Policy credit contributes to sustainable poverty reduction in Soc Trang

Over the years, policy credit activities in Soc Trang province have always been effectively implemented, thereby creating conditions for the poor and other policy beneficiaries to improve and gradually enhance their living conditions, contributing significantly to the implementation of the National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction.

Soc Trang integrates many programs and projects to implement hunger eradication and poverty reduction.

According to the Social Policy Bank Branch of Soc Trang province, the whole province currently has 109 commune transaction points in communes, wards and towns, handling over 95% of the transaction volume of the Social Policy Bank with customers. In 2022, the assigned policy credit capital increased by VND 541 billion (up 13.6%) compared to the end of 2021. The capital growth during the year has contributed to increasing the total outstanding debt of policy credit programs to date to VND 4,447 billion (up VND 468 billion compared to the beginning of 2022), with more than 152,000 customers with outstanding debt; the average outstanding debt per household is VND 29 million, an increase of VND 2.6 million over the same period. The growth in policy credit capital during the year has promptly supported investment capital for production and business, creating jobs for 43,840 households; helping 18,500 poor households, near-poor households, and newly escaped poverty households develop their family economy. Thanks to that, by the end of 2022, the whole province will have only 15,139 poor households, accounting for 4.54%; near-poor households are 26,242 households, accounting for 7.87%.

As of May 31, 2023, the total outstanding balance of policy credit programs at the Provincial Social Policy Bank reached VND 4,637 billion, an increase of VND 2,389 billion, equivalent to an increase of 2.06 times compared to 2014. The Social Policy Bank is monitoring and managing 152,367 customers, accounting for 45.86% of the total number of households in the province that have borrowed capital from social policy credit programs. Overdue debt and deferred debt are VND 329 billion, accounting for 7.09% of the total outstanding debt.

Thanks to credit capital, many poor households in Soc Trang have boldly invested in beef cattle farming, contributing to sustainable poverty reduction.

In the past 9 years, preferential credit programs have helped 377,727 poor households and policy beneficiaries to borrow capital, with a loan turnover of VND 8,808 billion, an average of VND 978.7 billion/year. Thereby, the whole province has more than 85,059 households surpassing the poverty line. By the end of 2022, the total number of poor households in the province is currently 15,139, accounting for 4.54% of the total population.

In addition, socio-political organizations of Soc Trang province mobilized savings deposits into the Social Policy Bank. By May 31, 2023, the savings deposit balance reached 168 billion VND, an increase of 132 billion VND compared to 2014.

To continue promoting the results in the coming time, Soc Trang province will strengthen the direction of Party committees and authorities at all levels on social policy credit activities; considering this a task in the programs, plans and regular activities of Party committees and authorities at all levels. The Social Policy Bank, provincial branches and district transaction offices continue to advise Party committees and authorities at all levels to implement and direct, organize the implementation of the Central and local directives on strengthening the Party's leadership on social policy credit; at the same time, focus on implementing well the work of improving the quality of savings and loan groups' operations, minimizing the level of ineffective groups' operations; seriously assess the work of handling risky debts due to objective reasons in accordance with regulations; thereby gradually urging debt freezing. Effectively deploy emulation movements associated with the content of activities to consolidate and improve credit quality. Timely reward, encourage and motivate groups and individuals with outstanding achievements in performing their tasks. Maximize the support capital from the Central Government and concentrate all local resources to better meet the borrowing needs of poor households and other policy beneficiaries...

The province will also balance and arrange local budgets to supplement entrusted capital of at least 15% of total credit growth capital to lend to poor households and policy beneficiaries for economic development, striving for the entrusted local budget capital to account for 15% of total capital by 2030.

At the same time, the province has proposed to the central ministries and branches to add subjects of households that have just escaped poverty and near-poverty to continue to enjoy credit policies; increase the maximum loan amount for programs such as loans for clean water and rural environmental sanitation from 10 million VND/project to 20 million VND/project; add subjects of policy credit loans for households working in agriculture, forestry and fishery with average living standards. At the same time, it is requested that the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies pay attention to allocating additional capital for policy credit programs for Soc Trang province to grow by 10%-15% annually; in which, priority is given to arranging capital for loans to support job creation, maintaining and expanding employment and capital for social housing loans to transform economic structure and develop industrial parks.

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