On November 3, continuing the 10th Session, the National Assembly discussed in groups the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Public Debt Management.
Giving specific comments on a number of issues in the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Public Debt Management, Politburo member and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man requested to ensure transparency, publicity, proactiveness and efficiency in public debt management.
National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man said that at the beginning of the meeting, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang discussed the final handling of the Can Tho Oncology Hospital project using Hungarian loans.
"The project started in 2009, when I was still Chairman of the People's Committee of Can Tho City. However, due to problems with procedures, the project has only been implemented since 2016 and has lasted nearly 9 years. The construction part is basically completed about 80%, but the equipment and machinery have been stalled for the past 4-5 years" - the National Assembly Chairman said.
The head of the National Assembly shared more, "I have been on the prosecutor's examination many times. Recently, the Prime Minister also inspected and found the facility devastated and mossy. Therefore, it is necessary to complete legal procedures to stop this ODA project and switch to using the state budget to complete the project, in accordance with the commitment to Can Tho City, to put this 500-bed hospital into operation".
According to the National Assembly Chairman, the current Oncology Hospital is very cramped and overloaded, patients have to go to Ho Chi Minh City for treatment, and is also overloaded. Therefore, it is necessary to be transparent, proactive, and effective in the use and management of public debt.
Regarding the allocation and use of ODA capital and foreign preferential loans, the draft law supplements the regulation that the Government stipulates cases of granting to the Provincial People's Committee and public service units, the National Assembly Chairman suggested that the Government strictly regulate the conditions and rates of granting, and assess the impact on the central budget, because if not carefully controlled, localities can propose foreign loans greater than their ability to balance.
At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the monitoring and sanctions mechanism, ensure strict management and effective use of loans issued to localities.
Regarding the method of re-lending ODA capital, the draft adds a provision: commercial banks re-lend to public service units under the method of lending agencies not subject to credit risks.
In addition, if lending back to businesses investing in priority programs and projects, lending agencies will be partly exposed to credit risks. At the same time, it is recommended to carefully assess the impact of this regulation.
If we lend without taking credit risks, it can lead to lax appraisal, creating great risks, and burdening state agencies. In fact, there have been cases where banks lend without responsibility in supervision, affecting repayment capacity, public debt safety, even borrowing this amount but using it for other purposes - the National Assembly Chairman emphasized.
The National Assembly Chairman said that it is necessary to clearly stipulate in the law or in the decree later on if risks occur, how the responsibility of commercial banks is regulated and how much the risk sharing rate is, and on what basis.
