PM announces improvements to govt



Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh explained to National Assembly members on Friday the government's intention to address existing problems and seek better paths to national development.

He pointed out the present government was only one year old and would hold a meeting in July to evaluate the leadership and the work they had carried out over the past year.

At the end of July, a meeting between the government members and the governors of all provinces would be held to discuss ways to address problems raised in the current session of the National Assembly.

“As you know, we are revolutionaries, and we always look at situations in two ways. We consider positive points and potential, as well as negative points and challenges, so as to be able to deal with all problems,” Mr Bouasone said.

“We reaffirm the leadership of the Party and our intention to strengthen unity among people of all ethnic groups. We need to ensure security and order for our nation to facilitate national development and a better standard of living for all people.”

The PM added that the government would continue to improve the political system, especially in the executive sectors, and reaffirmed the Party's foreign affairs policy.

However, Mr Bouasone said, any shortcomings were due to inadequacies in the government's administration and pledged to improve the organisation of the government.

The government would continue to ensure that all officials understand properly the nature of the Party and government, which is of the people, by the people and in the interests of the people, he said.

“We will promote the habit of self-criticism and of criticising other people, as it is a basic principle of our Party to help and encourage each other to work better.”

The government also would enhance the role of the people and the media in contributing their opinions to national development, he said.

Mr Bouasone congratulated members for raising the opinions of the public at the ongoing NA session, as well as those who had given their comments on the telephone hotline.

He also expressed appreciation for the constructive opinions and efforts of the Lao media in pushing certain practices, both by congratulating the government on its achievements and pointing out shortcomings for future improvement.

The government would try to ensure a better standard of living for government officials and ensure they had a reasonable social insurance system. This year, the government approved a 20 percent salary increase for officials.

The government would set a policy to promote outstanding and active officials in various sectors, to encourage them to continue to follow this path in working for the nation. The government would also take action against those who made mistakes.

The government would improve legislation so that it was an instrument for state management and would ensure the effectiveness of legislation and social justice.

“It is not enough to enact laws; we have to ensure they are effective,” Mr Bouasone said.

The government would also improve organisations, mechanisms, rules and the working methods of various sectors to make them more flexible and transparent.

The Committee for Planning and Investment has set up a mechanism called the ‘One Stop Service' to facilitate investment and will expand this mechanism comprehensively.

The government would improve the quality of officials by ensuring they meet set standards and conditions before becoming government officials, to enhance government administration.

The PM said it was also necessary to improve the state audit organisation, to enable it to function fully. “If we don't improve this organisation both at the central and local levels, we will not solve the existing problems in a timely fashion,” he said.

“The reason that so many problems have become chronic is due to the weakness of our state auditing organisation.”

He said that NA members come from all sectors of the Party, government, mass organisations, and businesses at central and local levels. Some held important positions in the government and provincial administration, with the power to solve problems.

“If you only raise problems without attempting to find solutions, we will only have officials who talk, rather than taking any action.”

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