DECISION

ON A NUMBER OF SUPPORT POLICIES ON ALLOCATION OF RESIDENTIAL LAND AND PRODUCTION LAND AND CREATION OF JOBS FOR POOR ETHNIC MINORITY PEOPLE WITH DIFFICULT LIVING CONDITIONS IN THE MEKONG RIVER DELTA DURING 2008-2010

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 134/2004/QD-TTg of July 20, 2004, on a number of support policies on allocation of residential land, production land, residential houses and daily-life water for poor ethnic minority households with difficult living conditions;
At the proposal of the Minister of Planning and Investment;

DECIDES:

Article 1- To realize a number of support policies on allocation of residential land and

production land and creation of jobs for poor ethnic minority households with difficult living conditions in the Mekong River delta (the region) during 2008-2010 in order to create conditions for them to develop their production and improve and stabilize their life.

1. Objectives: By 2010. to achieve the target that all ethnic minority households in the region will have their own residential land: over 80% of poor households with difficult living conditions will have production land and jobs with stable incomes: and over 50% of laborers of working age will receive job training.

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a/ Subjects of application: Poor ethnic minority households identified according to the current criteria and managed by commune or ward People's Committees, which have no or insufficient production land according to the level specified in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Decision by December 31, 2007; those having no residential land and meeting with difficulties in their life but receiving no support policies of the State on residential land and production land; laborers of working age who need money for job training, changing their occupations, going abroad to work as guest workers or expanding their rural trades or business lines:

b/ Scope of application: Poor ethnic minority households with difficult living conditions and permanently residing for one year or more in Vinh Long, Tra Vinh. Soc Trang. Hau Giang, An Giang. Kien Giang. Bac Lieu, Ca Mau. Dong Thap, Ben Tre. Tien Giang and Long An provinces, and Can Tho city.

3. Use principles and purposes:

a/ Principles:

- Land will be allocated directly to households mentioned at Point a. Clause 2. Article 1 of this

Decision for production or residence (particularly for production land, provincial/municipal People's Committees shall seek and allocate unallocated production land areas only to households that have agricultural production needs and experience:

- Money will be allocated directly to households with insufficient production land but have no need for more production land and wish to shift to non-agricultural production, or to households in need of production land but there is no production land area available in the locality to be allocated to them. Funds shall be allocated through job training establishments (of all economic sectors) to laborers who need job training for working in factories, enterprises or as guest workers abroad on the basis of the number of fund beneficiaries already registered as job trainees and local job training establishments' registered annual plans on job training for these subjects already approved by People's Committees of district or higher level in their 2009-2010 plans;

-Loans will be provided directly to laborers of working age who wish to generate by themselves additional jobs in localities. Particularly for guest workers, job training supports and loans will be provided only to those aged between L6 and 35 years.

- The provision of supports must ensure publicity, fairness and democracy and be made through local administrations and mass organizations. Support beneficiaries must be considered and selected from villages and hamlets in accordance with legal provisions and state policies:

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b/ Use purposes:

- Households allocated with production land or residential land .shall directly manage and use it for proper purposes and may not transfer, assign, pledge, purchase. sell or rent it within 10 years after they are allocated land by the State. Within this duration, if they move elsewhere, they shall return their allocated production land or residential land to local administrations;

- Laborers provided with support funds for job training or shift to other occupations shall use these funds for proper purposes through local training establishments or in combination with state supports for training and job creation at enterprises.

Article 2.- Support policies

1. For residential land:

a/ Based on existing residential land areas and norms and local budget capability, provincial/ municipal People's Committees may consider and decide on allocation of land to poor ethnic minority households on the basis of local conditions and practices.

b/ The average level of support for land purchase to be provided directly to each household without residential land is VND 10 million, including VND 8 million from the central budget and VND 2 million from the local budget.

In localities where conditions permit, local administrations shall organize ground leveling and infrastructure construction before allocating land or build residential areas before allocating houses to eligible beneficiaries defined in this Regulation.

2. For production land:

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b/ For households that have insufficient production land areas against the norms specified in this Decision or have no production land but need land for production, local administrations shall base themselves on these households* needs, working capacity and production development potential to seek and allocate land areas to these households directly for production or through such organizations as cooperative groups or cooperatives for collective economy;

c/ The level of support for each household to acquire production land must not exceed VND 20 million, including VND 10 million from the central budget and VND 10 million provided in the form of trust credit loan with a term of 5 years and an interest rate of 0%. Based on this support level and land prices in each locality, provincial/municipal People's Committees shall propose People's Councils of the same level to consider and decide on larger land areas to be allocated to poor ethnic minority households;

d/ Agricultural or forestry companies, forest protection and management boards and cooperatives, which are assigned to organize production activities for ethnic minority households, will be provided an average support of VND 10 million/hectare to reclaim unused land, build roads, invest in power grids, build small-sized irrigation works or contribute capital to cooperatives. Households that are provided supports in the form of contributions to production cooperatives or cooperative groups may not withdraw these contributions within at least 5 years.

3. For households and laborers that shift to other trades or occupations:

For households that do not need production land or reside in localities where no production land area is available for allocation, they will be provided with monetary supports to generate jobs by themselves or shift to other trades.

a/ Households whose laborers do not need to learn jobs but need capital to procure farm tools and machines for providing services to agricultural production households in the region or capital for investment in additional trades or occupations to increase their incomes will be provided with supports not exceeding VND 3 million/household and trust credit loans not exceeding VND 10 million/household with a term of 3 years and an interest rate of 0%;

b/ For laborers who need to learn jobs to work in factories or as guest workers abroad, the central budget shall provide supports for job training at the maximum level of VND 3 million/laborer. The support level depends on each job and the actual job training duration.

Apart from above supports, each locality may, depending on its budget capability, decide on additional supports for ethnic minority people.

c/ Guest workers, apart from receiving job training supports before going abroad, may borrow trust credit loans at the maximum level of VND 20 million/worker. Specific loan amounts and lending terms depend on each borrower's capability and actual needs;

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e/ Supports must be provided in cash at the levels specified in this Decision and directly to eligible beneficiaries under contracts signed between representatives of beneficiaries (administrations or mass organizations of communes or wards) and job training establishments:

f/ Laborers who have been provided with supports for job training and shifting but do not work after the training are not entitled to loans for job seeking and life stabilization provided for in this Decision.

4. Conditions on borrowing loans:

a/ Households and laborers considered for loans for production development or trade or occupation shifting must be eligible beneficiaries defined in this Decision and must have specific production or business plans certified by administrations or socio-political organizations of communes or wards or make these plans with the latter's assistance. Guest workers who borrow loans shall, apart from certification of commune or ward administrations, obtain certification of licensed enterprises sending them abroad:

b/ Loans shall be provided by the Social Policy Bank with trust guarantees of mass organizations and are interest-free. Each household may borrow one or several loans but the total loan amount must not exceed the prescribed level and is exempted from the borrowing fee. The borrowing procedures and lending terms are specified by the Social Policy Bank.

Article 3.- Land funds and capital sources

1. Production land and residential land funds

Production land and residential land areas to be allocated to poor ethnic minority people in localities where these areas exist include: public land areas recovered by the State under planning, land areas recovered from enterprises or forest management boards that ineffectively use these areas; land areas leased or lent by the State, unused land areas, land areas recovered from enterprises that use these areas for improper purposes or dissolved enterprises, reclaimed land areas, voluntarily donated, purchased or transferred land areas, etc. The land recovery must be conducted in strict compliance with the Land Law and current regulations.

2. Capita! sources for implementation:

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b/ Local budgets shall provide supports in cash at least equal to 207c of total supports and raise funds from other lawful sources in order to provide remaining supports to eligible beneficiaries under this Decision and take the initiative in allocating funds for land measurement and the grant of land use rights certificates to ethnic minority people.

Localities with limited budgets which receive additional allocations from the central budget may be entitled to additional supports equal to 20%, 15% and 10% of total supports for localities receiving additional allocations from the central budget equal to over 70%. between 50-70% and under 5055) of the 2007 estimated local budget expenditures, respectively).

Article 4.- Organization of implementation

1. People's Committees of provinces and cities in the Mekong River delta shall take direct and comprehensive responsibility for directing and organizing the implementation of this Decision.

a/ To publicly notify criteria of eligible beneficiaries for supports, direct the making of specific lists of poor ethnic minority households with difficult living conditions in their respective localities, approve annual plans on target support capital sources for allocation of residential land or production land, or shifting of trades or occupations, then submit them to the Planning and Investment Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Nationalities Committee before August 30 every year for summing up and submission to the Prime Minister for decision on inclusion in the subsequent year's budget plan. To concentrate on providing supports for poor households with the most difficult living conditions in 2008 and for other poor households in 2009 and 2010;

b/ To direct local departments and authorities to coordinate with mass organizations, training establishments and enterprises located in their localities in organizing the effective implementation of this Decision:

c/ To direct the integration of capital sources for the realization of the policies provided for in this Decision with programs, projects and other policies currently applied in their localities: organize the effective realization of policies on comprehensive and integrated supports in their respective localities in order to accelerate the eradication of hunger and poverty and improvement of living conditions for ethnic minority people in the region:

d/ To support and direct lower-level People's Committees in creating conditions for the Social Policy Bank to provide loans and recover debts;

e/ To regularly inspect the implementation, ensuring that supports are provided for eligible beneficiaries and used for proper purposes, and preventing loss and negative practices.

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In the second quarter of 2011 the Planning and Investment Ministry shall assume the prime responsibility for. and coordinate with ministries, branches and regional localities in. reporting on general review and appraisal of results of implementation of this Decision.

3. The Finance Ministry shall allocate funds and management expenses for the Social Policy Bank according to the implementation progress: and direct the strict supervision and inspection of capital allocation to eligible beneficiaries, thereby preventing loss and negative practices.

4. The Social Policy Bank shall guide procedures for providing loans, and work out and sending capital disbursement plans to the Finance Ministry for periodical reporting to the Prime Minister: and concurrently report results of implementation of this Decision to the Planning and Investment Ministry and the Finance Ministry.

5. The Nationalities Committee shall coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in guiding the implementation of this Decision; regularly inspect and supervise the implementation of this Decision; and periodically report on results of implementation of this Decision to the Prime Minister.

6. Concerned ministries and branches shall, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, inspect and assist localities in effectively realizing the policies provided for in this Decision.

Article 5.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."'The policies provided for in other decisions and specifying support levels lower than those specified in this Decision, will apply this Decision's support levels from now on.

Article 6.- Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, and presidents of People's Committees of provinces and cities in the Mekong River delta shall implement this Decision.

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