(VOVworld)- The Vietnam Fatherland Front will hold its 8^th National Congress on Friday. Enhancing social supervision and criticism is one of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s important tasks in its next term. By fulfilling this task, which is also stipulated in the 2013 Constitution, the Front will contribute to protecting people’s rights and interests and to strengthening the Party and government.

Following the National Assembly’s adoption of the 2013 Constitution, on December 12, 2013, the Party Politburo issued a “Mechanism on social supervision and criticism of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and social organizations” and a “Regulation on the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s and social organization’s contribution of opinions on the building of the Party and administrations” along with mechanisms to implement these functions.

The Front’s social supervision and criticism aim to strengthen the management capacities of state agencies and local administrations.

Building a state of the people, by the people and for the people is the focal task

Social supervision and criticism are the two main tasks of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, aiming at building a State for the people to know, discuss and inspect. This function is stipulated in the Constitution, under which the Vietnam Fatherland Front monitors, discovers, evaluates, and makes proposals on issues relating to policies, Party guidelines, and laws and sends them to relevant agencies, officials, Party members, and elected representatives.

Over the years, the Fatherland Front has implemented social criticism, but it has only contributed opinions to policies and legal documents. The Front has listened to people’s opinions and reflected them to the National Assembly and People’s Council. However, the social criticism work needs to be carried out in a more scientific manner.

Improving social supervision and criticism in various aspects

Bui Thi Thanh, Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee says that more attention will be paid to improving social supervision and criticism: “In our next term, we will pay more attention to training and fostering our officials, especially at the commune and grassroots level. We will also improve our training manuals and documents”.

The Front’s social supervision and criticism reflect the people’s rights of mastery because the Front represents the people. Nguyen Tuc, Head of the Cultural and Social Advisory Council, says that to fulfill this task, the Front needs to bring into play the people’s strength: “The Front represents the people in carrying out social supervision and criticism. Therefore, this work needs to be supported by the people. So, it’s necessary to mobilize the people, especially officials and experienced people, to participate in the Front’s activities”.

Since the Politburo issued a “Mechanism on social supervision and criticism of the Fatherland Front and social organizations”, many specific regulations on the reception, evaluation and settlement of supervision and criticism have taken effect. Once the Law on the Fatherland Front is approved by the National Assembly, this work will be carried out more effectively. Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee Nguyen Van Pha said that this issue will be discussed further at the upcoming 8^th National Congress: “At the 8^th Congress, we expect to work out 5 Action Programs. One of them is about the Front’s social supervision and criticism in relation with the strengthening of the Party and the administration. If the program is approved by the Congress, we will develop annual programs on social supervision and criticism to be implemented at various levels”.

2014 is the first year the 2013 Constitution and the “Mechanism on social supervision and criticism of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and social organizations” will take effect. Effective implementation of the regulation is one of the best ways to enhance the people’s right to mastery and to create social consensus.