Deputy Prime Minister Trần Lưu Quang chairs a meeting of the Central Steering Committee for National Target Programmes in Hà Nội on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Government will propose a number of specific mechanisms for the National Assembly to review and approve to address a number of bottlenecks and challenges localities face in the implementation of national target programmes in the 2021-25 period.

Deputy Prime Minister Trần Lưu Quang made the statement on Monday as he chaired the Central Steering Committee for National Target Programmes’ meeting to review the progress made in 2021-23 and set tasks for the future.

The three target programmes currently being run are about rural development, sustainable poverty reduction, and socio-economic development in mountainous and ethnic minority areas.

The Government’s proposal came as the disbursement rate reached only 28.7 per cent of the investment capital plan for the 2021-2025 development phase, due to various reasons.

Deputy PM Quang said after six field inspection trips and working sessions with localities across the country in recent times, the problem mostly stemmed from the fact that the capital is specifically allocated to each sub-project/programme, which makes it harder for local authorities to diver the capital from long-delayed or slow-progressing projects to other ones that are going well but suffer from lack of funds.

Localities also want the Government to announce the anticipated allocation of funds for a five-year period, enabling localities to be more proactive in mobilising corresponding budget and making plan for the implementation of programmes, according to Deputy PM Quang.

The conversion of forestland and paddy fields for other purposes requires a significant amount of time and effort.

The Government’s support for housing (VNĐ40 million per household) and the construction of clean water facilities (VNĐ3 billion per project) from the central government is insufficient, especially for mountainous areas and localities with limited resources.

Some targets, such as clean water supply and cremation rates, exceed the implementation capacity of the localities.

Deputy PM urges localities to enhance information sharing, exchange experiences, including mobilising socialised capital and contributions from the people, and integrating various funding sources to prioritise and focus on investment projects.

In the upcoming plenary session, the National Assembly will hear a supervision report on the implementation of the Government's three national target programmes. This is the first time the parliament conducts supervision of national target programmes during their implementation.

In the session, the Government will also seek the issuance of measures to tackle difficulties and obstacles faced by localities in carrying out the programmes. — VNS