abroad to raise their patriotic spirit of competition, solidarity, and efforts to seize favorable opportunities, overcome difficulties and challenges, and successfully implement the Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2013, moving towards completing at the highest level the Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2011-2015.

This Resolution was adopted by the XIVth Session of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on November 8, 2012./.