![[insert caption here]](/lao/images/l-thongsing2_june09.gif "[insert caption here]") |
Mr. Thongsing Thammavong, President of the Lao National Assembly
|
Laos’ National Assembly (NA) President says government performances
during the first half of the 2008-2009 fiscal year have not gone as planned and
failed to achieve many set goals. Meanwhile, Laos’ Prime Minister admits that
economic growth will be slower this year.In his speech at the opening ceremony of the 7th Ordinary
Session of the Sixth Legislature on June 22, Mr. Thongsing Thammavong,
President of the Lao National Assembly, especially stressed that the
administration and implementation of the annual socio-economic plan for the
first half of the 2008-2009 fiscal year, which ran from October 2008 to March
2009, did not achieve set goals in many fields.
Specifically, revenues collections needed for the national budget fell
short of the goal set in the annual plan, mainly due to drops in the prices of
Lao products and continuous decreases in
the country’s exports, while the unemployment rate continues to significantly increase.
![[insert caption here]](/lao/images/NA-7-Session-6th.gif "[insert caption here]") |
| The Lao National Assembly's 7th Ordinary
Session of the Sixth Legislature was opened on June 22 |
In addition, the political administration and governance at
grassroots levels have been ineffective.And this has caused a direct impact on the development that aims to
reduce the poverty of the people in rural areas of the country, Mr. Thongsing added.He maintained that if the above mentioned problems
are not solved in the near future, it will definitely have a negative effect on
the government’s development plan and goal, as well as the leadership of the
Lao People Revolutionary Party and the government.
Meantime, Lao Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh admitted
that his government’s administration and implementation of the socio-economic
plan face obstacles in several aspects.
However, his government will definitely not cut the budget set forth in
the plan since doing so will affect the implementation of the plan and many
different development projects that benefit the country and the multiethnic Lao
people as a whole.Regarding the economic development during the 2008-2009 fiscal
year which will end in September, Mr. Bouasone admitted that Laos’ economic
growth rate will be no more than 7.1%, with the projected annual Gross Domestic
Products or DGP averages out to a per capita income of US$922, while the agricultural
sector growth rate will be 3.1%; the industrial sector will increase no more
than 12.5%, and the service sector 7.7%.
These growth rates are far lower than those previously projected in the
annual socio-economic plan.
Songrit Pongern reported from Bangkok on June 25,
2009. Listen to Songrit's report for more details in Lao, or read our Lao text. (English
translation by Buasawan Simmala and Dara Baccam.)
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