Laos-China rail project ‘no obstacle’: minister

April 12, 2013

There are no obstacles to the planned building of the Laos-China high speed railway, although the two governments are in the process of negotiations on the project, Minister of Public Works and Transport Sommad Pholsena said yesterday.

“The two governments are negotiating so that construction can go ahead,” he told local media while attending the ongoing open government meeting in Vientiane.

The minister was unable to say when exactly construction would begin on the US$7 billion railway, which will link Vientiane to the Lao-Chinese border over a distance of 421km.

But he said construction would begin shortly after all parties had reached an agreement and all preparations were complete.

“We should have confidence in the development of a railway network in Laos,” he said. “We have to be patient – rail projects cost a huge amount of money.”

Previously, it was reported that Laos and China planned to jointly undertake the mega railway project, with China to put up 70 percent of the investment cost. A groundbreaking ceremony was planned for 2011 with a completion date of 2015, but the ceremony did not take place.

The project was delayed after the Chinese construction company reportedly pulled out because they felt it would not be sufficiently profitable.

However, the Lao government is determined to bring the project to fruition, and hopes to obtain financing through a loan from China.

In this regard, the National Assembly (NA) approved a “go-ahead bill” at an extraordinary session held last October, to enable the government to realise the project. When asked about financing and whether Laos would still be the sole investor in the project using a loan from Beijing, as reported at the NA’s extraordinary session, Mr Sommad said ‘The details have not been agreed upon.”

But he said that whatever could be agreed upon by both sides for their mutual benefit would be possible.

Although the project requires a huge investment, Mr Sommad was optimistic that it would be realised. The government has a clear policy to transform Laos from being landlocked to a land link and a transport hub for surrounding countries.

The planned railway would form part of the Asean-China rail link, which begins in Yunnan province, China, and runs southwards to Singapore through Laos and Thailand.

In the original plan, passenger trains running at speeds of up to 200 kph were planned but the Lao government has decided to reduce this to 160kph for safety reasons, partly due to the hilly terrain. Goods trains meanwhile will travel at a maximum speed of 120kph, according to a report presented at the NA’s extraordinary session.

Passenger trains might be able to reach a speed of 200kph between Vientiane and Vangvieng where the land is relatively flat, but more studies are needed, the report said.

The project will also include 31 stations, but the government plans to open 20 stations initially and the rest later on.

There will be seven major stations along the route, of which two will be in Vientiane. From there, the railway will run north to China, stopping in Phonhong and Vangvieng districts in Vientiane province, before continuing on to Luang Prabang, Oudomxay, Luang Namtha and the Chinese border.

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Laos achieves remarkable progress in poverty reduction

April 4, 2013

Communist and Lao PDR flags waving along the banks of Mekong.

The number of poor families in Laos has dropped to 17 percent, it was revealed yesterday during a review of the implementation of the government’s 7th National Socio-Economic Development Plan.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment presented the mid term review of the 2011-15 socio-economic development plan to Laos’ development partners. One of the highlights was that in the first two and a half years of implementation, there has been a significant decline in the number of poor families.

Development partners, senior government officials and economists attended the half day presentation session. Planning Department Deputy Director General Ms Phonevanh Outhanvong and Asian Development Bank Country Deputy Director Mr Barend Frielink presided over the meeting.

According to the review, the government expects to lower the percentage of poor families even further to 15 percent by the end of this year and to 10 percent in 2015. In 2011, it was estimated that 19 percent of families in the country were poor.

The government has spent about 896 billion kip on its poverty reduction programme and plans to spend 7,387 billion kip from 2011 to 2015.

To achieve development targets, the government has built roads to the poorest districts to enable people in rural areas to transport their crops to markets in urban areas.

The government has also encouraged people to grow crops such as sweetcorn, coffee, cassava and sugarcane to generate more income.

Ms Phonevanh thanked the development partners, saying that without their support Laos would not have been able to achieve this measure of success.

“The government has faced several difficulties in implementing the 7th socio-economic development plan, including the global economic crisis and climate change. However, with our increased efforts and the assistance of our development partners, Laos has achieved a number of successes,” she said during a speech to open the meeting.

The presentation noted that Laos has been able to sustain economic growth of at least eight percent.

The growth rate was 8.1 percent in the fiscal year 2010-11 and 8.3 percent in 2011-12.

The main driving force of economic growth over the past two and a half years has been the industry and service sectors. Industry contributed 29.6 percent of total GDP in the 2011-12 fiscal year while the service

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Prof. Bosengkham Vongdara highlights Party’s achievements

April 4, 2013

Prof. Bosengkham Vongdara

Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Prof. Dr Bosengkham Vongdara highlights Party’s achievements, according to him, the tourism sector experienced rapid growth in 2012 thanks to the wise leadership of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party.

Speaking at a lecture on Tuesday to mark the 58th anniversary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, Prof. Dr Bosengkham, who is a member of the Party Central Committee, said that under the Party’s leadership, Lao people have gained access to global information sources. Ordinary people can watch a large number of foreign television channels including BBC and CNN. He said Laos enjoyed greater media freedom than many other countries, adding that in some countries it’s not possible to access as many international broadcasting channels.

One of the major achievements of the Party’s leadership in 2012 was the boom in tourism. Prof. Dr Bosengkham said tourist arrivals climbed to 3.3 million in 2012, generating income of about US$500 million. Political stability, improved transport and the country’s picturesque scenery make Laos an attractive tourist destination. Another significant aspect of the Party’s leadership is that Laos has been able to maintain political stability. This is essential for the government to develop the country and bring prosperity to its people, who are the owners of the country.

Laos has seen GDP growth of over 7.5 percent for the past 10 years thanks to the Party’s wise leadership. Strong and continuous economic growth has helped to free large numbers of people from poverty. At present, only 17 percent of households are categorised as poor.

Annual per capita income now stands at US$1,355, up from just US$114 in 1995 and US$534 in 2006. Laos is now on track to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals in 2015.

The Lao People’s Revolutionary Party was established on March 22, 1955, in the former revolutionary stronghold of Huaphan in the northeast of Laos. The Party was formed to lead the Lao people in repelling the foreign aggressors. The Party played a significant role in leading its armed forces and civilians to liberate the country from foreign domination.

This enabled the Party to seize power from the royal government and establish the Lao People’s Democratic Republic on December 2, 1975. Many ministries and government bodies around the country held similar events to mark the Party’s founding.

Some 300 ministry officials, most of them Party members, attended the lecture to learn about the history and achievements of the Party from the time of its founding in 1955 until the present.

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Laos: Improving lives by clearing UXOs in Sekong Province

April 4, 2013

Since 2007, CARE with support from AusAID and other partners has worked with over 2,500 families from 19 villages in Sekong Province to improve their livelihoods by reducing the impact of unexploded ordnance (UXO).

To date over 97ha of land has been cleared of UXOs, allowing families to expand their rice fields, and use the land to grow new crops such as coffee, or try new income-generating activities such as fish farming.

Lao PDR is the most bombed country in the world per capita. More than two million tons of ordnance was dropped on the country during the Second Indochina War. Up to 30 per cent of some types of ordnance did not detonate.

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Officials vow to make real progress towards MDGs

April 5, 2013

Lao and overseas officials have vowed to compile a report that reflects the true progress of Laos towards achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The officials made this commitment during a second workshop held yesterday in Vientiane to discuss the draft of the third report on the progress made towards the landmark development goals.

“I wish you well in generating a good report which reflects the reality of our situation, foresees and agrees on the challenges and figures, and how much achievement has been recorded so far,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alounkeo Kittikhoun said in his opening remarks at the meeting.

Mr Alounkeo highlighted Laos’ achievements in striving for MDG No. 1 which concerns poverty reduction. He said the percentage of people living below the national poverty line has dropped from 48 percent in 1990 to 22 percent at present.

But despite this figure having been halved, the problem persists and there is no easy solution, he said. The same is true of malnutrition, which is a big challenge and is not just about health but involves awareness, healthy eating, breastfeeding, education and issues surrounding stunted growth.

He praised the cooperation between the Lao government, UN agencies and development partners who help to find solutions to ensure better coordination on nutrition. At the same time he called on line ministries and UN agencies to agree on figures during the workshop as a basis for continuing the good work towards realising the goals.

Regarding MDG No. 7 which relates to environmental sustainability, Mr Alounkeo said land use management had been effective in certain areas but not in others.

“We should not deny that mistakes have been made and we welcome all the comments of our friends, and on that basis we will always try to improve,” he added.

Mr Alounkeo also referred to Laos’ special goal – MDG No. 9 – the clearance of unexploded ordnance. UXO is a great obstacle to development efforts as all 17 provinces in the country are contaminated with these remnants of war.

UN Resident Coordinator Minh Pham said that, despite the brighter picture, progress had not essentially been made on the situation presented at the Round Table Implementation Meeting last November. However, some detailed and supportive indicators have changed and the availability of new data such as the labour force survey did not reveal differences with ongoing administrative data.

He noted that some of the new data from the survey confirms the continuing progress shown by the administrative data such as in education, while other data also showed that progress was not as much as had been assumed.

“Some data may also show that the disparity between different social economic groups could be greater than we have assumed. I would suggest that we welcome all new data even if these will conflict with previous assumptions,” Mr Pham said.

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Hard work reaps rewards for Phongsaly farmer

By Meuangkham Noradeth
March 30, 2013

Rearing pigs for sale brings in extra income for rural folk.

A Phongsaly farmer, Mr Seng Hadxeuy, aged 40, has found that hard work and a burning desire to improve his quality of life has lifted him out of poverty, after growing crops and raising animals for several years.

Mr Seng’s family, who live in Hadxeuy village, Khua district, have shown other villagers that their hard work has enabled them to improve their living conditions and put poverty behind them.

Mr Seng said that at one time his family barely had enough to live on but since they began labouring in their fields to grow rice and rear animals, their lot has vastly improved.

He also learnt that he could call on the government for help, and borrowed 100 million kip from the Agricultural Promotion Bank so that he could plant more rice and keep more pigs.

Mr Seng said that thanks to assistance from the bank and government officials, he is now rearing more pigs than ever before.

He bought 100 piglets from Oudomxay province and after six months was able to sell them for 1.9 million kip per pig, which brought him in more than 160 million kip that year.

His family also keeps chickens and they have a pond where they breed fish. He also grows rubber, teak and agarwood for sale, which brings in more than 20 million kip per year.

Mr Seng now earns about 200 million kip per year on average, and his family is a prime example of how individuals can rise above poverty.

With every member of the family working hard together, they are now reaping the rewards of their efforts and living a better life with each passing year.

He says that in the future he will rear more pigs and chickens and grow more tree species, which he will sell.

Mr Seng’s family is not only a prime example of how individuals can rise above poverty but also of how a neighbourhood can benefit from having a family of their caliber in its midst. Their efforts are helping Khua district as a whole to move closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 as targeted.

Khua district is located in a mountainous and remote area of Phongsaly province. It is not on the government’s list of the 46 poorest districts nationwide but is nevertheless home to a large number of poor families. This means assistance from the government, international organisations and other groups is critical to making a difference in the community.

People in the district mostly grow rice, rubber and cardamom and a variety of vegetables. But it’s difficult for them to expand their farmland because they are surrounded by mountains.

Khua district is home to 5,618 families. At present about 3,496 of those families are living in poverty, and district officials are not sure they will be able to declare basic poverty alleviation by 2015, and have asked for more funding to be made available to build essential infrastructure.

The district contains 98 villages, 23 of which have no road access, and travel in the rainy season is very difficult.

Average annual per capita income is now just over 2.7 million kip, and is expected to reach 3.9 million kip in 2015.

The Lao government defines poverty as not having enough food, lacking adequate clothing, not having permanent housing and lacking access to health, education and transportation services.

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Sam Sang directive to be deeply implemented: Minister

March 30, 2013

A lack of concrete devolution of responsibilities, and regulations and experience in this regard, has resulted in shortcomings in the Sam Sang (Three Builds) directive of the information, culture and tourism sectors.

The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism reached the conclusion at a meeting which opened yesterday to review the sector’s implementation of the six-month first phase of the pilot project of the Three Builds directive. “Improper understanding in regard to devolution and non-concrete supporting regulations has resulted in shortcomings in practical terms,” it was detailed in the meeting report.

The ministry, along with other ministries and government agencies, started the pilot of the Three Builds initiative last October, aiming to work closely to monitor programmes, projects and activities at every level to ensure they are being carried out in line with the directive.

Experience in the pilot implementation period has shown that provincial departments and district offices of information, culture and tourism are confused as to which duties and activities come under their responsibility, and which ones the ministry is directly responsible for.

The ministry has recognised that because the Three Builds is a strategic and highly revolutionary initiative that has be en devised in response to modern day requirements, Party committees, leaders at all levels, members and staffers should fully understand the directive. They also need to have ideological unity and work towards the systematic and comprehensive implementation of the plan.

The ministry has sent officials to survey the needs of the information, culture and tourism sectors in eight provinces, in order to devolve responsibility. This means that departments under the ministry will now concentrate on macro management. The Sam Sang pilot project involves 17 provinces, 51 districts and 108 focal villages nationwide.

The Three Builds directive aims to build up provinces as strategy-making units, districts as comprehensively strengthened units, and villages as development units.

From the lessons learned, the ministry has studied ways to adapt the established devolution in the sector to match the requirements of the third Politburo Resolution. This stipulates that the ministry is responsible for the implementation of directions, strategic plans, regulations and development of laws, personnel development planning, science and technical research, as well as monitoring.

In the field of information, the newly adapted devolution plan stipulates that the ministry will take sole responsibility for drafting and implementing Party directions into strategic plans, programmes, projects, and regulations. However, the ministry and its provincial departments have to cooperate on numerous issues, such as human resource development planning for sub-sectors.

In regards to culture, the ministry will study and comment on technical issues in relation to any projects that may have an impact on culture, while the provincial authorities will monitor and comment on those projects which may have an impact on culture in their own provinces. The review meeting, which is being attended by officials from all provincial information, culture and tourism departments, will run until tomorrow.

Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Prof. Dr Bosengkham Vongdara, who is head of the committee responsible for the ministry’s T hree Builds programme, stressed that some fundamental work has been completed during the pilot implementation period.

Prof. Dr Bosengkham also focused on the shortcomings of the project, saying implementation was not only deficient, but that visits by central level officials to the provinces had burdened local officials in regards to reception arrangements.

He called on participants to actively engage in discussion on the outcomes and lessons learned from the past phase, and plan for the implementation of the directive in the next phase, ensuring there are improved outcomes and concrete devolution.

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58th anniversary of Lao People’s Revolutionary Party marked

March 25, 2013

The Organisation Board of the Party Central Committee held a lecture to celebrate the 58th founding anniversary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) in Vientiane Capital last Friday.

Head of Party Central Committee’s Organisation Board, Mr. Chansy Phosikham lectured on the long profile of the LPRP for Party members and his staff.

On the occasion, Mr. Chansy, representing the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Board, handed over red cards to 87 Party members, of whom 24 were women.

Mr. Chansy recalled the great history of the Party dating back to 1893 when Laos was a French colony and the Lao people were under French imperialist exploitation. “At that time there was a brave struggle of the Lao people for the independence and victory of the country in 1945,” said Mr. Chansy.

The LPRP was founded on 22 March 1955, following the resolution of the 2nd Congress of Indochina Communist Party, according to Mr Chansy.

The lecture was designed to equip Party members and civil servants a better understanding of tradition, history and the significant achievements in fighting for national independence against colonial power of the Party.

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Revolutionary fighters’ remains reinterred at National Cemetery

March 25, 2013

The remains of 11 leading officials and members of the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party were relocated from their previous resting places to the National Cemetery in Xaythany district, Vientiane, yesterday.

The 11 officials were named as Mr Souk Vongsak, Mr Ma Khaikhamphithoun, Mr Meun Somvichith, Mr Siphone Phalikhane, Mr Khamsouk Sayaseng, Mr Khamphouang Chanthaphomma, Mr Khampha Chaleunphonvixay, Mr Thonglai Kommasith, Mr Sithon Manola, Mr Singapore Sikhotchounlamany and Mr Somsak Saysongkham.

In his keynote address at the ceremony, Party Politburo member Dr Bounpone Bouttanavong said the Party, army and all Lao people acknowledged that the 11 revolutionary fighters were brave men with a strong sense of patriotism who tirelessly devoted themselves to the fight for national independence, freedom, democracy and the prosperity of the Lao people.

The relocation of their remains reflects the great importance the Party and government attaches to the brave fighters of the past and shows the respect and the gratitude that the Party, the Army and the people have for the virtue and devotion of these 11 comrades, Dr Bounpone said.

A ritual ceremony was later conducted by monks according to religious custom to make this event truly auspicious before the remains of the officials were placed inside stupas.

The relocation of the revolutionary fighters’ remains takes place after the first relocation in March last year when the remains of the country’s first generation of revolutionary leaders, who were the six members of the Party’s first Politburo, were placed in the newly-opened National Cemetery.

The six deceased leaders were the late President Kaysone Phomvihane, President Souphanouvong, former President Nouhak Phoumsavanh, former Acting President Phoumy Vongvichit, Mr Phoun Sipaseuth, and Mr Sisomphone Lorvanxay who, along with former President Khamtay Siphandone who is still alive, bring the number of the first generation of revolutionary leaders to seven.

On the same occasion, the remains of a later generation of leaders, namely Mr Saly Vongkhamxao, Mr Maychantan Sengmany, Mr Oudom Khatthiya, Mr Somlath Chanthamath, Mr Osakan Thammatheva, Mr Khambou Sounixay, Mr Sompheth Thipmala and Mr Vaenthong Luangvilay were also moved to the National Cemetery. The main purpose of the relocation of the remains of the country’s top leaders and revolutionary fighters is to keep them all together in the same place.

Dr Bounpone headed the hundreds of Party and government officials, relatives, friends and colleagues of the 11 comrades who attended the ceremony yesterday.

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Govt approves fundamental issues for national development

March 25, 2013

Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong

The government’s monthly meeting on March 19-21 discussed and approved several fundamental issues aimed at accelerating the pace of national development, amid growing regional integration.

Chaired by Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, the meeting adopted measures to address problems related to foreign workers in Laos as proposed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. The measures aim to ensure better management of foreign labourers in Laos.

The government accepts that overseas workers are necessary at this time of regional integration but says it is important to regulate them based on the country’s laws, to ensure order and security.

The government also approved a draft resolution of the Party Politburo on converting state property into capital, before submitting the document to the Party Politburo.

The resolution calls for studies on the potential and efficient use of state property with the goal of driving socio-economic development. It is envisaged this would help to reduce the misappropriation of funds as a result of improperly converting state property into capital, of which the main examples are the leases and concessions awarded to investment projects.

The government meeting also approved a report on the relocation of government offices in Vientiane. The relocation is deemed desirable as the rate of development in the capital has surged over the past 20 years, resulting in significant population growth and increasing traffic congestion.

The report identified zones for various government offices including ministries and central level organisations, as well as plans for infrastructure development and other facilities.

In addition, the meeting discussed a draft decree on the allowances to be granted to inspection officials. This is aimed at enabling inspection officials to carry out their work more efficiently and fulfill their obligations as assigned by the nation.

The government also approved in principle two mega-projects in Xieng Khuang province. These are the Khangvieng and Meuang Mork focal point development project for poverty reduction, and the building of facilities for the 11th National Games to be held in Xieng Khuang province.

The meeting also discussed issues related to the construction of international airports in Huaphan and Attapeu provinces, to ensure the projects are implemented successfully.

Mr Thongsing called on cabinet members to ensure that revenue is collected as planned so there are sufficient financial reserves for planned expenditure in the areas of economic development and poverty reduction.

He said the sectors responsible need to make sure that all land taxes and other revenues are paid as required, and to put a stop to inappropriate tax and tariff exemptions.

The prime minister urged the cabinet to address problems related to the salaries paid to teachers and retired officials.

He also insisted that the authorities stop allowing private companies to pay for state projects at the outset and be refunded by the government later, saying this kind of arrangement will only create debt for the government.

Mr Thongsing also urged the relevant sectors to manage the price of goods sold in markets to ease the hardship of ordinary people, and to address the problem of consumers being taken advantage of by traders.

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