On the morning of December 5, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the investment policy for the National Target Program (NTP) on new rural areas, sustainable poverty reduction, socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas until 2035.
The consolidation of the 3 current National Target Programs into a comprehensive program is considered a institutional breakthrough, helping to overcome the situation of resource spread and budget overlap.
However, the issue of structure and capital allocation ability received much attention when many delegates expressed concern about the huge counterpart burden on the shoulders of poor provinces, which are core areas of difficulty.
Speaking in the hall, about capital and resource structure, delegate Ha Sy Dong (National Assembly delegation of Quang Tri province) said that many opinions are very concerned when the minimum capital demand for the 2026-2030 period is over VND 240,000 billion, but currently only VND 100,000 billion has been balanced, reaching only about 41.5% of the minimum demand.
Meanwhile, the requirement to mobilize 10% of local budget capital and 28% from businesses and communities is very difficult and unfeasible for poor provinces, where the budget often has to rely on the Central Government.
"It is recommended to re-determine the appropriate counterpart rate, especially for mountainous, remote and isolated provinces. Because in some places, even 10% of the confrontation is a challenge" - delegate Ha Sy Dong stated.
The delegate also said that it is necessary to stipulate a clear allocation principle: at least 70% of central budget capital must be prioritized for ethnic minority and mountainous areas, of which at least 40% is for particularly difficult areas, ensuring investment in the right core poor areas and the right focus. Delegate Ha Sy Dong also agreed to assign localities to review and decide for themselves.
Delegate Ho Thi Minh (National Assembly delegation of Quang Tri province) pointed out, "the estimated capital of the program for the 2026-2030 period is 1.23 million billion VND. However, central capital is only 8%, local budget capital is 33% and capital mobilized from people and businesses is 28%".
The delegate said that for ethnic minority areas, especially the Central and Central Highlands provinces receiving subsidy from the Central Government, applying a coefficient of 33% is very difficult and can easily lead to outstanding loans for basic construction.
The delegate suggested that the National Assembly should review the capital structure, and at the same time exempt counterpart payments for poor communes and areas frequently affected by floods and natural disasters such as the Central and Central Highlands, so that the resolution is truly feasible and humane.
