A total of eight bills and three resolutions will be adopted at the fifth session of the 15th National Assembly (NA).
The session is being held in two phases with a total duration of 22 days. The first phase was opened on May 22 and will last through June 10. The second phase will take place from June 19 to 23.
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| A plenary discussion of NA deputies during the 5th session__Photo: Doan Tan/VNA |
Of the to-be-approved bills, the draft Law Amending a Number of Articles of the Law on the People’s Public Security Forces and draft Law Amending a Number of Articles of the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens and the Law on Foreigners’ Entry into, Exit from, Transit through, and Residence in Vietnam, will be considered and passed by the omnibus law-making technique.
At the session, the NA Standing Committee proposed the NA to add to the 2023 Law- and Ordinance-Making Program four draft laws and one draft ordinance, including the draft Law on the Defense and Security Industry and Industrial Mobilization, draft Law on the Capital (revised), draft Law on Organization of People’s Courts (amended), draft Law Amending a Number of Articles of the Law on Property Auction, and draft Ordinance on Procedural Expenses.
The NA Standing Committee also agreed with the Government’s proposal to seek the NA’s approval to add to the 2023 legislative agenda three other draft laws, namely the draft Law on Forces Participating in Safeguarding of Grassroots Security and Order; draft Law on Roads; and draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety.
With regard to nine draft laws which are put up to the NA for comment at the session, the draft Land Law, which has attracted feedback from over 12 million people, is extremely high on the agenda. The legislature is expected to assess each aspect of the draft law and work out suitable solutions and policies to boost economic recovery and development and not miss opportunities to create more development resources.
When discussing the draft Law on Bidding (amended), NA deputies shared the view that contractor appointment should be applied only in cases of necessity, with specific criteria so as to avoid abuse in bidding. Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung noted that the law should address emerging issues, facilitate bidding and improve the efficiency of state management in this regard.
The draft resolution on pilot application of special mechanisms and policies for development of Ho Chi Minh City features new policies covering investment, finance-banking, land management, and planning and apparatus organization. The document also specifies incentives to attract strategic investors in such fields as production of electronic chips, semiconductor integrated circuits and new materials. conditions for strategic investors, and procedures for project registration, and provides the selection of strategic investors, among others.
Legislators also discussed the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and state budget in the first months of 2023. Most of them shared the view that thanks to sound and timely policies adopted by the Party, the NA and the Government in 2022, the national economy recovered impressively with a growth rate of up to 8.02 percent. However, decreases were seen in Total Factor Productivity, contribution of Information and Communication Technology to the national growth, and Environmental Performance Index. Lawmakers hence suggested that the Government should take drastic actions to remove bottlenecks in order to achieve socio-economic targets set for this year, stressing that the economic growth rate should attain at 7.5-8 percent in the remaining quarters.
Regarding the personnel work, the NA adopted a resolution on the appointment of Secretary of the Party Committee of Ha Giang province Dang Quoc Khanh as Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. It also appointed Le Quang Manh, member of the 13th Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Party Committee of Can Tho province, to the post of Chairman of the NA’s Finance-Budget Committee.
There are some other issues discussed by the 15th legislature at this session, including continued implementation of the policy on 2-percent VAT reduction under the NA’s Resolution 43 of 2022; funds for tasks and projects under the socio-economic development and recovery program; adjustments to the medium-term plan on public investment from the central budget for the 2021-25 period; and the NA’s 2024 oversight program.-
