Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, August 22 (VNA) -- The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, ninth tenure, held its third plenary session in Ha Noi from August 13-22.

Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh chaired the meeting and delivered opening and closing speeches.

The meeting highlighted the role of each and every member of the Party Central Committee (Party CC). Debates took place in an open and frank atmosphere so as to solve effectively issues raised in the session's agenda.

The plenum passed in full the Working Regulation of the Central Committee, the Political Bureau and the Secretariat; the Working Regulation of the Central Committee's Inspection Commission, the Working Programme of the 9th tenure of the Central Committee; and the Resolution of the Central Committee, of the Communist Party of Viet Nam. The session entrusted the Politburo with the task of finalising and issuing the Party CC's third session resolution on further re-structuring, renewing, developing, and raising the efficiency of State-owned enterprises, on the basis of reports by the Politburo and viewpoints raised by Party CC members during the session.

All the regulations passed at the plenary session were based on the Party's statute and the Resolution of the ninth National Party Congress, and the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. The regulations makers inherited and and developed the sound contents while overcoming the shortcomings or limitations of the previous regulations. They also supplemented, developed, and further concretised a number of new contents to clarify provisions on responsibilities, powers, working rules and methods of the Central Committee; the Politburo; the Secretariat; the General Secretary, Politburo members, and the Central Committee; the Party Central Committee's Inspection Commission and its staff. The Politburo agreed on the importance of implementing centralised democracy throughout the Party, from top to bottom, in order to improve the Party's capacity to lead and to promote managerial efficiency and quality, as well as to raise the role and responsibility of mass organisations and to increase the inspection and supervision work so as to maintain Party discipline.

Under the newly-adopted regulation, each and every member of the Party Central Committee has to do the utmost to fulfil his/her assignment, actively take part in the leadership of the Party Central Committee, set an example in implementing and defending the lines and stances of the Party, resolutions and decisions of the Party Central Committee, and Law and policies of the State. They are also required to maintain unity, live a healthy life, build a model of advanced families and not to let their loved ones abuse their power to violate the Party regulations, laws and State policies, thus deteriorating the Party's prestige. They will have to bear responsibility for corruption, wastefulness, and bureaucratism committed by their juniors either directly under their management or in the agencies or localities in their charge.

The new regulation has given more details to fact-finding tours of grassroots establishments or localities, stipulating that members of the Party Central Committee, including the General Secretary, Politburo members, and Secretariat members, have to listen to officials, Party members, and people and directly take part in summing up realities.

The plenum discussed and passed the working programme of the whole ninth tenure of the Party Central Committee. The programme has made clear the responsibilities and determination of the Party Central Committee in concretising and organising the implementation of the Resolution of the ninth National Party Congress through putting into discussion and issuing resolutions on major issues, especially breakthrough in economic areas, to create a new impetus; concentrating on solving pressing social issues from the process of strengthening the Party, the state and mass organisations. The programme reflects the guiding stance of economic development, Party strengthening, and national construction all closely associated with defending the Socialist Viet Nam fatherland. A new objective of the programme is to spend more time reviewing the implementation of issued resolutions, organising mid-term reviews of the ninth National Party Congress Resolution, and supplementing necessary policies and solutions to translate the Resolution into the daily life.

The session discussed and passed detailed stipulations on responsibilities, powers and working methods of the Party Central Committee's Inspection Commission so as to improve the quality and efficiency of the Commission's operations in inspecting and maintaining Party discipline.

Much time was spent discussing the project "Further re-structuring, renewing, developing, and raising the efficiency of State-owned enterprises. The plenary session deeply analyzed both strong and weak points of these SoEs as well as their cause in an effort to re-structure, renew and develop them. SoEs have made a major contribution to maintaining the State economic sector's key role in the national economy, under the clear-sighted leadership of the Party and the guidance of the Government, authorities at all levels as well as tireless efforts to overcome difficulties and challenges shown by the SoEs and the working class in the new economic structure.

They have managed to step in all industries, play a core role in economic and export growth, make a major contribution to the State budget, guarantee major balances, and stabilise the macro economy. The new SoE structure and scale has enabled these enterprises to increase production capacity, make major progress in technology upgrade and management, raise their socio-economic efficiency, and improve their competitiveness.

So far, SoEs have adapted well to the market economy, giving more autonomy to individual companies, holding their companies more responsible for their operations, using a more transport financial accounting system, and efficiently implementing the first stage of the equitisation process.

However, SoEs have exposed their weaknesses and limitations: low efficiency in production and business operations, which have not been commensurate with their own potential and the Government's support; debt burdens, slow technological renovation, and major labour surplus. Many SoEs have failed to practise autonomy in business operations and shown weaknesses in management. The process of equitizing, assigning, selling, contracting and leasing SoEs was conducted slowly while SoEs structures proved irrational.

The plenum pointed to these weaknesses and limitations of SoEs, which have resulted from objective reasons but mainly subjective causes, namely the State's loose control and management, insufficient and inaccurate perception of SoEs' role as well as the guideline on public corporate restructuring and development. There have also been impediments to the State's management of SoEs.

Administrative reforms have proceeded slowly, and many mechanisms and policies unsuitable to a socialist-oriented market mechanism, have failed to give a strong impetus to both businesses and employees; these have also inhibited the autonomy of SoEs. Strong determination are not seen in the organization and guidance of implementation, which are less effective and efficient as well as short of inspection and supervision. Too many key managers of these enterprises are not only under qualified for their positions but have also at times shown irresponsibility.

In order to continue restructuring SoEs and raising the efficiency of their operations, the plenum reiterated the Party's viewpoint on the leading role of the public economic sector (of which SoEs act as the centrepiece) in tandem with persisting in the socialist orientation, national socio-economic stabilisation and development. It is a must to restructure the state-owned corporate sector, with a focus on crucial branches and domains as well as important regions. SoEs must constantly increase their business efficiency, strive to command a large market share in crucial service sectors, strengthen the dominance of the state-owned corporate sector in the national economy in general. SoEs must operate along a market mechanism, holding autonomy, bearing fiscal responsibility, and making efforts to improve competitiveness and cooperation with businesses of other economic sectors. The State will give necessary, conditional, and time-limit protection to some important branches, sectors and products. However, the State is determined to phase out subsidies while still carrying out policies to support branches, sectors products which are given priority for development. The re-structuring, renewing and development of SoEs as well as the increase of efficiency of their operations must be conducted under the principle that what is clear and already defined in the Party's resolutions must be done quickly and resolutely, and that what is not yet clear must be done on a trial basis to test effectiveness before proceeding in full. Party leadership must be strengthened at all levels and services, and the effectiveness of the Party organization at the grassroots level must be raised, while the role of workers as a master and activities of the trade unions must be enhanced in order to ensure effective implementation of the Party's resolutions and the enforcement of the State's laws at state-owned enterprises.

The plenum also set tasks for five years between now and 2005, namely to basically complete the restructuring of remaining SoEs and renovating their operations and clearly define corporate types so as to devise proper policies and take effective measures; to apply company regulations on wholly government-invested businesses to basically complete the equitization of those SoEs that the Government needs not to hold the total investment capital; to streamline state-owned corporations and raise the efficiency of their operations; to form a number of economic conglomerates; to revise mechanisms and policies, making them a complete legal framework, creating a fair business environment in a market mechanism for businesses in all economic sectors, helping the state-owned corporate sector to bring into full play its autonomy, and bear self-responsibility in production and business operation; to ensure corporate financial transparency through the settlement of bad and overdue debts and labour surplus; to take an important step of technological and managerial renewal and modernization in almost all SoEs; and to increase investment in developing and setting up SoEs in essential and capable areas and sectors.

The plenum focussed on discussing and working out major measures to realise these tasks.

The third plenum of the Party Central Committee accomplished its agenda as planned, with the approval of important documents to concretise the resolution of the ninth National Party congress.

The Party Central Committee called on the entire Party and people to continue promoting the tradition of unity, overcoming every difficulty and challenge to seize opportunities and advance forward to successfully implement the resolution of the third plenum of the Party Central Committee..--VNA