Eliminate the "fear of mistakes" mentality in implementing national target programs

This is a step to continue the results of the National Assembly's supreme supervision on this topic at the previous session, affirming the sense of responsibility, going to the end of the supervision issue, thereby promptly removing difficulties and obstacles to speed up progress, ensuring effective implementation of 3 National Target Programs of extremely important significance on new rural construction, sustainable poverty reduction, socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

In fact, besides the achieved results, the implementation of the National Target Program still has limitations. The reasons are that the Programs are still scattered, fragmented, divided, and there is no clear mechanism for decentralization and delegation of authority; there is no specific mechanism to handle difficult, sensitive issues; there is still a situation of pushing, avoiding, and fearing responsibility. This is one of the reasons that slows down the implementation progress and reduces the effectiveness of the Programs.

To overcome this situation, the Resolution of the National Assembly has shown great decentralization to localities in implementation, in which it stipulates the pilot implementation of decentralization to the district level in the management and organization of the implementation of the National Target Programs for the period 2024 - 2025. The Resolution clearly states that the Provincial People's Council is allowed to choose no more than 2 districts to pilot the decentralization mechanism. The Provincial People's Committee decides to assign specific goals, tasks, and requirements for each national target program to the selected district for pilot implementation. Based on the expected list reported to the District People's Council, the People's Committee at the same level assigns a medium-term public investment plan to implement small-scale construction investment projects with uncomplicated techniques according to the total capital for implementing the projects...

In addition, the District People's Council is allowed to decide to adjust the plan for allocating public investment capital and regular expenditures among national target programs in the medium-term public investment plan, annual capital investment plan, and annual state budget estimates assigned by competent authorities; the structure of state budget capital sources between investment expenditures and regular expenditures of component projects that are no longer eligible for support to focus capital on implementing other component projects under national target programs for the period 2021 - 2025.

Regarding this issue, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Ethnic Council Nguyen Lam Thanh said that the fact that some places want decentralization and some places do not want decentralization is a reality from the monitoring process at localities in the implementation of the 3 National Target Programs, which depends on each specific situation and condition, requiring handling when designing policies.

“There are officials who do not want to decentralize because they think that if they do not do it, they will not be afraid of making mistakes or getting stuck. But those who want to do it well say, please decentralize to me.” Given this reality, Mr. Nguyen Lam Thanh affirmed that the National Assembly’s passing of the Resolution with 8 mechanisms and policies will fundamentally solve the current difficulties facing localities.

In particular, the pilot mechanism for decentralization to the district level in the management and implementation of the National Target Programs for the 2024-2025 period is a very new regulation. Accordingly, each province will select 2 districts to pilot decentralization, with the content of decentralization being quite thorough when transferring the authority of the Provincial People's Council to the District People's Council for implementation. This is a "very open" mechanism, with localities having the right to take the initiative, helping to shorten many stages, procedures and time.

Regarding concerns about whether the decentralization provisions in the Resolution will help speed up the implementation of the 3 National Target Programs, the Vice Chairman of the Ethnic Council said that this decentralization is completely feasible, because the Resolution clearly stipulates the authority, order, procedures and time, thereby creating peace of mind for cadres in the implementation.

In addition, because the Provincial People's Council is allowed to select no more than 2 districts to pilot the decentralization mechanism, the provincial level is fully capable of supporting the districts to effectively exercise this authority. The Resolution also stipulates that the Provincial People's Committee decides to assign specific goals, tasks, and requirements for each national target program to the selected district level for the pilot, so there will be support, control, and supervision of the implementation process.

Many opinions emphasize that the decentralization regulation is an important legal basis for localities to boldly implement, eliminating the fear of making mistakes and not daring to do anything. However, decentralization does not mean "letting go" but the superiors must still take responsibility, not decentralization and delegation of authority means that the subordinates can do whatever they want. To do so, in addition to enhancing the responsibility of the agencies assigned to implement, it is necessary to strengthen inspection and supervision, including promoting the effectiveness of supervision by the People's Council in the process of implementing this special mechanism and policy.

In addition, in order for the Resolution to soon come into effect, the Government should promptly review, amend and supplement relevant documents to ensure a synchronous legal basis for policy implementation; and allocate sufficient resources to promptly and successfully implement programs as required.