Government members grilled about matters of public concern

Three Deputy Prime Ministers and 13 ministers were grilled about the issues within their remit during a question-and-answer (Q&A) session of the National Assembly’s ongoing 10th sitting on November 17.

Photo: VNA

Deputies asked Deputy PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc about Vietnam’s labour productivity, administrative reform, and crime prevention measures.

Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai was questioned on the country’s integration into the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, urban building management, the modernisation of administrative agencies’ offices, and the supervision over the production and use of white asbestos.

Meanwhile, Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam responded to queries about food hygiene and safety.

During the session, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat made clear on matters relating to agricultural restructuring, urgent measures coping with climate change, and the State’s responsibility for fertilizer management.

How to settle real estate crises was raised for Minister of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung while the control of public debt, how to safeguard the national financial safety, and tax and customs procedure reforms when Vietnam enters the AEC were among issues delivered to Minster of Finance DinhTien Dung.

Lawmakers put queries about the development of tourism into a spearhead economic sector to Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh. They asked Inspector General Huynh PhongTranh about the implementation of anticorruption solutions.

The ministers of Industry and Trade, Transport, Home Affairs, Information and Communications, Health, and Education and Training, along with the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court and the Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy also clarified other matters of public concern.

The Q&A session was broadcast live on television and radio and reported by mass media outlets.

A similar activity will be continued on November 18’s morning and broadcast live. Legislators will discuss debatable issues regarding the draft law on the organisation of criminal investigation agencies in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said more flexible policies are needed to gradually restructure public debt and ensure debt safety.
The minister suggested diversifying terms of Government bonds and issuing additional international bonds to restructure the Government’s domestic and foreign debts.

The public debt is still kept under control but at a high speed of 20% per year, he admitted, adding that the finance ministry proposed the Government and Prime Minister promulgate a directive to enhance the public debt management, focusing on evaluating the public debt strategy through 2020 with a vision towards 2030 and revising the Law on Public Debt.

According to the strategy, the public debt would not exceed 65% of gross domestic product (GDP). The rates in 2011 and 2014 were 50% and 59.6% of the GDP, respectively, while that for 2015 is expected to reach 61.3%.

The Ministry of Finance has built a mid-term financial plan for 2016-2020 and a loan repayment plan through 2020 based on socio-economic growth forecasts for the period, Dung said.

The economic growth during 2015-2020 is estimated at 6.5-7%, while the inflation rate would not exceed 5% and the State budget overspending would be curbed below 4.9%.

During the Q&A session, the minister also answered a number of questions pertaining to the equitisation of State-owned enterprises, State budget balance, and administrative reform in tax and customs sectors.

The unprecedented session, which is broadcast live from the National Hall on national television and radio, will last two days and a half. On November 18 - the final day of the meeting, the Prime Minister will clarify several issues and answer deputies’ questions from 10am-11:15am.

(Source: VNA/VOV)