Construction Progress of the Project is Delayed
According to a source of Lao Động, the Provincial Inspection of Sơn La has just issued Conclusion No. 35 dated August 7, 2024 on the responsibility of implementing legal regulations of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (NNPTNT) of Sơn La Province. The conclusion has revealed many existing issues and shortcomings of the collective and individual at the unit.
According to the conclusion, the signing of contracts, inspection, payment, and final settlement of forest protection and development costs still have many existing issues and violations.
Specifically, at Package No. 12: Construction of roads to special-use and protective forests, patrol roads, and fire prevention and fighting forests; and Package No. 14 - Construction and equipment of forest protection stations, the investor and contractor did not agree on the recovery of advance payments for each payment according to the provisions of the law.
The construction progress of the project is delayed, and additional time is required to implement the contract. Package No. 12 is delayed by 9 months, and Package No. 14 is delayed by 14 months.
The reason is that the contractor's capacity is limited, and the responsibility for implementing the contract is not serious. In addition, due to some design changes and some work items being stuck due to site issues, it has affected the construction progress of the project.
Notably, the inspection and payment of work items: sanding roads, cable roads, electrical cables, wooden formwork, concrete columns, fence posts, steel roof beams, wall tiles, composite partitions, floor tiles, wooden formwork, and roof trusses, have not been done correctly, with a total amount of over VND 135 million.
Next is the issue of not controlling the regular budget, and the costs of implementing target programs at some units directly under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Sơn La Province also have many violations and shortcomings.
At the Forest Protection Department, the process of preparing the budget for the project: maintenance and repair of office buildings, residential buildings, forest protection stations, and auxiliary items for the forest protection units of the districts: Sốp Cộp, Thuận Châu, TP Sơn La, and the Management Board of Special-Use and Protective Forests of Sốp Cộp, in 2024, as the main investor, has errors in applying the single price of D20 and D32 electrical pipes, with an amount of over VND 23 million (the project has just completed the stage of preparing the budget, approving the project, and has not yet organized the selection of contractors).
Supporting the Wrong Target Group
The inspection conclusion also pointed out that the main reason for the many violations and shortcomings is the Sơn La Agricultural Extension Center. The organization of selecting the location and target group for the agricultural extension model has not been in line with the regulations of the Government on agricultural extension; the identification of the target group has not fully reflected the conditions and criteria for selecting households to participate in the model, and has not determined the total number of households to be surveyed and the criteria for evaluating the selected households.
Supporting the wrong target group with the Lăng Nha Lồng Bè Fish Model at Xa Village, Liệp Tè Commune, Thuận Châu District. To date, the Agricultural Extension Center has voluntarily rectified and returned the entire amount of money already supported to the state budget.
Regarding the "Breed Cattle for Reproduction" model, the Agricultural Extension Center supported the cooperatives with 70% of the number of breeding cattle (the cooperatives provided 30% of the breeding cattle) which did not meet the regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
According to the Provincial Inspection of Sơn La, the responsibility of the collective and individual for the existing issues and shortcomings has been clearly identified. The collective leadership and accounting units directly under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development are responsible for the existing issues and shortcomings in the management and implementation of tasks at the unit.
Regarding individuals, the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Sơn La Province, as the person in charge, is responsible for the overall issues and shortcomings at the units. The person in charge, accounting staff, and individuals directly responsible for the tasks assigned are responsible for the existing issues and violations as determined by the inspection.
The Chief Inspector of Sơn La Province also requested a reduction in the budget value of the project managed by the Forest Protection Department, with a reduction of over VND 23 million.
Reduce the payment for Package No. 12 and Package No. 14, the Project for Conservation and Sustainable Development of Special-Use and Protective Forests, with a reduction of over VND 92 million.
In addition, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Sơn La Province must organize an examination of the responsibility of the collective and individual related to the existing issues and shortcomings in the management and use of the state budget and other sources of funding. In particular, it is required that the Agricultural Extension Center seriously rectify and learn from experience in implementing models and projects at the unit.
