Thanks to a preferential loan for poor households, a J'Rai ethnic minority farmer in the Central Highlands Province Gia Lai's Đức Cơ District got capital to invest into his rubber plantation to earn a more stable income. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Việt

Hồ Văn Niên, Party Secretary of the Gia Lai Provincial Party Committee, spoke to the Vietnam News Agency on achievements that his province has achieved when implementing the national target programme on socio-economic development

Can you share with us some of the key achievements gained in the course of implementing the national target programme on socio-economic development in Gia Lai Province?

For many years, the Party and Government have promulgated policies to help ethnic people to enjoy a better life. These policies have covered almost all areas where ethnic minority people are residing. These policies have served as driving forces to elevate both the material and spiritual lives of ethnic minority people to higher levels than those of the past. 

Based in the national target programme on building new rural areas, on February 13, 2018, the Gia Lai Provincial Party Committee issued Instruction No.12 on building new rural areas where many ethnic minorities are living. And by late 2020, some 97 villages were awarded the title 'new rural areas'.

The training and education programmes in regions inhabited by ethnic minority people have achieved big progress. By now all communes and wards have their own kindergarten schools or primary and secondary schools. Notably, some 2,576 people or 14.28 per cent of the teaching staff in these schools are ethnic minorities themselves. Adding to that, most of the people living there have joined the national healthcare network.

The programme for hunger eradication and poverty alleviation has been considered one of the most important programmes in the region. As a result, by the year 2020, the percentage of poor households among ethnic minority people dropped to less than 6.25 per cent against 40.1 per cent in 2015. What’s more important, their cultural life has been improved considerably.

These achievements once again show that the Party and Government’s policies towards the ethnic minority people have helped raise their lives to a much higher level.

What support does the Gia Lai Province want to receive from the central Government?

We just want to receive support from the central Government in the following five areas.

First, we want to receive support from the Government in three programmes, namely green growth, green economy and value chain production.

Second, we want the Government to grant a special policy for land use, taxation and investment capital to attract capable enterprises to take the lead in applying high technology and use renewable energy in the agriculture production and tourism development. We also want the Government to give the province support in both financial and human aspects in its course of socio-economic development in 2021-2030.

Third, we want to continue to receive support from the Government in our efforts for forest planting and protection.

Fourth, we want to receive support from the Government in our projects to expand national roads 19 and 25 as well as Pleiku Airport as they are the most important three elements to attract the investment capital and tourism development.

And finally, we want the Government to continue helping us to improve the quality of our human resources so that they can perform their assignments to their best. — VNS