From the disbursement account
Thousands of billions of VND from the National Target Programs are being poured into the western Da Nang region with the aspiration to change the face of the mountainous areas. While some localities such as Tay Giang and Tra Linh have created " miracles" thanks to creative application of resources, the general picture of disbursement progress still has many concerns, showing that the path to sustainable poverty reduction requires not only money, but also revolutions in thinking and working methods.
On December 16, at a meeting on the disbursement progress of national target programs (MTQG), the numbers on the table showed a big paradox. Thousands of billions of VND have been allocated, but the capital flow to the people is still slow, not meeting expectations.
The report at the meeting chaired by Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Tran Anh Tuan pointed out a worth pondering reality. The total capital of the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas in 2025 (including the capital transferred from previous years) is up to more than 1.1 trillion VND. However, by the end of November, the disbursement rate had only reached 43%. Similarly, the Sustainable Poverty Reduction Program, although better, has only reached 62%.
The reasons pointed out by the Departments, branches and sectors are not new but are still inherent barriers. A representative of the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions said that after having a capital plan, the units were slow in allocating, affecting the overall progress. The representative of the Department of Agriculture and Environment also pointed out the specific difficulties of the mountainous areas: isolated areas, difficult transportation, frequent rainy and flooded weather, and landslides that hinder construction. Along with that, the merger of provinces and cities leads to many complicated financial procedures; personnel changes after the restructuring of the apparatus also have a significant impact on progress.
Faced with this situation, the direction of Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Tran Anh Tuan is very strong: urgently review, have specific plans for each project, and be determined to complete unfinished works before December 31, 2025.
However, behind the macro numbers and systematic delays are micro bottlenecks, stories from peoples own lives that if not resolved, no matter how quickly and effectively disbursed, it will be difficult to be sustainable.
To the "bottleneck" of thinking...
In Phuoc Hiep commune, a mountainous commune in the West, the story is not just about lack of capital or slow disbursement. According to Mr. Le Quang Trung, Secretary of the Commune Party Committee, the biggest challenge comes from an invisible thing: "thinking style, working style" has eaten deep into the subconscious.
Mr. Trung analyzed that for generations, ethnic minorities have been used to living on their own, self-sufficient. When the State's support policies are strongly implemented, in addition to great achievements, it also unintentionally gives rise to a group of people with the mindset of waiting, relying on, lacking the desire to rise up, even trying to keep themselves as poor households to enjoy the policy.
This "fateful" mentality is a fertile land for bad things and bad customs. It creates a cycle of poverty that money from support programs is unlikely to break. This is the clearest proof that if we only focus on disbursement without going hand in hand with mobilizing and changing awareness, the effectiveness of programs will not be sustainable.
... And the " miracles" of creative application
However, not every place is " bound" by thinking. The story in Tay Giang and Tra Linh communes is another inspiring highlight, showing that when national resources are combined with the dynamism and creativity of the locality, extraordinary achievements can completely happen.
In the border commune of Tay Giang, capital from the National Target Programs has truly created a revolution. Comrade Bhling Mia, Secretary of the Commune Party Committee, said that in the 2020-2025 term, capital from these programs will account for 57.05% of the total investment capital of the whole commune (more than 445/780 billion VND). This huge resource has been turned into specific projects by Tay Giang: more than 550km of roads have been concreted, 100% of households have grid electricity, and especially 41 safe resettlement points for more than 1,300 households in disaster areas.
Tay Giang's success does not only come from building infrastructure. Their real strength lies in a comprehensive development strategy with six key solutions, in which the " At issue" is building a strong political system, operating according to the "7 clear" model. Since then, the commune has planned to develop a sustainable economy with medicinal plants, preserve Co Tu culture associated with tourism, and reduce poverty according to the motto " bring fishing rods, not fish".
If Tay Giang is a model of effectively using resources from top to bottom, Tra Linh is proof of another path: finding a "golden key" to the economy to change life and thinking. That "key" is Ngoc Linh ginseng.
According to Ms. Ho Thi Minh Thuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tra Linh commune, the locality has turned the potential of more than 7,300 hectares of natural forests into an extremely successful economic model under the forest canopy. The people of Xo Dang and Ca Dong with their local knowledge have understood that protecting the forest is protecting the ginseng, protecting the "rice pot" of the family. The huge economic benefits of 100 tons of ginseng harvested each year have turned each person into the most dedicated forest ranger, voluntarily breaking the mindset of nomads and farming forests. The whole commune has nearly 700 hectares of forest leased for ginseng cultivation, attracting 361 households and 14 businesses to participate. This is an excellent solution to the problem of how to develop the economy in parallel with environmental protection, and more importantly, how to change people's "thinking" in the most natural and sustainable way.
Need for breakthrough mechanisms
Setting the stories of Phuoc Hiep, Tay Giang, Tra Linh next to the city's general disbursement problem, the development path for Da Nang mountainous areas has become more clearly shown. The problem is not only speeding up the disbursement process, but how to make capital used effectively and create sustainable changes from the roots.
The practical recommendations of Tay Giang have profound significance for the whole region. That is the need to have a specific mechanism for mountainous communes, promote decentralization and delegation of authority according to the motto "locality discusses, locality decides, locality implements, locality is responsible", said Mr. Bhling Mia, Secretary of the Tay Giang Commune Party Committee. Only then can communes be proactive and flexible in implementing models that are most suitable to their reality.
Continuing to invest in key routes such as 14G, DT 606 and having an open mechanism to attract investors in medicinal herbs and carbon credits are also strategic proposals, helping to clear "bottlenecks" in infrastructure and the market.
The journey to build a rich and prosperous Da Nang mountainous region still faces many challenges. However, successful models such as in Tay Giang and Tra Linh have proven that, with strong leadership, the right strategy and the consensus of the people, the most difficult lands can also rise strongly. That is a valuable lesson for the country's trillion-dong resources to truly bring "sweetness", ignite the desire to get rich and build a sustainable future on the border land.
