The targets that remain unachieved are economic growth, total investment over GDP, job creation, poverty reduction and forest coverage.

Economic growth in the first nine months of 2012 is put at 4.73%. The rate of the entire year is forecast at 5.3%, lower the goal of 6-6.5%, said the Prime Minister when delivering a report on the socio-economic situation at the session.

Inflation is basically under control, with the consumer price index picking up 5.13% after nine months. In the final months, efforts will be taken to keep the whole-year inflation rate at some 8%.

Prime Minister Dung admitted the macro-economic situation was not yet stable. High inflation would likely return, and rising bad debts are hard to be settled, he underscored.

In addition, lending rates are still high, deposit growth is much higher than credit growth, and the gap between lending and deposit rates is still considerable.

Businesses are still mired in troubles and the number of dissolved and suspended firms is large. The sluggish real estate market has not shown any sign of recovery, said Dung.

A number of State groups and corporations are operating inefficiently and causing losses to the State. The restructuring of Vinashin has run into many problems.

Equitization of State-owned enterprises is progressing slowly. Restructuring of public investment, State corporate sector and the banking system still experience hardship.

Dung stressed: “As a member of the Politburo and Prime Minister, I seriously assume the responsibility of the head of the Government and take the blame for all weaknesses and shortcomings in the Government’s leadership and management, especially in inspection and supervisory of State groups and corporations.

“Some of them, like Vinashin and Vinalines, do business inefficiently and commit many violations, leading to losses and great consequences, affecting the reputation and the role of the State economic sector,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s report, however, only mentioned the objective reasons for the difficulties in management and did not identify the subjective ones, observed the NA Economic Committee after the report. The committee requested more comprehensive analysis of economic stagnation despite falling inflation and trade deficit; difficult access to credit capital despite abundant funds in the banking system; and unsatisfactory performance of economic restructuring.

Though inflation restraint has met the target, the macro-economy is still not sustainable, said the committee, adding that the risk of high inflation still exists.

Rapid inflation decline shows that the absorptive capacity of the economy is sharply decreasing. Bad debts and inventories are choking off the circulation of the national resources.

The State budget revenue as of end-September had met 67.3% of the year’s estimate, the slowest progress in many years. State budget revenue collection will face difficulties in the final months, affecting the socio-economic tasks.

On the behalf of the Government, Inspector General Huynh Phong Tranh delivered a report on corruption control.

“Treating business leaders in case of corruption is not strict enough, not matching the number of corruption cases detected,” said Tranh

The NA Law Committee said corruption in the banking sector in recent years had led to serious consequences, but had yet to be handled.

For example, the corruption and property appropriation case at the Dien Bien Phu transaction office and the Nha Be branch of Vietinbank in HCMC has caused a damage of over VND2 trillion.

For next year, the country aims at a GDP growth of 5.5%. Inflation target is set at 8%, and the total investment stands at 30% of GDP.

The country aims to reduce the number of the poverty-stricken households nationwide by 2% and create jobs for some 1.6 million laborers next year.

Source: SaigonTimes