A section of the North-South highway in the northern province of Ninh Bình. – VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hùng

HÀ NỘI – Ministers and leaders of people’s committees of cities and provinces nationwide are required to remove difficulties and promote the disbursement of public investment as well as production, business and consumption.

Strict punishment will be given to violations and delays causing trouble for businesses and people.

These requirements are part of a recent document released by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, requesting ministries, sectors and localities to implement tasks and solutions to realise the Government’s “dual goals”, including preventing COVID-19 and ensuring socio-economic recovery, focusing on solving problems and supporting businesses facing difficulties, ensuring social security and people's lives.

Phúc urged ministries and localities to solve problems hampering the disbursement of public investment, especially ODA, creating a driving force for economic growth and jobs following the directions of the Party, National Assembly, Government, and Prime Minister.

Each ministry, branch and locality should focus on reviewing the list of public investment projects, grasping the implementation of each project to take concrete measures to speed up the progress.

“The direction of the Government is to disburse all planned capital in 2019 and previous years, remove difficulties and disburse the assigned ODA capital.”

In the document sent to relevant sectors, Phúc said the world and region were facing unprecedented difficulties and challenges due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“All countries and our major partners have been heavily affected by the pandemic. Being a deeply integrated and open economy, many branches and fields of our economy are greatly impacted, especially in industry, trade, service and tourism,” Phúc said in the document.

“Thanks to drastic actions of the entire political system, business community and people, we have achieved initial results, however, difficulties and challenges remain. The tasks set out from now to the end of 2020 and early 2021 are very challenging,” he noted.

In order to achieve targets in 2020 and create a favourable premise for 2021, Phúc required ministers and leaders of cities and provinces to solve difficulties and promote production and business in every area and every enterprise, facilitating and reducing costs for people and businesses.

He wanted the ministers and leaders to review mechanisms, policies and legal provisions, revising them if necessary. In case of exceeding authority, they shall promptly report to the Government or the Prime Minister for direction. “We will not let barriers, inadequate mechanisms, policies and regulations remain.”

Leaders of ministries and localities have to provide specific solutions to help enterprises of all economic sectors, including State-owned enterprises, private enterprises, foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses, cooperatives and individual business households. They need to focus on enhancing investment projects and production and business development, paying attention to reviewing and creating favourable conditions in terms of land, credit, administrative procedures, human resources and related issues.

They need to promote consumption, with special attention paid to the domestic market of nearly 100 million people and taking appropriate and effective measures to maintain and develop export markets.

Ministries and localities have to step up the application of information technology and develop e-commerce and new business models suitable to the situation and development requirements of each branch, field or locality.

“Business forms and methods encouraging consumption, such as night-time economy, fairs, exhibitions and services must be strongly developed,” Phúc said.

“All have to conduct communication programmes and prepare necessary conditions to take advantage of opportunities of free trade agreements effectively, including the CPTPP and the EVFTA, in addition to stepping up the fight against smuggling and trade fraud.”

Phúc said amid the COVID-19 pandemic, ministers, heads of branches and leaders of the provincial people's committees need to continue directing effective implementation of policies to support workers and create jobs, ensuring social security, people's lives and tasks of cultural and social development, sustainable poverty reduction and environmental protection. – VNS