Agencies review year of public works in city

Sayibak district of Urumqi looks back at progress made in social assistance, elderly care, commerce and education

Government agencies of Sayibak district in southwestern Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, have recently summarized their work achievements and shortcomings throughout the year and launched work priorities for 2024.

The district's civil affairs bureau, for example, has raised the modernization level of its governance system and continued to improve basic public services since the beginning of this year.

During this year's New Year's Day and Spring Festival holidays, the bureau visited 1,736 low-income households and gave them daily necessities such as rice, noodles, oil, meat, eggs and milk as gifts.

The bureau has implemented targeted poverty alleviation initiatives this year. By November, it had allocated minimum living allowances of nearly 16 million yuan ($2.24 million) to 1,705 low-income families, and provided 8.77 million yuan of living subsidies in various aspects.

The bureau has also organized six training programs to optimize social assistance and charity systems, and recorded videos to publicize related policies.

Another highlight of the bureau is its home-based care for the elderly in the district. Supported by government funds, it has signed cooperation agreements with a series of companies and institutions providing elderly-care services, benefiting 445 elderly people.

Moreover, the bureau has completed information collection for more than 19,400 elderly people and offered 14.64 million yuan of old-age allowance in the first three quarters.

Also, more facilities have finished construction in the district to better take care of the elderly. This year, Sayibak added 17 new elderly care centers and stations, including 15 in communities. Of that total, four centers and stations provide meal services.

The bureau plans to build another nine service centers and stations for the elderly in 2024.

Additionally, it has focused on protecting the rights and interests of children and people with mental disorders. This year, 15 children protection stations and one rehabilitation service center for people with mental disorders were built in the district.

The commerce bureau in Sayibak has nurtured two new shopping centers this year, which have generated total sales of 141 million yuan, and provided 1,080 jobs. The two centers have also registered 154 new enterprises and 456 individually owned businesses.

The bureau has also made efforts to develop the local nighttime economy. It has built 17 night markets with a total of 810 booths. And it has guided 12 bars and nightclubs to innovate entertainment programs, and encouraged gyms to extend their business hours and launch promotional activities at night.

To better stimulate market vitality and boost consumption, the bureau has organized 320 promotional events this year during holidays and attracted 96 brand stores and 16 flagship stores.

It has also planned 35 exhibitions in art galleries and cultural and sci-tech museums to strengthen the integration of trade, tourism and culture.

Moreover, a district-level trade and business union was founded by the bureau to help formulate a new development pattern. It has more than 60 corporate members so far. From January to October, the retail sales of consumer goods in Sayibak reached 7.78 billion yuan, up 17.9 percent year-on-year.

The bureau also set up an e-commerce business association, attracting more than 50 companies to join. In addition, three live-broadcasting centers with 82 rooms have been built, focusing on the sales of cosmetics, clothes and agricultural and fresh products.

As for major international and national business events like import and export expos, the bureau has made thorough preparations for each, including the recording of promotional videos and building high-quality exhibition booths.

At this year's (China) Eurasia Commodity and Trade Expo, for instance, the bureau organized 14 companies to participate and signed five projects worth more than 5 billion yuan.

In terms of education, the district education bureau has continuously promoted fine traditional Chinese culture in schools by opening courses like calligraphy, Peking Opera and martial arts this year.

It has also carried out a cross-regional communication project and sent 30 teachers to learn, experience and exchange ideas at schools in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

The bureau has invited four experts from the Chinese Society of Education to give lectures and speeches at 17 schools, in a bid to improve the professional knowledge and skills of the teaching staff in the district.

During this year, Sayibak has added three new kindergartens to enhance preschool education, and special courses including football, basketball, Peking Opera and traditional Chinese medicine have been opened at high schools to meet the needs of students.

Education funding policies have been fully implemented in the district. The bureau has allocated a total of 2.21 million yuan this year, benefiting 6,367 students.

It has also helped 152 college and graduate students with financial difficulties apply for student loans worth nearly 1.8 million yuan.

In Sayibak, the bureau of human resources and social security has stabilized employment and incomes.

This year, it has held 99 job fairs, attracting 1,808 enterprises to provide 24,339 positions, and organized various vocational skills training for 20,259 people.

The bureau has built 15 one-stop entrepreneurship service centers, which have hired 28 mentors and offered 38 training courses.

It has also developed an online entrepreneurship service platform that integrates vocational training agencies, HR institutions and public employment service centers. As of now, 245 companies have used the platform to release job recruitment information.

In 2024, the bureau plans to make progress in improving the employment and entrepreneurship of college graduates, demobilized military personnel and migrant workers from rural villages.

It will use online and offline channels to strengthen the publicity of employment policies and complete the cooperation mechanisms on talent training among schools, and between schools and enterprises.

haonan@chinadaily.com.cn