Hanoi orders new steps in battle against poverty

05:10 a.m. Dec 10, 1997 Eastern
HANOI, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Vietnam pledged on Wednesday to step up efforts to combat poverty and hunger through measures that included protection for farmers against the negative effects of the market economy.

A politburo directive, carried by the official Vietnam News Agency, said local government and Communist Party organisations had been told to expand the operations of state trading firms, and develop rural collectives and cooperatives.

In addition, it said they would be required to establish business ties between the state and farmers ``to protect the latter from the adverse effects of a free market.''

The politburo called for a gradual implementation of policies aimed at cutting school fees and medical charges for poor people and said wealthy regions would be encouraged to help poorer ones with the construction of public facilities and local infrastructure.

The report said the aim was to reduce the number of households afflicted by poverty and hunger from a nationwide average of 20-25 percent to 10 percent by 2000.

The directive, which comes at a time when the government is concerned over rural unrest, also stressed the need to strengthen the leading role of the ruling Communist Party and said socio-economic programmes would need to run hand in hand with poverty alleviation.

Around 80 percent of Vietnam's 77 million population lives in rural areas, where poverty is most widespread.

Farmers have been hit in recent months by falling prices of major commodities, including the staple rice. Top party officials have warned that poverty in rural areas has led to growing social ills.

Wednesday's report said 2.9 million households were officially classified as poor, and 600,000 of these had insufficient food.

It said that in order to meet the politburo instruction, party organisations would be required to observe correct land use policies, practise thrift, and restore and develop traditional occupations.

Vietnam introduced free-market reforms in the late 1980s in place of a failed Soviet-style command-led system.

The result has been a spectacular economic lift-off. But the reforms have also been blamed for problems of increased corruption, social vice, and a growing gap between the richest and poorest members of society.

Vietnam remains one of the world's poorest countries with a per capita income of around $300 per year.