HCM City (VNA) -🤪 District-level authorities in HCM City must promote scientific and technological activities in order to modernise production, a seminar heard in HCM City last week.

Nguyen Viet Dung, Director of the city Department of Science and Technology, said under a city plan for 2016 –20, each district has to draft at least three models for applying technology to improve the quality of the operations and services provided by State agencies, with priority given to the use of IT to achieve administrative reforms. Each district has to have at least three organisations, enterprises or economic agencies supporting the use of technology to improve administration. All craft villages must adopt technologies for production, and 50 percent of high schools must have creative activities. Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai, Head of the Science and Education Division at the city Party Committee’s Information and Education Department, said the public had recognised the benefit of application of technology in several cases: the use of IT to achieve administrative reform in District 1; use of technology in health care services in Thu Duc District and animal husbandry and agriculture in Cu Chi, Hoc Mon and Can Gio; and establishment of brand names “Phu Hoa Dong Rice Paper” in Cu Chi, “Cu Chi Cow Milk”, Safe vegetable Coop in Hoc Mon, Phuoc An Coop in Binh Chanh, Chau Tong Ornamental Fish in District 12. Tran Van Lan, Deputy Chief of the Cu Chi Information and Education Division, said technology helped restructure the district economy and enabled it to grow at 18.96 percent. Its agriculture changed to focus on high-value livestock and plants like milk cows, ornamental fish, safe vegetables, and orchids, he said. Co-operatives in Cu Chi have registered “Phu Hoa Dong Rice Paper” as a traditional craft product, developing a brand for it in the local and international markets thanks to technology application. Meanwhile, District 1 is a model in using technology for administrative reform. Between 2010 and 2015 it accomplished tasks like using electronic devices, perform a public poll on the work done by local cadres and officials, and informing officials about meetings using SMSs. The poll gathered over 95,000 comments about the work done by cadres and officials, 98 percent of which were positive. Nguyen Thanh Doan, Head of the District 4 Information and Education Division, said the district’s scientific and technological efforts were focused on waste treatment and medical waste management in residential areas. These projects helped improve the environment, he said. But the application of scientific and technological achievements still faced many challenges including shortage of funds at the district level, Hoai said.-VNA