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Ministry of Home Affairs Takes Stock of Governance Reforms

The Ministry of Home Affairs is assessing its efforts to reform governance and public administration during the past year and in the year ahead.

A Governance Sector Working Group (GSWG) Annual Review Meeting took place in Vientiane on Friday and was attended by the Minister of Home Affairs Mr Khammanh Sounvileuth, Minister of Justice Mr Xaysi Santivong, UNDP Resident Representative Ms Kaarina Immonen, and other officials.

The purpose of the meeting was to share progress made and remaining challenges in the implementation of the GSWG work plan. It also discussed national priorities moving forward in the area of public administration reform and enhancing access to justice and the rule of law.

Also discussed were key messages from the GSWG to be shared at the round table meeting later this year.

The main purpose of the GSWG is to ensure convergence of development partner assistance and approaches in different areas of governance reform, and help execute the Country Action Plan of the Vientiane Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

During the meeting, Mr Khammanh Sounvileuth presented the vision and target of the Ministry of Home Affairs to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable and responsive institutions at all levels.

It also aims to improve the quality and effectiveness of public administration and improve public administration management and regulation such as new responsibilities under the Three Builds (Sam Sang) directive, new manuals and guidelines, and better local services and e-government .

Mr Khammanh said administrative sectors would continue to build capacity in public administration for the successful outcome of the national social-economic development plan and lead the country to eradicate poverty by 2020.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Authorities Meet on Proposed Law of Treaties

Authorities from eight northern provinces met in Bokeo province recently to discuss a proposed draft law of treaties and international agreements .

The draft law would be the first law issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and would set the principles, regulations and procedures for treaty implementation created by government.

The law would allow central state departments, relevant sectors, Lao Front for National Construction, mass organisations and local authorities to defend treaties and international agreements.

The legislation aims to promote unity in the country by focusing on foreign policy to encourage peace, independence and friendly relations, as well as develop cooperation between Laos and overseas nations while integrating regionally and internationally.

The two-day meeting on November 2-3 was organised by the Treaties and Law Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ms Khamphao Eunthavanh chaired the meeting.

Ms Khamphao said the purpose of the meeting was to present the draft law on treaties and international agreements that had been produced by ministry officials. All participants were sounded out and exchanged ideas on the law.

Following the meeting in Bokeo province, the Treaties and Law Department will hold meetings to get the opinion of local authorities in the central and southern regions.

After that, ministry officials would use their feedback to improve the draft.

The draft law on treaties and international agreements is among a number of pieces of legislation that will be submitted to the National Assembly as part of the Resolution of the 10th Party Congress on creating stability for the state, democracy and government under the law.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

NA Members Agree their Performance Must Improve

National Assembly (NA) members agreed during debates last week that they needed to work harder to fulfil their mandate and improve the performance of the Assembly.

The assessment came after members of the NA’s 8th Legislature had been in office for six months since April. They also discussed the Assembly’s plan for next year.

Members agreed they had not met with enough of their constituents as they had only had meetings with just over 300,000 people, which was far below the total number of eligible voters at almost 4 million people.

The numbers have failed to meet the target as we aimed to meet up to 60 percent of eligible voters, NA member for Luang Prabang province Lt. Colonel Paenkham Boudchanphaeng said.

He noted that members had not reached out to people living in deprived rural communities.

The lawmakers agreed that funding constraints were the main obstacle to visiting many villages.

Many parliamentarians called for training to be given to NA members to improve their professional competence so they would be better able to fulfil their mandate.

It was considered essential that they were able to closely monitor the performance of the government. It was noted that about 70 percent of the 149 members were new to the role and had limited experience as lawmakers and government inspectors.

This was in addition to the fact that provincial assemblies had been newly created, so that all members of these bodies were new to the job.

NA member for Vientiane Ms Valy Vetsaphong recommended that training should focus on improving members’ competency in inspecting and following up the performance of administrative bodies.

She suggested inviting members of parliament from other countries to give talks and share their experiences, as the Lao National Assembly used to do.

Many NA members called for parliament to push the government to submit documents to be debated in NA sessions several weeks in advance so they had enough time to study them and make constructive recommendations.

Preparation by [the government’s] relevant sectors is not adequate. This is the mechanism we need to work out. There should be a mechanism to push the government to pay greater attention to this issue, NA member for Saravan province Mr Bounpone Sisoulath said, referring to the slow submission of documents.

NA Vice President Somphan Phengkhammy said assessments of individual Assembly members would be carried out, adding that opinions put forward by members during ordinary sessions would be scored and those members who did not contribute an opinion would be recorded.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Laos, Russia to Partner in Scientific Studies

Laos and Russia have agreed to share their work with the aim of furthering academic cooperation in scientific research.

An agreement on the partnership was reached on Friday between the National Research Tomsk State University of the Russian Federation and Laos’ Ministry of Science and Technology.

A ceremony to cement the agreement was attended by Deputy Director of the National Research Tomsk State University, Mr Artyom Rykun, and Acting Director General of the Department of Planning and International Cooperation under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr Phimpha Outthachack.

Also present on the occasion were Minister of Science and Technology Prof. Dr Boviengkham Vongdara and Russia Federation Ambassador to Laos Mr Mikhail V. Baranov.

Speaking at the agreement ceremony, Mr Phimpha said the partnership aims to enhance the capacity of officials and lecturers, meet the requirements of domestic development and international integration, and promote the scientific research achievements of both countries.

He said the proposed cooperation aims to strengthen the coordination and mutual support of the two countries in carrying out scientific projects and organising conferences, as well as providing scientific bases for the strengthening and development of the friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Russia.

Under the agreement, the two agencies will share their experiences of theoretical and practical issues relating to the development and international integration of Russia and Laos.

They will also exchange their findings in scientific research. This cooperation would contribute to strengthening the friendship between the two states and peoples, Mr Phimpha added.

Representing the Russian university, Prof. Dr Vladimir Syryamkin said  we discussed the group’s activities in scientific research cooperation recently when Lao scientists responded to scientific information provide by Russia, aiming to further build friendship between Laos and Russia.

He said both countries had carried out various duties and actively followed scientific research undertaken by Laos and Russia.

Russia will support Lao scientists’ requests for assistance with the development of their work and Russia confirmed that the two countries would continue to publish their research.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Media Law Approved, but Needs More Changes: Assembly

National Assembly (NA) members have called for media outlets, individuals and entities that operate within the industry to be more clearly defined by law to ensure the media contributes positively to national protection and development.

Members highlighted these points when debating a draft amendment to the Media Law on Friday.

The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism decided to amend the law after it was first promulgated in 2008.

The amendment, which was drafted by the ministry, was approved by 93 of the 103 Assembly members who voted on the draft. Nine members did not approve the draft, and one was present but did not participate in the vote.

NA members wanted the drafting sub-committee to further amend several points.

NA member for Luang Prabang province, Dr Sinnava Souphanouvong, said he wanted the law to more clearly define the individuals and legal entities that are authorised to participate in media activities.

He suggested that people under the age of 18, former prisoners, people with mental health issues, groups, enterprises and organisations prohibited by law, foreigners and individuals who do not hold citizenship or permanent resident status in Laos should not be permitted to own or operate a media business in Laos.

Article 65 of the amendment refers to the activities of foreign media, diplomatic representatives, and international organisations in Laos.

Dr Sinnava also wanted the proportion of capital provided by foreigners for co-funding media outlets to be restricted to a maximum of 20 percent.

Under the law, the media is charged with being a source of truth, education, guidance, and struggle. Another NA member for Luang Prabang province, Mr Thongchanh Manixay, said he wanted the media to provide information in a more scientific way and said this should be its fifth main characteristic.

I suggest this to prevent media outlets from leading audiences and the public towards superstitious thinking, Mr Thongchanh said.

Assembly members said it should be compulsory for reporters to know a foreign language such as English, and called for the law to stipulate this.

The law states that Lao citizens have the freedom to express their opinions and give their views on the policies, laws, socio-economic development plans, and budgets devised by the government, as well as their implementation.

According to the law, Lao people also have the freedom to express their views on situations in Laos and overseas, and to constructively criticise individuals and organisations.

Freedom is also offered to Lao people in accessing information about situations within the country and overseas, and receiving education and entertainment from the media.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Workforce Fails to Meet Needs of Job Market

Balancing the available workforce with the reality of the job market, which includes hiring workers for new jobs and reshuffling officials into new positions, has fallen far short of the annual target, the government told the National Assembly recently.

Only 48,236 people were placed in new jobs over the first 10 months of the 2015-16 fiscal year, representing just 33.68 percent of the annual target set at 143,230 people.

However, the government will strive to place 143,000 people in new jobs and positions in 2017 and maintain the unemployment rate at 2 percent, Minister of Planning and Investment Dr Souphanh Keomixay told parliament’s ongoing ordinary session.

Over the first 10 months of the 2015-16 fiscal year, thousands of new jobs have been created in Laos with at least 2,468 being created through labour recruitment agencies.

In addition, Lao nationals have been sent to work in neighbouring countries while those already there without legal documents have been legalised, bringing the combined number of workers to 45,768, the minister said.

The labour recruitment system has followed the government’s goal to promote the industry and service sectors.

Of the 48,236 people who were placed in new jobs, as many as 29,291 or 60.72 percent entered the service sector, the highest percentage – followed by industry with 13,757 people or 28.52 percent, while only 5,188 people or 10.76 percent entered the agriculture sector.

To meet next year’s target and create more jobs, the government will attempt to provide vocational training for 131,600 people in order to keep the unemployment rate at 2 percent, Dr Souphanh told parliament.

He presented a report that summarised the implementation of the first 10 months of the socio-economic development plan, expectations for the plan for the whole year, and the plan for 2017.

Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Dr Khampheng Xaysompheng admitted that the workforce lacked adequate skills and that Laos suffered from a shortage of skilled technicians.

He told parliament his ministry would work hard to address the issue and pledged to draw up the necessary regulations to facilitate labour skill development by regulating vocational training centres and setting up new centres among other initiatives.

By 2020 when the population is expected to reach 7.3 million people, it is estimated that the workforce will comprise as many as 4.7 million people representing 64.5 percent of the total population.

Of the total, it is envisaged that 64 percent will be needed by the agriculture sector, 24 percent in the service sector, and 12 percent will be needed for industry, construction and mining.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

NUOL Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Bold Aspirations

The National University of Laos (NUOL) plans to bolster education at all levels, from kindergarten to tertiary education, so that the university matches the standards of institutions overseas.

In particular, it seeks to integrate the comprehensive development of education into the national psyche, so that its quality is respected by the whole of society. This would enable graduates to rise to the standards required for assimilation into the ASEAN Community.

Over the past 20 years the university has assisted with social and economic development and has trained many thousands of graduates.

This success was celebrated at the university on Saturday, when its 20th anniversary was acknowledged by Vice President Mr Phankham Viphavanh, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Sonexay Siphandone, ministers, senior officials, lecturers and students.

Dr Sonexay pinned a Class 2 Labour Order to the NUOL flag, while 14 lecturers considered to be the best scholars in their faculties received certificates from Minister of Education and Sports Ms Sengdeuane Lachanthaboune.

Mr Phankham thanked the Ministry of Education and Sports, officials, staff and students from Laos and other countries who gathered to celebrate the anniversary.

He said the ministry and NUOL had worked side by side to improve the standard of education.

The two entities wanted to achieve even more in the future so that education levels matched others in the ASEAN Community and enabled staff and graduates to work more closely with international organisations.

The NUOL was established on November 5, 1996, with 10 faculties. Today there are 12 faculties, 11 management offices, two institutions, four NUOL campuses, a hospital and a secondary school run by the university and the ministry.

The university employs 1,981 personnel and 1,514 lecturers, of whom 645 are women. A total of 134 teaching staff hold doctorate degrees, 825 have master’s degrees and 924 have a bachelor degree. There are seven professors and 129 associate professors.

From 1996 to 2015, a total of 89,956 people have graduated from NUOL, including 31,847 women. This academic year there are more than 21,000 students studying in the various faculties.

As well as the National University of Laos, the University of Health Sciences teaches graduate programmes, along with Savannakhet University, Souphanouvong University in Luang Prabang province, and Champassak University.

The celebrations on Saturday included many activities in which lecturers and students participated.

The university does its best to assist students in need or facing various problems. It seeks scholarships from international organisations and companies to help disadvantaged students, reward outstanding students, and give poor students the chance to continue their education. This assistance has benefitted almost 1,000 people to date.

The NUOL has partnered in educational activities with foreign universities and international organisations. It has signed memorandums of understanding with more than 100 universities in 29 countries as well as 14 international organisations. Lecturers and students at NUOL helped with the 25th SEA Games held in Vientiane in 2009, and the university hosted the 16th ASEAN University Games in 2012. It also hosted the National University Games earlier this year and NUOL students took part in the ASEAN University Games in Singapore this year.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

BCEL-KT: Trade Summary (Nov 4, 2016)

Trade Summary

LSX kept losing on Friday, down slightly by 0.67 points to close at 990.94 points with 54,300 shares traded. EDL-Gen closed unchanged at 4,850 kip on 53,000 shares matched, worth about 258 million kip. On the other hand, BCEL closed lower 50 kip at 5,150 kip, with just 1,300 shares traded. The other three stocks closed unchanged at 6,100 kip (LWPC), 2,500 kip (PTL) and 3,000 kip (SVN).