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PM approves rural development plan
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a project to develop the country's rural areas until 2015, where every commune nationwide will have a tailored socio-economic framework to follow and by 2020, 50 per cent of communes will meet the national criteria of standard rural communes.
Under the project, the new rural must be developed to boost both culture and agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has initiated a pilot project to implement the model in 11 rural communes nationwide.
Truong Tan Sang, permanent member of the Party Secretariat, said the most important thing was to transform communes into new rural areas, focusing on upholding the central role of the people, while expanding the model on a national level.
The Ministry of Construction has asked local authorities to issue a circular and provide guidance for concerned agencies on the planning of the new rural areas from 2009 to 2015.
Ho Xuan Hung, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said capital had been relatively easy to raise through programmes earmarked for the development of new rural areas.
Each commune needs around VND156 billion (US$8 million), of which 7-10 per cent of capital had been mobilised from the local community, 20 per cent from businesses and co-operatives, 25 per cent from production development credit loans, and 45-50 per cent from the Official Development Assistance (ODA).
Successful pilots
Ha Noi has implemented the new rural area model at Thuy Huong Commune in Chuong My District. According to Dao Duc Toan, deputy head of the Steering Committee, investment in the commune last year reached nearly VND15 billion ($800,000), with the State accounting for only VND5.5 billion, the remainder raised through the local community and businesses.
The commune has begun upgrading roads and irrigation works, and approved a project to produce safe vegetables over an 80 -ha area. It has also relocated agricultural production from residential areas.
In addition to Thuy Huong Commune, Ha Noi has also implemented the project in Song Phuong (Dan Phuong District), Mai Dinh (Soc Son District) and Dai Ang (Thanh Tri District), which would be completed by the next year.
Ha Noi has set a target of 45-50 per cent of communes to meet the criteria of a new rural area by 2015.
In HCM City, the model has been implemented in Tan Thong Hoi Commune (Cu Chi District) with a total investment capital of VND542.6 billion ($27 million), of which 64.3 per cent has been raised through State funds, with the remainder made up by the local population.
Tran Van Chi, Chairman of Tan Thong Hoi Commune People's Committee, asserted the vital role of public and business participation in the programme as it has made the allocation of land and raising of capital substantially easier.
Collaboration needed
According to a recent report from the Ministry of Construction, of the 9,100 communes nationwide, only 23 percent have long-term development plans.
"Some communes already have plans in place, but they've been out-dated by the new criteria for standard rural areas approved by the Prime Minister in April," said Nguyen Quang Minh, deputy head of the ministry's Department of Architecture and Planning.
"Communal authorities are in charge of adopting an appropriate development model. Our department can offer advice based on the socio-economic situation unique to each commune. However, many communal authorities remain incapable of working with us," Minh said.
According to Phan My Linh, head of the department, a consistent national framework for communes to follow is vital to develop a sustainable socio-economic system. "The project will boost the cultural and educational levels in villages, develop rural areas, and improve the political system," she said.
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