Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has urged the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai to define specific priorities in economic development to avoid over-stretching investment and reap the best results.Yen Bai has a total area of 6,886 square kilometers and is home to 750,000 people from 30 ethnic groups, half of which are minority groups.Of the 180 wards, communes and towns in the province, 35 communes are especially poor. Besides, Tram Tau and Mu Cang Chai districts are two of the 65 poorest districts in the nation.Working with key provincial officials on January 5, the Party leader said the province should define its key products and sectors to develop in the time to come, taking into account the local strengths and the master plan.He stressed that in the context of a high poverty rate, Yen Bai should concentrate on better implementing centrally-funded poverty reduction programs, particularly those to develop transport infrastructure and the power supply system.Listening to the locality’s report on socio-economic tasks and party building in 2012, plus its plans for 2013, Trong spoke highly of the provincial Party Committee and local residents’ efforts to realise the 11th Party Congress Resolution.The province has succeeded in various areas, including its joining for the first time in the club of provinces contributing one trillion VND to the State budget, the establishment of a study encouragement fund, and eliminating outdated practices among ethnic groups, he said.At the same time, the party chief pointed out that Yen Bai still has a long way to go, as it is still a poor province with slow development. The province has yet to make full use of its potential and advantageous location in the transit route between the mid-land and up-land regions.It faces difficulties in transport infrastructure and human resource, has modest capacity for science-technology, and little management experience, coupled with a low average income of 16.5 million VND and a high ratio of poor households, 29%.He noted that the province should pay attention to building the Party and focus on developing the younger generations that will be the key forces and owners of the country in the future.Earlier on Jan. 4, Trong visited Tram Tau commune in Tram Tau district, one of the 62 poorest mountainous districts in the country, to inspect its production and living standards.He praised the district’s success in preventing forest fires and its efforts to popularize the sharing of farmland so all households can farm.The Party leader also visited Tram Tau Boarding Secondary School. (vietnamplus.vn Jan 5).HCM City Launches Tet Program for The Poor.HCM City’s Farmers Association is in the process of implementing a program helping the poor enjoy the upcoming Lunar New Year Festival (Tet).Under the program, the association will build 100 houses for farmers in disadvantaged communes in five of the city’s outlying districts. The program has also issued farmers 2,000 medical insurance cards, donated 1,000 Tet gifts worth VND400,000 each, and awarded hundreds of scholarships to children in struggling farming families . This year’s program is expected to provide assistance totaling around VND4 billion.In addition, a fundraising concert for the poor will be held on January 25.This is the fifth time the city has run a program mobilizing social resources to help the poor enjoy a better Tet. (vov.vn Jan 6)
