“Whose fault is it? It's all me.”
Speaking at the National Assembly's group discussion session on the afternoon of October 26, General Secretary To Lam commented that, looking at the reality of the current socio-economic development situation, besides many achievements, there are still many worries and concerns that need to be resolved.
Most clearly in the issue of fighting waste, the General Secretary said that this is an issue that he is very concerned about, and also a matter that makes people very upset. "People ask me but I cannot answer. Everyone says that land is gold, precious, worth a lot of money, but why is it standing still, with grass growing for decades, so who is responsible?" - the General Secretary said.
The General Secretary also cited the flood prevention project in Ho Chi Minh City that has lasted for two terms but people are still suffering from flooding, while the State has spent money. If it is left like that, it is still a violation, not embezzlement and corruption, but also waste. Or the case of 2 hospitals that were invested by the State for ten years but have not been put into use, while if it were private, they would have recovered their capital.
The story of “having money but not being able to spend it” continued to be raised by General Secretary To Lam when citing the fact that capital disbursement in the first 9 months has not reached 50%, while there are only a few months left until the end of the year. “Whose fault is it? It’s all our fault, why do we keep making things difficult for ourselves when we see obstacles? Solve them one by one, look at each one and solve them. What kind of regulations are there that even the State cannot do, how can businesses do it?” - the General Secretary commented.
Citing the reality of hundreds and thousands of local projects that have been granted but are still stuck in implementation and waiting for each other, the General Secretary emphasized the need for coordination, not blaming each other or waiting for each other.
Urgently review the problems immediately
In the latest report, the Ministry of Finance said that by the end of the third quarter of 2024, the whole country would only disburse about 47.29% of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister, much lower than the same period in 2023 at 51.38%.
"The fact that some localities have large plans but low disbursement rates has greatly affected the overall disbursement rate of the whole country," the Ministry of Finance stated.
Based on the synthesis from ministries, branches and localities, the Ministry of Finance said that there are many existing problems. Typically, problems in some policy mechanisms on assigning a locality as the competent authority to implement public investment in road traffic projects across many localities; regulations on the order of preparation and appraisal of annual public investment plans, authority to decide on capital allocation time; order and procedures for adjusting medium-term and annual public investment plans of State budget capital.
Another long-standing problem is site clearance, focusing on determining the origin of the land, determining the land price, people have not agreed with the compensation and resettlement plan; related to fluctuations in raw material prices and supply of construction materials.
Given the above reality, the Government's recent decision to establish a Steering Committee to review and remove difficulties and obstacles related to projects (Steering Committee) is expected to create new breakthroughs, remove obstacles or promptly adjust regulations that are bottlenecks hindering the disbursement progress of projects.
The Steering Committee, chaired by Politburo member and Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh, will review, synthesize and propose to the Prime Minister directions and solutions to resolve important, inter-sectoral issues to remove difficulties and obstacles related to projects, including projects using public investment capital, domestic private investment capital, foreign direct investment capital and other capital sources (if any).
The content that attracts much attention is that the Steering Committee will summarize difficulties and problems related to projects according to specific groups of issues, determine the handling authority of relevant levels, and report to the Prime Minister for consideration and handling.
Citing specific stories in localities, Politburo member and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man said in the discussion session on the afternoon of October 26: “Some localities still have many outstanding land projects. The Land Law, the Real Estate Business Law, and the Housing Law have come into effect, but up to now, many localities have not had documents guiding their implementation. The Law is there, the Decree is there, the Circular is there, so now at the local level, the People's Council must issue documents within its authority to promptly implement them, and must provide quick guidance.”
