Resolution 25/2021/QH15 investment policy for the national target program on new-countryside building 2021-2025

RESOLUTION

Approving the investment policy for the national target program on new-countryside building for the 2021-2025 period^[1]

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

Pursuant to Law No. 57/2014/QH13 on Organization of the National Assembly which had a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 65/2020/QH14;

Pursuant to Law No. 39/2019/QH14 on Public Investment which had a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 64/2020/QH14;

Pursuant to Law No. 83/2015/QH13 on the State Budget which had a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 59/2020/QH14;

After considering the Government’s Report No. 252/TTr-CP of July 20, 2021, on proposal of the investment policy for the national target program on new-countryside building in the 2021-2025 period, the Committee on Economic Affairs’ Verification Report No. 11/BC-UBKT15 of July 22, 2021, the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Report No. 25/BC-UBTVQH15 of July 27, 2021, on explanation about, acceptance of opinions on, and revision of, the draft Resolution approving the investment policy for the national target program on new-countryside building in the 2021-2025 period, and opinions of National Assembly deputies;

RESOLVES:

Article 1

To approve the investment policy for the national target program on new-countryside building in the 2021-2025 period (below referred to as the Program) with the following contents:

1. Objectives of the Program:

a/ General objectives:

To further implement the Program in association with efficient agricultural restructuring, rural economic development and urbanization process in an in-depth, effective and sustainable manner; to build a new advanced countryside, a new exemplary countryside and a new village-level countryside. To improve material and spiritual lives of and promote gender equality among the rural population. To build a synchronous and gradually modern rural socio-economic infrastructure and ensure bright, green, clean and beautiful rural environment and landscape imbued with traditional cultural identity, adaptable to climate change and sustainable development.

b/ Specific targets by 2025:

- At least 80% of total communes nationwide will meet new-countryside standards, of which at least 10% will attain new exemplary countryside standards, and there will be no commune satisfying less than 15 new-countryside criteria. To continue building a new advanced countryside and new exemplary countryside in communes, districts and provinces that have been recognized as meeting new-countryside standards with rural people’s average income increasing by at least 1.5 folds over 2020;

- At least half of districts, towns and provincial cities nationwide will reach new-countryside standards or fulfill the task of building a new countryside with at least 20% of total districts recognized as new advanced and new exemplary rural districts. Every province or centrally run city will have at least 2 district-level units meeting new-countryside standards;

- At least 15 provinces and centrally run cities nationwide will be recognized as having fulfilled the task of building a new countryside;

- Sixty percent of total hamlets and villages (below collectively referred to as villages) in extreme difficulty-hit communes in border, mountainous, alluvial and coastal areas and on islands will be recognized as meeting new-countryside standards according to new-countryside criteria set by provincial-level People’s Committees.

2. Scope and period of implementation of the Program

a/ Scope of implementation: rural areas nationwide, including villages, communes, districts, towns and provincial cities of 63 provinces and centrally run cities; and provinces and centrally run cities;

b/ Period of implementation: from 2021 through 2025.

3. Funds for implementation of the Program:

The state budget shall allocate at least VND 196,332 billion for the Program, of which:

a/ Central budget allocations: VND 39,632 billion, including:

- Development investment funds: VND 30 trillion;

- Non-business funds: VND 9,632 billion.

b/ Local budget allocations: VND 156,700 billion.

In the course of administration, the Government shall continue balancing central budget allocations in order to provide additional support for the Program as suitable to practical conditions and rationally mobilize lawful sources for the Program’s implementation.

4. Principles of allocation of central budget funds for implementation of the Program:

a/ To make investment in a focused, intensive and sustainable manner; to prioritize resources for communes and districts that have not yet met new-countryside standards, particularly communes in former resistance bases and those satisfying less than 15 new-countryside criteria; to help communes meeting new-countryside standards further consolidate criteria that they have met but remain low in order to raise the quality of such criteria and ensure sustainability;

b/ To allocate support funds for the programs and projects approved by competent authorities;

c/ The central budget shall provide support for local budgets in implementing the Program on the following principles:

- In 2021, to continue implementing the support mechanism applied in the 2016-2020 period;

- In the 2022-2025 period, based on the state budget estimates of 2022 (the first year of the new budget stabilization period):

+ The central budget will not provide support to localities with revenues transferred to the central budget (except Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces);

+ The central budget will only provide support to localities receiving transfers from the central budget and Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces with priority given to mountainous and Central Highlands localities and localities receiving transfers from the central budget at a rate of 60% or more;

The Prime Minister shall detail budget allocations based on the above principles.

c/ Based on total support funds provided by the central budget and local budget funds, provincial-level People’s Councils shall decide on allocations in order to ensure synchronicity and non-overlap with the national target program on sustainable poverty reduction in the 2021-2025 period and national target program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous regions in the 2021-2030 period;

dd/ To enhance inspection, examination, supervision and evaluation of the Program’s implementation at all levels and in all sectors. To take preventive measures to promptly prevent negative and wastefulness practices and strictly handle violations in the course of implementation of the Program.

5. Solutions and mechanisms for management and administration of the Program:

a/ Fund raising and implementation solutions:

- To implement synchronous fund raising solutions, ensuring sufficient and prompt fund raising according to the specified structure; localities shall lawfully allocate sufficient funds from their local budgets for the implementation of the Program; to encourage provision of entrusted loans via the system of social policy banks; to mobilize more economic organizations to register provision of support to localities for new-countryside building;

- To review and phase out investment, prioritizing intensive investment, avoiding thinned-out investment and outstanding debts in capital construction, and to ensure compliance with the Law on Public Investment.

b/ Management and administration mechanisms:

The management and administration of the Program must comply with Point b, Clause 4, Article 1 of the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 24/2021/QH15 of July 28, 2021, approving the investment policy for the national target program on sustainable poverty reduction in the 2021-2025 period.

Article 2

1. The Government is assigned to perform the following tasks:

a/ To set out principles for integrating funds of the 3 national target programs for the 2021-2025 period approved by the National Assembly;

b/ To promulgate regulations on management and organization of the implementation of the Program in accordance with the Law on Public Investment, Law on the State Budget and other relevant laws;

c/ To review, amend and supplement provisions on abridged special mechanisms for a number of investment projects for implementation of the Program on a small scale or with uncomplicated techniques, with funds partly allocated by the State and partly contributed by the population, and with the people’s supervision;

d/ Annually, to report on results of implementation of the Program to the National Assembly at year-end National Assembly sessions.

2. The Prime Minister is assigned to perform the following tasks:

a/ To decide on investment in the Program according to procedures specified in the Law on Public Investment; to promulgate a set of national new-countryside standards for all levels (provincial, district and commune levels) and degrees (standard, advanced and exemplary) in conformity with reality in every region or area;

b/ To direct the organization of implementation, monitor, examine and evaluate results of the implementation of the Program; to direct localities to balance, mobilize and use resources to ensure the effective implementation of the Program.

Article 3

Provincial-level People’s Councils and People’s Committees are assigned to perform the following tasks:

1. To work out plans and balance and allocate local budget funds for implementation of the Program. To promulgate regulations on integration of capital sources from other programs and projects with the same contents and tasks for the implementation of the Program in the localities, avoiding overlap in scope, subjects and contents among national target programs and striving for completion of the Program’s approved objectives; to avoid outstanding debts in capital construction;

2. Annually, provincial-level People’s Committees shall report on results of implementation of the Program to provincial-level People’s Councils at their year-end meetings and to the Government.

Article 4

The Standing Committee, Ethnic Council, and other Committees of the National Assembly, delegations of National Assembly deputies and National Assembly deputies, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations and the people shall, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, oversee and supervise the implementation of the Program.

This Resolution was adopted on July 28, 2021, by the XV^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 1^st session.-

Chairman of the National Assembly
VUONG DINH HUE