HÀ NỘI — In a wide ranging policy speech yesterday, Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng laid out key areas for reform, ranging from the country’s growth model and State budget, to bad debts and population control. 

Addressing the opening of the week-long sixth plenary session of the 12th Party Central Committee (PCC) in Hà Nội, the leader said credit organisations, public investment, State-owned enterprises and public administration units should be restructured, and growth quality and business environment improved, in order to mobilise and effectively use resources for rapid, sustainable economic, social and environmental development. 

The most important targets for 2018 should be formulated based on these priorities, he said.

The Party chief asked the Party Central Committee to determine why growth quality was low in the first six months of this year, and several objectives have yet to be achieved. 

The Party chief praised the country’s healthcare system, noting that the World Health Organization (WHO) had recognised Việt Nam as a bright spot in implementing the UN Millennium Development Goals in public healthcare. Effective use of all resources must be made to further improve public healthcare services, he added. 

Population control

Over the past 25 years, he said, Việt Nam implemented various population policies, but it still faces many challenges, including big gaps in birth rates among regions and a severe at-birth gender imbalance. 

Việt Nam’s population is aging, and the “golden population” opportunities must not be wasted, he warned, adding that the country also faces many problems in managing migration. Premature and consanguineous marriage are still common in some ethnic minority groups, he noted. 

The Party leader urged members of the Party Central Committee to discuss controlling population scale and quality through policies to maintain the birth rate. 

Regarding the need to continue streamlining the political system, the Party leader noted that the system is bulky and inefficient, with overlapping functions and authority. At the same time, the quality of public servants is poor. General Secretary Trọng tagged reform of some 58,000 public service agencies, with 2.5 million employees nationwide, as critical for rapid and sustainable development.

Members of the Party Central Committee are set to assess options for speeding up the reform of public administration agencies and State-owned enterprises. They will also look into the necessity of enhancing the socialisation of public service supply.

The Party leader stressed that the sixth meeting’s agenda covers fundamental and urgent matters related to socio-economic development and reform of politics and economic development in line with the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress. 
He asked members of the Party Central Committee to display responsibility and adopt decisions on some other major issues at the end of the session. 
The sixth session of the 12th Party Central Committee is scheduled to run until October 11. — VNS