Effective implementation
The Government Socio-Economic Development and Recovery Program is an overall program for supporting people and businesses to recover from the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and for future long-term development. The scale and basic contents of financial and monetary policies and the Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Program as submitted by the Government to the National Assembly are very much appropriate for the needs of the people today.
However, this supplementary program does not replace socio-economic development plans, economic restructuring plans, or programs to support people and businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic that the National Assembly and the Government have already promulgated and are currently implementing. Moreover, there are tasks that are not included in the Socio-Economic Development and Recovery Program, which the Government and relevant agencies and localities still have to actively deal with and introduce.
The main goal of the Socio-Economic Development and Recovery Program is to continue to resolve the difficulties of people, support businesses to maintain and stabilize production, and other businesses to develop and grow stronger and more sustainably. The fiscal and monetary policy packages approved by the National Assembly at this extraordinary session also aims to support the Government in formulating and effectively implementing the Socio-Economic Development and Recovery Program for the next two years of 2022 and 2023.
Currently, the specific content of the program, such as which projects and which businesses are beneficiaries of this support package is of great concern. Supporting the right target group is not just a concern but also one of the factors determining the effectiveness of the program. Therefore, it is very important to develop specific, clear, fair, and reasonable criteria and conditions to identify the right target group for each type of support. The contents need to have a wide scope, like a support package of 2% interest rate per year, or infrastructure of more than VND 103,000 bn for transport. So choosing which projects are eligible can be challenging. This also means that the Government responsibility is very huge for its implementation.
Deep commitment required
Large amounts of publicity and transparency of projects for businesses eligible to receive support from fiscal and monetary support packages is absolutely essential. The openness and transparency will be meaningful in contributing to improving the effectiveness of the program, from the initial construction to implementation and later monitoring of the support package. This will also be a way to minimize negativity when the program is being implemented.
The way the organization implements transparency and maximum publicity will improve the effectiveness of the program in terms of both time and quality, because implementing parties are under great pressure to ensure the correct implementation of the program's goals and criteria. In addition, building an effective mechanism in the organization for program implementation is also essential. Perhaps, the Government needs to research to have a board or an agency to direct and coordinate the implementation and monitoring of the program.
The Socio-Economic Development and Recovery Program must be closely linked with the Covid-19 prevention and control program and other institutional reform programs for supporting people and businesses, so it requires coordination between ministries, branches, and localities. I also propose that the Steering Committee must ensure both a professional capacity and certain decision-making authority to promptly handle problems arising during the implementation of the program. This will make it easier and more effective when advising the Government and the Prime Minister.
In particular, in the program implementation phase, the Government's initiative in reforming procedures and processes within its competence is also very important. For example, the regulation says this procedure takes upto 30 days, but the Government can ask for a 50% or more reduction during that time.
As soon as the National Assembly passes a resolution on the fiscal and monetary policy package, it is hoped that the Government will urgently issue an action plan and program right away. Every day, businesses, people, and the economy are facing more and more difficulties, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the program. In addition, timely, complete, and comprehensive information about the program contents to relevant target groups is also very important. At the same time, it is necessary to develop a practical and effective support mechanism for program beneficiaries to ensure easy and fair access.
In particular, the plans of the Socio-Economic Development and Recovery Program should be implemented in close association with the overall program on Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control. Pandemic prevention and control and economic development must be implemented in harmony, complement and support each other, and not remain exclusive.
Finally, for effective implementation, a deep commitment and a very strong mindset to supporting people and businesses is required. The willingness to innovate and seek new ways of doing things during the ongoing pandemic should also continue during the recovery phase and during the implementation of the Socio-Economic Development and Recovery Program.
