Law makers said yesterday that more land and financial sources were needed to handle a shortage of building and production land in ethnic regions. They were speaking at the 11th session of the National Assembly's Standing Committee, and they shared ideas and presented arguments about the issue affecting areas in the northern and the Central Highlands provinces. A report from the NA's Nationalities Council said that more than 300,000 ethnic households were short of land for living or production, although many efforts and investment had been made by the Government in the past 10 years. The shortcomings were caused by poor management by the provinces' authorities and a lack of land funds meaning that many ethnic and minority people were living in poor conditions, said Chairman of the NA Nationalities Council, Giang Seo Phu. The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Dang Khoa also said that a limited land fund was the biggest problem in most of the provinces. Phu added that there is a particularly serious shortage in the land funds in the mountainous areas of Ha Giang and Cao Bang provinces. He concluded that fast population growth and lack of advancement in the fields of science and technology were challenges that faced the production development of the ethnic people. The committee reported that nearly 334,000 poor households were provided land for living and production due to Government programs in the past 10 years. Deputies agreed that the committee would promulgate a resolution to ask the Government to take measures to handle shortcomings in implementing policies on land for more than 300,000 further ethnic households. Land management and financial support policies should be adjusted soon in efforts to handle land difficulties for the ethnic people," said NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, who described them as "an important part of the country's nationality." He suggested that land policies should be based on the individual, economic and geographic conditions of each region. He said that in areas where there are no land funds left, such as the Dong Van stone plateau in Ha Giang Province, suitable job programs should be introduced. "Ethnic and minority people need land and financial support," declared Chairman of the NA's Finance and State Budget, Phung Quoc Hien. He added that provinces should review the effectiveness of land use in state-run forestry areas and farms and should withdraw lands that were not being managed effectively in order to provide more resources to those who need them. Chairman of the NA National Defence and Security Committee Nguyen Kim Khoa said that many targets had been missed in the last decade and called for further assessment. "We need to review the responsibilities of each province, ministry, and relevant sector when implementing policies relating to land of ethnic and minority people." (Vietnam News Sept 14)
