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Govt’s Six-month Performance Assessed

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Reconfigurations in national departments, along with their new mandates, are almost finished following the new cabinet’s assumption of office in April, Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith told the National Assembly (NA) recently.

The move will ensure those ministries and departments whose responsibilities previously overlapped no longer do double duty, the prime minister told the NA’s ordinary session, which is currently meeting for debate.

These included agencies previously under the Prime Minister’s Office, which have been transferred to the ministries whose mandates are most relevant.

“Administrative reconfiguration and improvement in some ministries’ duties are still ongoing,” he said.

The government is striving towards governing the country according to the rule of law and has subsequently issued 12 Prime Ministerial Decrees, in addition to 11 Prime Ministerial Orders and a number of regulations.

Officials have drawn up four newly-drafted laws and another seven draft-amended laws, which have been submitted to the Assembly for debate.

The prime minister highlighted the fact that the government also addressed some major issues like tackling lax practices at Electricite Du Laos (EDL).

The company’s failings came to light when many incorrect electricity bills were issued in May with charges being unreasonably high, triggering a slew of public complaints.

The government stepped in and the prime minister instructed the Ministry of Energy and Mines to look into the matter. The irregularities that were uncovered were followed by reassignments within the administration of the state enterprise.

“Meanwhile, the electricity fees have been revised,” the prime minister told parliament, referring to the revision of the fees charged to households, which are now lower than before.

Another move that gained public approval was the issuance of Prime Ministerial Order No. 15 on May 13, 2016. This prohibited the export of unfinished wood products, including stricter measures to regulate wood processing businesses.

The crackdown resulted in 1,154 family-unit furniture plants across the country shutting down their illegal operations, while more than 55,421 cubic metres of illegally harvested wood have been seized, according to the government’s taskforce committee.

In addition, the government decided to cease granting an annual quota of timber harvesting in a move to protect natural resources, Mr Thongloun told the Assembly.

“S o far, this order [Prime Ministerial Order No. 15] and its effective implementation have been supported by all sectors of society,” he said.

The government also announced the repeal of the import tariff exemption on petrol, which was previously granted to many importers, causing an enormous loss of state revenue.

Mr Thongloun added that there were a number of unfinished and new agendas the government has committed to addressing, including measures to drive economic growth.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Laos Makes Great Strides in Development: World Bank

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Reconfigurations in national Laos has made great progress in development, and extreme poverty has fallen below 24 percent which means that people’s living conditions have improved, particularly among households with access to electricity.

This information was revealed by the World Bank Regional Vice President for East Asia and Pacific, Victoria Kwakwa, after ending her first official short working visit to Laos last week, according to the World Bank.

During her visits to Vientiane and Khammuan province, Ms Kwakwa said she learnt that people are now enjoying better water supplies and sanitation, and with more roads built, are more connected than ever.

To further help people in Laos to enjoy better living conditions, Ms Kwakwa reaffirmed the World Bank’s strong support for programmes and policies to promote inclusive growth, invest in human development and protect the environment, as identified in the 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP).

Laos has many opportunities to maintain strong growth and create more jobs while protecting its rich natural resources, Ms Kwakwa said. She commended Laos for its increased focus on green growth, which focuses on maintaining robust income growth and development while protecting the environment.

“The World Bank Group supports the Lao authorities’ strategy to pursue diversified, green growth, with a view to advancing beyond Least Developed Country status and providing lasting and accessible opportunities for better health, nutrition and education services, as well as more jobs for the country’s poor.”

The World Bank Group is committed to providing financing for critical programmes and investments in Laos in both the private and public sectors.

Key investments expected to benefit from World Bank Group support include programmes to improve the trade and business environment, improve access to high quality education and health care, reduce the incidence of malnutrition, and support environmental protection and sustainable national resources management.

Through the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group’s private sector development arm, investments and advisory assistance aim to enhance access to finance, generate new jobs, and promote sustainability standards in renewable energy projects.

About 44 percent of children in Laos are stunted, one of the highest rates in the world. In Xekong and Phongsaly provinces, more than 60 percent of children are stunted.

“The NSEDP correctly puts the development of human resources first, as strong education, skills, and health will allow people to participate in the growing Lao economy, said Ms Kwakwa.

“Chronic malnutrition among young children is a major challenge, and the World Bank supports the government’s Health Governance and Nutrition Development Programme to help improve child nutrition by focusing on infant and child feeding practices through a national behaviour change campaign.”

During her visit, Ms Kwakwa also met with Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, other high-level government officials and representatives from development partners, the private sector and civil society.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

BCEL-KT: Trade Summary (Nov 14, 2016)

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Trade Summary

On Monday, Lao Stock Exchange has improved on last week’s closing; the index has increased slightly by 8.85 points to close at 999.79 points. The market hosted only 800 shares traded, translating to about 3,760,000 kip, as the energy sector and banking stock climbed by 50 kip to finish at 4,900 kip and 5,200 kip, respectively at the final trading round, while others were flat. EDL-Gen contributed only 600 shares to the market turnover. In the meantime, BCEL and SVN both had 100 shares changed hands. There was no trade execution for others.

Over 200 Fatalities in 10 Months of Traffic Accidents

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Over 200 people were killed in road accidents around Vientiane in the first 10 months of this year, with most of the crashes attributed to drunken driving.

Deputy Chief of the Vientiane Traffic Police Department, Major Sangkhom Phommalath, reported that from January to October there were 1,275 road accidents in the capital and 215 people were killed.

This was an increase on the same period last year and, once again, most road accidents occurred as a result of drunken driving and speeding.

On average about five people died each week. Most of the accidents occurred in Xaythany and Chanthabouly districts.

Some 295 people were left in a critical condition, 793 were seriously injured and 514 people were slightly injured.

In addition, 214 vehicles were written off, 1,623 sustained moderate damage and 870 vehicles sustained minor damage. The cost of the damage was estimated at over 10 billion kip. Major Sangkhom Phommalath said the Vientiane Traffic Police Department periodically runs road safety campaigns to remind motorists of the traffic regulations and hopefully prevent accidents.

Police have also been spreading the road safety message around schools and offices in the capital. They attempt to get motorists’ attention by explaining the traffic regulations, showing photos of accidents, and teaching people how to prevent accidents.

Police set up a road safety booth at the That Luang Festival this year in a bid to stem the rising number of accidents during festivals and holidays.

Last year, the police road safety booth attracted public interest thanks to its various activities and the prizes that were on offer.

The number of road accidents overall continues to increase. About 90 percent of accidents involve drunken driving, speeding and other violations of the traffic rules.

Many accidents occur on weekends and special occasions when people get together to drink. Most of the accidents involve motorbikes and occur in the evening and at night.

Source: Vientiane Times

Women Need Greater Empowerment in Agriculture

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Women play important roles in the agriculture and forestry sector but women’s empowerment and the promotion of gender roles is still limited, particularly in rural areas.

Different sections within the agriculture and forestry sector, especially some departments, divisions and some projects implementing policy in the field, still lack understanding of women’s empowerment and the meaning of gender roles.

Head of the Women’s Empowerment and the Mother and Child Division under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ms Sisomphet Souvanthalisith, highlighted the issue at a meeting in Vientiane last week.

The coordination of women’s empowerment and gender role activities at each level is not yet adequate, especially amongst staff and some coordinators in the field, Ms Sisomphet said.

Some staff don’t understand the role of the Women’s Union or comprehend women’s empowerment activities, she added. Gender policy implementation through to planning and inspection has not progressed while the use of gender role information and statistics in each activity is not being effectively promoted and the number of women participating in decision making is still limited, she added.

However, through women’s empowerment and gender role implementation in previous years, the Women’s Empowerment and Mother and Child Division has enjoyed some success in including more women in decision making.

Women in the sector have also received training on various topics and techniques to assist in their empowerment.

The ministry’s five year Gender Equality Strategy Plan from 2011-2015 advised that the number of women staff and farmers participating in the formation and discussion of documents should reach 60 percent of total participants.

The number of female staff and farmers participating in training was targeted at 35 percent, while the actual number hit 35.90 percent last year.

The division also planned that the number of women farmers participating in technical and occupational training for skill development should be at least 45 percent, with the actual figure coming in at 45.2 percent.

The strategy also planned to increase the percentage of female staff in each entry level role that go on to attain a decision-making position to 15 percent, while the figure attained exceeded the target at 19.6 percent.

The division now aims to create opportunities for at least 30 percent of female staff at every level to develop their education in the years ahead.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Mr Khambounnat Xayanon, stressed that each sector under the ministry should pay more attention to promoting women’s empowerment and gender roles in order to increase women’s participation. He noted that this could be achieved through closer cooperation and coordination.

Some 115 people participated in the meeting, of which 69 were women from different divisions of the agriculture and forestry sector around the country.

Source: Vientiane Times

Plan Int’l, BEQUAL Extend Support for Education in Oudomxay

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The Basic Education Quality and Access in Laos (BEQUAL) project will help an estimated 450,000 children in Oudomxay province to receive a better quality education.

Plan International Laos and BEQUAL signed a 10-year programme with the Ministry of Education and Sports in Vientiane on Thursday.

The programme will support children in the districts of Houn and Nga in Oudomxay province.

Basic Education Quality and Access in Laos is a 10-year programme led by the Lao governments and Australia, with support from the European Union. BEQUAL will help these children receive a better quality education, with a particular focus on children who traditionally experience poorer education outcomes.

The BEQUAL NGO consortium supports district education and sports offices and village education development committees to promote participation in and access to education by children living in remote and rural locations. The Consortium comprises Plan International, Save the Children, Child Fund and World Vision.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding, Plan will work with the education and sports offices in Houn and Nga districts, the provincial education and sports department in Oudomxay, and the Ministry of Education and Sports in Vientiane to implement activities in 50 target schools, including with addition al funding support from the World Food Programme.

Activities under this project will encourage children, particularly non-Lao speakers, girls and children with disabilities, to enrol in and complete a full course of quality primary education, supported by their parents and communities.

The activities will focus on addressing the quality of teaching of early grade reading and Lao language acquisition in schools, and enabling community engagement to create healthy supportive learning environments in homes and communities.

Previously, the World Bank has partnered with Plan International and Save the Children International to investigate the root causes of early school leaving and low educational outcomes in primary schools in Laos.

Launched in 2015, the Lao Educational Access, Research and Networking (LEARN) project aimed to improve the quality of learning and primary school retention rates for children in four districts of Oudomxay province and three districts of Luang Prabang province.

Source: Vientiane Times

Animal Vaccination Day Gives Boost to Livestock Health

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The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is encouraging every province and district in the country to make sure livestock are vaccinated against common diseases.

Last year, animal disease outbreaks occurred in many provinces. Regular vaccination would improve the health of individual animals and also help to make entire areas disease free, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr Phouangparisak Pravongviengkham, said on Friday.

The deputy minister was speaking at an event in Phonxay village, Xaythany district, Vientiane, to mark National Animal Vaccination Day on November 11.

Farmers across the country are being urged to get their livestock vaccinated to decrease the number of unexpected animal deaths.

The day focused on the importance of vaccinating all livestock, as vaccinations can prevent terrible suffering and deaths among animals.

Today, more than 400 animals will be vaccinated, including buffaloes, cattle, goats, and pigs, Dr Phouangparisak said.

The ministry will focus on surveillance in high-risk areas, animal movement control and illegal trading. Officials instructed authorities around the country to carry out similar vaccination activities on this day.

This year, we hope that farmers cooperate so that 80-100 percent of animals in target districts are vaccinated. We would like to see 70 percent of livestock in towns vaccinated and 40 percent of animals in rural areas, Dr Phouangparisak added.

We’ll use more than 10 types of vaccine to protect livestock, including poultry, to prevent seasonal diseases, he said.

We selected November 11 as a suitable day for this initiative because this is when livestock gather in pens and most farmers have finished their rice harvesting. It is also the start of the cold season, when many animal diseases can occur.

An animal cannot tell you what it feels but diligent owners can spot signs that something is not right. But with some diseases, which can be prevented by vaccination, signs of illness may mean it is already too late.

According to the Xaythany agriculture and forestry office, people can bring their animals to be vaccinated at any district agriculture and forestry office from November 2016 to November 2017.

It is expected that over 600,000 animals will be vaccinated in Xaythany district this fiscal year.

Source: Vientiane Times

Lao Brewery Provides Education Scholarships

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Lao Brewery Co., Ltd. will be providing 330 scholarships to students attending educational institutes around the country during 2016-2017 worth about 976 million kip in total.

Since 2010 the Lao Brewery Co., Ltd. has provided scholarship funds to students with a special focus on assisting poor students to complete their studies.

In 2010-2012 the company provided 100 scholarships annually to National University of Laos (NUOL) students and from 2012 until now have provided 120 scholarships per year. In total 640 scholarships at a cost of 1.77 billion kip have been awarded.

During 2016-2017 the project will provide 330 scholarships for students to attend the seven educational institutes of NUOL, National Institute of Fine Arts (NIFA), Souphanouvong University, Champassak University, Savannakhet University, Pakxe Teachers College, and Savannakhet College-Institute.

A scholarship award ceremony for NUOL and NIFA students took place in Vientiane on Friday to provide 150 scholarships worth 440 million kip. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Managing Director of Lao Brewery Co., Ltd. Mr Sounthone Sirisack, Vice President of NUOL Associate Professor Dr Houngphet Chanthavong, Director of the National Institute of Fine Arts Dr Maysing Chanboutdy, lecturers and students.

Lao Brewery Co., Ltd.’s scholarships are assisting human resource development in the country, targeting disadvantaged students who lack education opportunities.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Sounthone said Lao Brewery Co., Ltd. is supporting the cultural, socio-economic and educational development of the country. We hope the students who received the scholarships today will have the opportunity to contribute to our country’s socio-economic development.

Source: Vientiane Times

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