… In the first six months of 2024, despite facing numerous difficulties and challenges, our province achieved significant results across various sectors. This success was due to the timely leadership and direction from the Central Party, the National Assembly, the Government, and the Việt Nam Fatherland Front Committee; the support and assistance from central committees, ministries, departments, and unions, as well as provinces and cities nationwide; the backing of organisations and individuals; and the high determination and efforts of Party committees, authorities, armed forces, the business community, and the people.

The economy continued to grow and develop, with the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) increasing by 8.75 per cent compared to the same period last year. This places our province 10th out of 63 localities nationwide and 3rd out of 14 provinces in the Northern Midlands and Mountainous region. The provincial planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, has been approved by the Prime Minister, laying the foundation for achieving the province's development goals.

We successfully organised numerous cultural, sports, and tourism events, and major national and provincial celebrations such as the National Tourism Year - Điện Biên and the 2024 Ban Flowe Festival; the 70th Anniversary of the Điện Biên Phủ Victory. The number of tourists visiting Điện Biên increased by 2.19 times, with total revenue from tourism activities rising by 2.26 times compared to the same period last year. Social welfare policies, poverty reduction efforts, and livelihood creation for the people were effectively implemented. We completed the support for building 5,000 Great Solidarity houses for poor and near-poor households in the province under Project 09, mobilising over VNĐ614 billion from socialisation sources to build Great Solidarity houses and implement social welfare.

Administrative reform, improvement of the investment and business environment, and investment attraction yielded positive results. Efforts to attract investment in potential and advantageous areas and priority fields continued.

National border sovereignty was maintained, political security and social order were ensured, and foreign relations with some countries and international organisations were expanded.

The construction of the Party and the political system continued to be effectively directed. We achieved the target set by the 14th Provincial Party Congress Resolution of having 100 per cent of villages with Party members and establishing independent Party cells, ensuring that there are no villages without Party organisations. The leadership role of Party committees and organisations, and the management and administration efficiency of People's Committees at all levels, saw positive changes. The role of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front and the province's socio-political organisations was well-promoted, and the solidarity among ethnic groups and social consensus continued to be strengthened and enhanced.

These results were significantly contributed to by the Provincial People's Council and its members. In the first six months of the year, the Provincial People's Council continued to innovate and improve the quality of its activities, sessions, and voter contact activities (both in content and methodology). The council collaborated with the government to resolve many difficulties and obstacles in implementing socio-economic development tasks; addressed numerous public petitions, and fulfilled its role as the representative body of the will and aspirations of the electorate and the people.

On behalf of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, I acknowledge and thank the efforts and achievements of the Provincial People's Council, the Party committees, the authorities, the Việt Nam Fatherland Front, and socio-political organisations over the past six months.

Despite these accomplishments, our province still faces many limitations: Economic growth is not sustainable and below the planned target (1.39 percentage points lower than the 10.14 per cent target); state budget revenue reached only 32.82 per cent of the estimated budget; public investment disbursement was at 33.51 per cent. The progress of several key projects and urban development initiatives is slow due to land clearance issues. Land allocation, forest allocation, and issuance of forest land use certificates have not met requirements. The implementation of national target programmes in the province is limited and progressing slowly. Certain types of crime, particularly drug trafficking, fraud, and human trafficking, remain complex. Some mechanisms and policies supporting production development have been slow to be issued; the business environment is not yet attractive to investors. Problem-solving, handling of difficulties, and addressing pressing issues raised by the electorate and the people have been inadequate.

The above limitations have various causes, both objective and subjective; responsibility lies with all levels, sectors, and the Provincial People's Council, which has not fully exercised its role, functions, duties, and powers in deciding important issues, issuing mechanisms and policies, and overseeing implementation (lack of explanatory sessions, insufficient voter contact at workplaces and residences).

To achieve the socio-economic development goals of the province, I propose that the Provincial People's Council members focus on discussing and clarifying the causes of limitations and weaknesses, particularly those related to responsibility, management capacity, and implementation efficiency across all levels and sectors. They should propose effective solutions to better perform tasks in the future.

At this 15th session, the Provincial People's Council will review and decide on many issues, assess the implementation of socio-economic development, ensure national defence and security, manage local budget revenues and expenditures, public investment, and land use. The session's contents and agenda have been reviewed by the Provincial Party Standing Committee and the Provincial Party Executive Committee to guide discussions and decisions within legal authority. For the session to achieve the highest results, I suggest several key points for the council members to consider during discussions:

1. Stick to the Central Party's guidelines, directives, and orientations, and the goals, tasks, and solutions set out in the 14th Provincial Party Congress Resolution and the Conclusion No. 1210-TB/TU dated 8th July 2024 of the Provincial Party Executive Committee on the implementation of tasks in the first six months and key tasks for the last six months of 2024. Focus on discussing and clarifying achievements, limitations, difficulties, obstacles, and causes, proposing practical and effective solutions to address issues related to land procedures, land clearance, investment attraction, administrative reform, business environment improvement, and tackling the problem of officials and civil servants lacking responsibility or avoiding responsibility.

2. Continue to innovate and enhance the effectiveness of monitoring, questioning, and explaining activities; these activities should focus on limitations, weaknesses, bottlenecks, and obstacles affecting the province's development and people's lives. Draw lessons and best practices to propose effective solutions. Emphasise monitoring the implementation of conclusions and recommendations to ensure compliance with state policies and laws, council resolutions, and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of government operations at all levels.

The council's committees should continue to innovate and improve the quality of their appraisals, focusing on field surveys to provide informed opinions on reports, proposals, presentations, and draft resolutions to ensure accuracy and relevance to the actual situation.

3. This session will review, discuss, and pass resolutions on mechanisms and policies for cooperative training between Điện Biên province and the northern Lao provinces; grassroots democracy; decentralisation in managing and implementing national target programmes for 2024-2025; lists of fees and charges, management mechanisms for revenue and expenditure related to supporting services for public education institutions, and other important policies. These are crucial for the province's socio-economic development. I urge the delegates to demonstrate responsibility to the electorate, engage in thorough discussions, and ensure that resolutions comply with legal regulations and meet public expectations.

4. Review the mechanisms, policies, and guidelines issued by the Provincial People's Council and the People's Committee, identify any unclear, conflicting, or overlapping regulations, and promptly issue, amend, or supplement them to address implementation difficulties.

5. Continue to innovate and enhance the quality of voter contact activities by increasing the time and number of voters, focusing on thematic contacts, selecting issues of public interest, and addressing prominent social concerns. Through voter contact conferences, promote information dissemination about Party policies, programmes, mechanisms, and policies, especially those related to production support, social welfare, land recovery, land clearance, resettlement for investment projects, and environmental protection.

6. After the session, the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council should promptly issue resolutions within its authority, develop plans for effectively implementing the resolutions, and organise voter contact activities according to regulations. Address limitations and improve the capacity and effectiveness of the Provincial People's Council, the Standing Committee, the council's committees, and the council's delegates.

The provincial government, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and all levels, sectors, and socio-political organisations should urgently implement the contents approved by the Provincial People's Council. During implementation, they must promote information dissemination, guidance, inspection, and supervision to ensure that mechanisms and policies are implemented uniformly and effectively, gaining the consensus and active participation of all people.

With a spirit of democracy, responsibility, discipline, and intelligence, I am confident that the 15th session of the Provincial People's Council, Term XV, will be successful, promptly deciding on important local issues, contributing to socio-economic development, and achieving the 2024 targets. We strive to substantially complete the goals and targets set by the 14th Provincial Party Congress Resolution by the end of 2024.

(*) Title provided by the Editorial Board