Assembly demands effective policy enforcement and coordination

National Assembly (NA) members yesterday continued their debate on the performance of the government, stressing that although the government has had several successes, it needs to ensure effective policy enforcement and coordination.
In the grand meeting hall of the National Assembly, members stood up one by one to make comments on the implementation of the national socio-economic development plan over the first nine months of this year.
Overall, they expressed appreciation for what the government had achieved and acknowledged that the government had done a lot to keep the national development plan on track despite the global economic slowdown and impacts of natural disasters.

They said the government has been very responsive in the wake of natural disasters and had provided timely assistance to flood-stricken communities. As a result, people were satisfied with the government’s emergency aid. The NA also expressed confidence that the government would be able to overcome difficulties.
But members said that although the government had been successful in  ensuring people’s wellbeing as well as keeping the country on track in times of economic difficulty, the government needed to do more to ensure successful implementation of the national socio-economic development plan.
Assembly member for Khammuan province, Mr Thiphachanh Phoxay, said he had observed that some government officials were not aware of the government’s policies and laws, adding that some did not take laws and regulationsinto account when running offices as well as delivering services to the public.
He said that if the government continued to compromise the strict enforcement of laws, it would be difficult to achieve development goals in the near future. He supported the prime minister’s initiative to appoint officials with qualifications and abilities relevant to their jobs.
Assembly member for Vientiane, Ms Khamfong Mounvongxay, said the government should ensure that the development of agriculture matched developments in manufacturing as this would ensure that farmers had markets for their produce.
She said the government should also ensure effective coordination between different sectors. For example, there should be concrete measures that created conditions for farmers and the producers of animal feed to support each other.
Ms Buavanh Thammavong, Assembly member for Vientiane province, agreed that one of the challenges the government needed to address was the lack of effective coordination between sectors.
Based on her personal observations, the reasons for the slow growth in tourist arrivals was that coordination between the relevant tourism sectors as well as between central and local authorities was inadequate.
Apart from that the sectors involved did not consistently provide support and monitor the promotion of tourism related activities, she said, adding that although the authorities had identified the problems they would not effectively address them.
She said the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism should play a central role in coordinating the various state agencies in order to address barriers to tourism development so that the tourist arrival target could be achieved.
Today, government members are expected to take the floor and address the concerns of National Assembly members.

By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
(Latest Update November 13, 2019)