Vietnam's economy on the upswing, dogged by corruption
Hanoi (AsiaNews) Satisfied with the country's economic growth, Vietnam's leaders are concerned with its corruption problem. Last week during a debate in the National Assembly on the country's economic situation questions were asked as to how buying and selling of favours might be eliminated.
Do Trong Ngoan, a lawmaker from Bac Giang province, raised the issue of who should be held accountable when the government is involved in corruption cases and how the government should deal with it.
All of his colleagues agreed that a solution must be found and that ordinary citizens ought to fight for social justice as well as prevent and resist corruption by members of the government.
To stop officials from buying and selling public land, the National Assembly suggested for instance that there should be stricter enforcement of laws against violators.
National Assembly Speaker Nguyen Phu Trong said that "in the future the National Assembly plans greater scrutiny of government activities as they affect the people".
Parliament also laid down the guidelines of the next five-year plan (2006-2010). The national gross domestic production (GDP) is expected to be 2.1 times higher than in 2006. The target is a stable growth rate of between 7.5 and 8 per cent until 2010. The per capita GDP is projected to reach US$ 1,050-1,100.
Agriculture's share of the economy should remain around 15-16 per cent. Industry and construction's share should rise to 44 per cent by 2010, up from 43, whilst services would account for as much as 41 per cent of GDP. On a yearly basis, exports should grow by 16 per cent.
Government revenues is expected to be at around 21-22 per cent of GDP and the total annual investment capital should account for 40 per cent.
Over this period, eight million jobs should be created with urban unemployment under 5 per cent. However, the number of Vietnamese living under the poverty line is expected to hover around 10-11 per cent of the population. Still, 95 per cent of all urban residents have access to clean water compared to 75 per cent in the countryside.
"Some National Assembly members said that during their term of office they will try to do practical activities," a professor from the state university in Ho Chi Minh City told AsiaNews, "Others promised that they will fight corruption and invest in economic development."
"They did not however mention any 'indicators' of investment to measure Viet Nam's education and total human development," he added.
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