Politburo to submit nominations for ministers, auditor general

Addressing at the closing session of the sixth plenum of the 13th Central Committee of Vietnam’s Communist Party Sunday, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said the Party Central Committee gave its opinions on the Politburo’s report on personnel for the positions.

The Politburo will, in turn, make recommendations based on the committee’s opinions to the National Assembly for consideration and approval at its next session that opens October 20.

On July 15, Dao Hong Lan, Party chief of the northern province of Bac Ninh, was appointed acting health minister after her predecessor was arrested for involvement in a Covid-19 test kit fraud in 2020.

On July 25, Ngo Van Tuan, Party Secretary of the northern province of Hoa Binh, was appointed Secretary of the Party delegation at the State Audit of Vietnam and Deputy Auditor General in charge of the State Audit of Vietnam.

Nguyen Van The currently serves as Minister of Transport, a position he has held since 2017.

The Party chief said this was the first time the Central Committee had decided to let high-ranking officials – former HCMC chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong, President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Bui Nhat Quang and Secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Committee of Agencies Huynh Tan Viet to leave the Party Central Committee after they were accused of committing violations and shortcomings with “serious consequences.”

The committee also decided to expel Pham Xuan Thang, Secretary of Hai Duong’s Party Committee, and chairman of the provincial People’s Council from the Party for wrongdoings that caused serious consequences including great losses to the state budget.

In addition to discussing personnel appointments, the session also focused on a number of socio-economic issues, the Party chief said.

In the first 9 months, Vietnam’s GDP growth crossed 8.8%; while state budget revenues increased 22%.

Total import-export turnover reached nearly $559 billion with exports of more than $282.5 billion, up 17.3% year-on-year. Vietnam’s recorded a trade surplus of nearly $7 billion during the period.

The Central Committee called for the whole system to step up vigilance and exert better control over the Covid-19 pandemic as well as other diseases.

During the session, the Central Committee also agreed on the need to roll out the national master plan for 2021-2023 with a vision towards 2050, considering this ‘a very important political task.’

The Party chief said the planning work should focus on forming a national infrastructure framework, particularly in transport, urban areas, energy, digital transformation, environmental protection, irrigation, natural disaster prevention and control, and climate change response.

The planning will also aim to establish and develop economic corridors along the North-South axis and the East-West axis and connect seaports, international border gates, major trade hubs, urban hubs and economic centers.