On November 3, continuing the 10th Session, the National Assembly listened to the Submission and Report on the review of the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Public Debt Management.
The submission of the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Public Debt Management presented by Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang said that the draft Law amends and supplements the content of 23/63 articles. In which, amending and supplementing 17/63 articles, abolishing some provisions in 5 articles and adding new provisions in 5 articles.
To continue implementing the policy of decentralization and delegation of authority, associated with the arrangement and streamlining of the apparatus and improving governance efficiency, the draft Law stipulates the empowerment of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance in a number of tasks on debt management, enhancing proactiveness and self-responsibility for local authorities in deciding and using the budget.
Accordingly, it will supplement and specify more clearly the duties and powers of the President and the Government, amend and supplement the duties and powers of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance.
The draft Law also proposes to add a provision that the Ministry, the Provincial People's Committee, the City People's Committee, enterprises with 100% state capital, and subsidiaries of enterprises with 100% state capital shall propose ODA loans and foreign preferential loans to the Ministry of Finance for appraisal and submission to the Prime Minister for approval as a basis for implementing investment procedures for programs and projects.
Information on the Loan Proposal focuses on 4 contents of the foreign loan expected to be mobilized and the letter of interest from the sponsor (if any), reducing the content of information that the governing body needs to provide at this stage...
The inspection report presented by Chairman of the Economic and Financial Committee Phan Van Mai stated that the Committee agreed on the necessity of amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Public Debt Management to perfect the apparatus of the political system and perfect the legal system, promote decentralization and delegation of power.
Regarding the scope of the amendment, the Committee recommends that the drafting agency review and focus on urgent issues, problems in practice and need to amend them to ensure consistency in the legal system.
For unclear contents, with many different opinions, and not yet assessed for impact, it is necessary to continue to study, synthesize practices and propose when making comprehensive amendments.
The Committee basically agreed with the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of contents related to the decentralization of the authority of the Prime Minister to decide on the limit of re-lending and the limit of annual Government guarantees associated with the approval of the Public Debt repayment and Loan Plan, contributing to shortening the procedures for approving the limit of re-lending and the annual Government guarantee limit.
Add tasks of the Ministry of Finance to ensure flexibility in the implementation process, reduce administrative procedures.
The Committee recommends that the Government continue to review to ensure decentralization and delegation of authority regulations along with strengthening objectivity, transparency and ensuring effective management of loan mobilization and use.
The Committee also agreed to stipulate that public service units have access to ODA loans and foreign preferential loans. However, it is recommended to consider stipulating that lenders are not exposed to credit risks, carefully assess the impact and risks arising to ensure public debt safety.
