Mr. Lam Hoang Nghiep, Vice Chairman of Soc Trang Provincial People's Committee: "Implementing ethnic policies well from investigating socio-economic information of 53 ethnic minorities"

Mr. Lam Hoang Nghiep, Vice Chairman of Soc Trang Provincial People's Committee, spoke at the launching ceremony on July 1, 2024.

Reporter : How do you evaluate the fact that Soc Trang was chosen as the locality to organize the launching ceremony of the investigation to collect information on the socio -economic situation of 53 ethnic minorities in 2024 in the Southern region?

Mr. Lam Hoang Nghiep : Soc Trang is a province in the Mekong Delta region. The whole province has 11 district-level administrative units with 109 communes, wards, towns and 775 hamlets and villages. The population in 2023 is nearly 1.2 million people, of which 423,000 are ethnic minorities, accounting for 35.4% of the province's population (Khmer ethnic group is 30%, Chinese ethnic group is 5%, and the remaining 25 ethnic groups).

Soc Trang province is honored to receive the Ethnic Committee   and the General Statistics Office chose Vinh Chau town as the venue for the Launching Ceremony of the survey to collect information on the socio-economic situation of 53 ethnic minorities in 2024 in the Southern region. Vinh Chau town, the locality chosen to host the Launching Ceremony, is the locality with the largest ethnic minority population in the province, accounting for more than 70% of the population.

Reporter : Since the survey to collect information on the socio-economic situation of 53 ethnic minorities in 2019 until now, what achievements have been made in the field of ethnic work and implementation of ethnic policies in the province, sir?

Mr. Lam Hoang Nghiep : Based on the characteristics of a purely agricultural province with the largest ethnic minority population in the region, in recent years, the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee have focused on proposing many solutions in leading and directing Party committees, authorities, the Fatherland Front , and organizations to coordinate and synchronously and drastically implement the Party's guidelines, policies, and laws of the State on ethnic affairs; integrating programs, projects, and plans with the National Target Programs: New rural construction; sustainable poverty reduction; socio-economic development in ethnic minority areas to promote the province's socio-economic development. In particular, the province is focusing on synchronously and effectively implementing key investment projects and works.

Soc Trang province is determined to conduct surveys and collect information on the socio-economic situation of 53 ethnic minorities on schedule and according to the set plan.

The programs and policies of the Central Government and the province's specific policies in various fields have gradually brought practical benefits; the outstanding result is the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas for the period 2021 - 2025, with a total investment capital in the period 2022 - 2024 of 1,030 billion VND, the disbursement rate by the end of May 2024 reached 58% of the plan. The support capital focuses on investing in infrastructure development, livelihood support, production development, career conversion, job creation for ethnic minorities, etc.

The above results have contributed to reducing the poverty rate by an average of 2% per year; in which, reducing the Khmer poverty rate by 3% per year. By the end of 2023, the whole province will have 8,526 poor households, a rate of 2.54% (a decrease of 6,613 households compared to 2018). compared to 2022 ) , in which poor households among Khmer people decreased to 3,937 households, a rate of 3.86% (a decrease of 3,184 households compared to 2022).

The material and spiritual life of ethnic minorities has been gradually improved significantly, narrowing the gap in living standards and income between ethnic minorities and the province's average. Contributing to promoting the socio-economic development of the province, strengthening the great national unity bloc; the political security situation and social order and safety in ethnic minority areas continue to be maintained stably.

In that common achievement, there is the support of the Ethnic Committee and the General Statistics Office in organizing the Survey and collecting information in Soc Trang province in 2019. The survey results have made an important contribution to planning socio-economic development policies for the province's ethnic minority areas. On behalf of the provincial leaders, I would like to express my sincere thanks for the attention and support of the Ethnic Committee and the General Statistics Office from the 2019 survey results.

Reporter : To make the 2024 investigation successful and complete the set goals, what specific instructions do you have for relevant departments and branches of the province?

Mr. Lam Hoang Nghiep : The 2024 survey and information collection is extremely important, aiming to collect comprehensive information on population, population distribution; access to infrastructure; living conditions; religion, beliefs; rural security in ethnic minority areas... to compile indicators of the National Statistical Indicator System and the Statistical Indicator System on Ethnic Affairs.

Conducting information collection investigation at Tran Sen household, Khmer ethnic group, in Chau Hung town, Thanh Tri district, Soc Trang province.

The information collected from the 2024 survey, combined with the 2019 survey results, will be an important basis for analyzing and evaluating the implementation of programs and projects in ethnic minority areas in the 2021-2025 period and building effective socio-economic development investment policies for the 2026-2030 period.

In order for the 2024 survey to be successfully organized and completed on schedule, I request the Ethnic Committee, provincial departments and branches, People's Committees of districts, towns and cities, according to their assigned functions and tasks, to closely coordinate and create all favorable conditions for the Statistics sector to organize the survey according to the set plan and in accordance with the direction of the Ethnic Committee and the General Statistics Office.

The Department of Information and Communications, press and radio agencies closely coordinate with the Statistics sector to strengthen the propaganda work of the survey to collect information on the socio-economic situation of 53 ethnic minorities in 2024, in order to provide information on the purpose, meaning and basic content of the survey to all levels of people; especially people in the survey areas to create support and active participation of all levels, sectors and people, contributing to the survey achieving the best results.

Thank you very much!

Source: https://baodantoc.vn/ong-lam-hoang-nghiep-pho-chu-cich-ubnd-tinh-soc-trang-thuc-hien-tot-chinh-sach-dan-toc-tu-dieu-tra-thong-tin-kinh-te-xa-hoi-53-dtts-1719999433825.htm