Hanoi (VNA) – The ultimate value of parliamentary oversight lies not in the number of supervisory activities conducted or recommendations made, but in the tangible improvements it delivers in institutional reform, law enforcement, national governance and people's quality of life, National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man said on July 30.
Addressing the NA forum on supervision in Hanoi, the top legislator said it is one of the legislature's three constitutional functions. Supervision serves as a key mechanism for exercising control over State power, ensuring the strict implementation of the Constitution and the law, while also driving institutional reform, strengthening national governance and reinforcing public confidence.
He noted that while the progress achieved in recent years has provided a solid foundation, the country's new stage of development demands higher standards and more effective oversight.
According to Chairman Man, Vietnam is simultaneously implementing a series of strategic policies and major decisions, many of which are unprecedented in scope and ambition. At the same time, advances in science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, artificial intelligence and the green transition are fundamentally reshaping development models and national governance.
"We cannot oversee new challenges with old thinking, old methods and old tools. The 16th National Assembly must establish a new approach to supervision – one that is strategically oriented, forward-looking, evidence- and data-driven, focused on the right priorities, and committed to ensuring accountability and delivering results," he stressed.
The top legislator said related activities should go beyond reviewing what has already been done. They should also help shape future action, remove institutional bottlenecks, identify potential risks, promote action, and contribute to national development.
He called on the forum to focus on strategic issues, bottlenecks behind existing bottlenecks, sectors that consume substantial national resources, and matters of particular concern to voters and the public, rather than adopting a scattered approach, avoiding difficult topics, or getting bogged down in day-to-day matters.
The NA Chairman also stressed the need to closely align supervision with institutional reform and the effective enforcement of laws, while fundamentally modernising oversight methods through the use of data, evidence and digital technologies.
He expressed his hope that the forum would do more than produce new recommendations. More importantly, it should help shape a new mindset for the 16th NA – one that views supervision as a tool for promoting development, enhancing the effectiveness of national governance and, above all, serving the people and supporting the country's rapid and sustainable development.
The forum was convened to review key achievements in parliamentary oversight and assess the implementation of priorities identified at its inaugural edition in 2025. Discussions focus on renewing approaches to supervision following the entry into force of the 2025 Law on Oversight Activities of the National Assembly and People’s Councils and its implementing regulations, particularly in the context of the rollout of Vietnam's two-tier local administration model.
It also aims to identify strategic priorities, major issues and key sectors for supervision during the 16th NA's term, ensuring supervisory activities are accurately targeted at development bottlenecks, issues of concern to voters and the public, the implementation of major Party policies, law enforcement, the management and use of national resources and public assets, the promotion of thrift and anti-wastefulness measures, and the accountability of State agencies, with a stronger emphasis on data-, evidence- and indicator-based oversight./.
