Planning ministry gets Deputy PM as new head

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has a new chief with Deputy Prime Minister Dr Sonexay Siphandone appointed to the post replacing the retiring Dr Souphan Keomixay.
An official announcement of the appointment took place at the ministry on Friday, when Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith presided over the ceremony.

Dr Souphan, 68, has served the government for 39 years, beginning in late 1980 as a civil servant on the Committee of State Planning (now the Ministry of Planning and Investment), before rising to become the 10th minister.
Speaking at the ceremony, the outgoing minister expressed his gratitude to the Party and government for their trust in appointing him to fulfil the responsibility. He thanked his colleagues for their cooperation, support, and solidarity in working together.
In his address at the ceremony, Prime Minister Thongloun praised the great dedication of all the heads of the ministry, including Dr Souphan, who he said had made continuous progress in planning, cooperation, and investment for the country’s development.
Noting the planning and investment sector as the core of national development as it designed policies to face challenges based on existing resources, Mr Thongloun said the ministry had to change and improve in line with the current situation.
Going forward, Mr Thongloun advised the ministry to study the issues hindering development, whether that be global circumstances, an imbalance between supply and demand, ineffective use of resources, implementation of unapproved development projects that created public debt, or failure of state enterprise business operations.
Mr Thongloun was confident the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay as the new head of the ministry would guide the planning and investment sector in achieving its goals, enriching accomplishments, and addressing deficiencies.
With regard to the ministry’s work, Mr Thongloun stressed the need for precise reports on the implementation of the eighth National Socio-Economic Development Plan, showing the milestones achieved, remaining shortcomings, and the development process amidst the circumstances of the past five years.
More specifically, Mr Thongloun said the ministry had to address unapproved projects, saying they should be dealt with systematically.
He advised reprioritising approved projects to determine which needed to be carried out first, reviewing those being implemented, and finding ways to decrease their cost.
He stressed the solving of all these problems through respect for economic, scientific and sustainable development principles. 

By Somxay Sengdara
(Latest Update October 14, 2019)