Deficit in the state budget still requests to build a statue worth 885 billion dong

Revenue Decreases Sharply

Diễn Bàn District is one of the four localities that balance their own budget on the territory of Quảng Nam Province at present, along with Tam Kỳ City, Hội An City, and Núi Thành District. Recently, the "self-management" of revenue of this district has continuously encountered difficulties and shortfalls.

In 2023, the district had 7 out of 14 revenue targets that were not met, with a total revenue of the state budget (NSNN) on the territory of over 2.685 trillion VND, failing to meet the 2023 target, at 96.77% of the revenue in 2022. Among them, domestic revenue was approximately 2.162 trillion VND (shortfall of over 205 trillion VND).

According to the People's Committee of Điện Bàn District, the main reason is that the real estate situation on the province's territory in general and the district in particular is facing many difficulties, with many land use projects almost ceasing to operate, and the real estate market is frozen, leading to a significant shortfall in land use fee revenue in 2023 (shortfall of over 457 trillion VND).

The revenue situation of Điện Bàn continues to decrease sharply, with nearly 6 months of revenue in 2024 reaching less than 30% of the annual target.

Notably, in the second half of June 2024, Heineken Brewery in Việt Nam – Quảng Nam Branch announced a temporary stop in operation, which will cause a significant shortfall in revenue from this special consumption tax source (approximately 212 trillion VND).

According to the latest statistics (as of June 20, 2024), the total revenue of the state budget on the territory is approximately 901 trillion VND, achieving only 26.18% of the annual target and 81.38% of the same period last year. It is forecasted that by the end of 2024, Điện Bàn's budget will have a shortfall of approximately 879 trillion VND in the budget balance.

Is it reasonable to build a new monument worth 88.5 trillion VND?

In the context of continuous shortfalls, the proposal by Điện Bàn District to seek approval from the province to implement a project to upgrade the Dũng sĩ Điện Ngọc Monument, with a total cost of over 88.5 trillion VND (from the district's budget), has caused public concern.

In response to Lao Động Newspaper, sculptor and artist Đinh Gia Thắng, the author of the Dũng sĩ Điện Ngọc Monument (old), who was also invited to participate in the project to upgrade the monument, stated that the project is called an upgrade, but in reality, it is a completely new construction of the Dũng sĩ Điện Ngọc Monument.

A resident of Điện Bàn District, now living in HCMC, shared with Lao Động Newspaper: "In my opinion, building a historical monument in Điện Bàn is a good thing, to educate the younger generation about the heroic tradition. However, the cost of building the monument is something that needs to be carefully considered and balanced with the district's budget."

Similarly, Mr. Huỳnh Nga, a resident of Điện Ngọc Ward, where the monument is located, suggested that the project should be implemented in a way that saves costs and allocates funds to support policy families, war invalids, and heroic mothers.

On the other hand, Mr. Trần Hương (Điện Ngọc Ward) expressed his agreement, stating that the renovation and construction of the Dũng sĩ Điện Ngọc Monument is well-deserved.

"In the past, the old monument was built when the economy was still difficult. Now that the country has developed, we should build a more grand and impressive monument, so that our children can understand how their ancestors fought and sacrificed for the country's current prosperity," Mr. Hương said.