Questioning at the National Assembly: Hope the "industry commander" does not avoid the issue

In each session of the National Assembly, questioning and answering questions is always a lively activity, attracting special attention from delegates and voters.

Through this, National Assembly deputies demonstrate their supervisory role and convey voters’ concerns and questions to the “commanders” of the industry. This is also considered a “test” for the industry leaders on what they have done and what they have not done during their term.

On the sidelines of the 6th Session of the 15th National Assembly, a number of National Assembly deputies discussed with reporters their concerns and expectations about the question and answer session.

The questioning session has many new points.

Delegate Ta Thi Yen (Dien Bien province), Deputy Head of the Delegation Affairs Committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee, said that questioning is one of the regular and effective supervisory activities of the National Assembly to review and evaluate the performance of duties and responsibilities of the individuals being questioned and relevant agencies and organizations, thereby taking effective measures to resolve the issue. Therefore, this activity always receives great attention.

Unlike other sessions of the National Assembly when only a maximum of 4 areas are selected for questioning, the questioning session at the 6th Session - the mid-term session will question in general about the implementation of commitments of Ministers and heads of sectors, as well as the implementation of the National Assembly's Resolutions on thematic supervision and questioning of the 14th National Assembly term and from the beginning of the 15th National Assembly term to present, covering many aspects of socio-economic life.

Delegate Ta Thi Yen said that this is truly an important mid-term "examination", a form of "re-supervision" or "post-supervision" to be able to see the work results of the industry leaders.

Delegates expressed their hope that the innovation in the way of conducting and the in-depth and broad content of the question-and-answer session will help clarify many issues that voters and people across the country are interested in; clearly identify the capacity and responsibility of "industry commanders" thereby improving the effectiveness and efficiency of state management, removing difficulties and obstacles, promoting the country's socio-economic development and improving people's lives.

She also hopes that Government members will answer all the concerns of delegates and not avoid the issue.

Delegate Hoang Anh Cong (Thai Nguyen province), Deputy Head of the People's Aspirations Committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee, also expressed high expectations for the results of this question-and-answer session.

In particular, this is also the first time the National Assembly has discussed a report on monitoring the results of citizen reception and handling of complaints and denunciations.

"This report was previously sent to National Assembly deputies for study, but this is the first time it has been brought to the National Assembly for discussion. This is an important report that helps the questioning activities to be more in-depth, closer to the substance, and enhance the responsibility of agencies handling complaints and denunciations," said Mr. Hoang Anh Cong.

Questioning at the 'right level'

Regarding the content of the question, Delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap province) said that he would raise issues related to the petroleum market, especially the petroleum price stabilization fund assigned to enterprises for management. In addition, Mr. Hoa wanted to question the situation of clean energy development, the electricity shortage in the North while wind power and solar power in the South have not been able to be integrated into the national grid.

“Overall, this year’s questioning format has many new features, which, if implemented well, will bring many benefits. I hope that members of the Government will be focused and understand the issues in their sector, especially sensitive issues and those related to people’s lives,” said Delegate Pham Van Hoa.

Sharing his views, Delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap delegation) said that instead of focusing only on 4 Ministers, heads of sectors and the Prime Minister/Deputy Prime Minister as in previous sessions, in this question-and-answer session, National Assembly deputies can question any Minister. This requires Government members to be courageous and have a comprehensive understanding of the assigned field of expertise.

According to the delegates, the heads of the sectors will be under great pressure because they do not know in advance the specific content that the delegates will question. Because there is no fixed topic like before, the questions may go beyond issues that the Minister has never thought of or could not have predicted.

Given the importance of the question-and-answer session, Delegate Pham Van Hoa said that Government members need to be well prepared, fully and promptly updated with information on issues and policies in their fields, and clearly understand the achievements and challenges they are facing.

Sharing with reporters, delegate Le Thanh Van (Ca Mau) said he is concerned about compliance with legal discipline and the performance of functions and duties of heads of central agencies, ministries and branches.

Mr. Van said that the head of a ministry must first clearly understand his or her functions, duties, and powers. If an incident occurs in his or her ministry, what responsibility will the head bear?

Commenting on the way of asking questions, delegate Le Thanh Van said that National Assembly delegates should not ask trivial questions, especially specific cases because the parliament is the place to discuss and solve issues related to the common interests of the country, nation, and people. If anything, only specific cases should be used for illustration.

“For example, to question the situation of extra teaching and learning, delegates can cite a locality to illustrate, but absolutely should not use a specific case to question. The reason is that the head of the industry may not have a specific grasp, and this is the authority of lower-level officials. Furthermore, the parliament is where general issues are raised, so we should not waste time on a specific locality, we must question at the right level of National Assembly delegates,” said Mr. Le Thanh Van.