Minister of Planning and Investment was reminded by Vice Chairman of the National Assembly for being absent from a meeting

Mr. Phung Quoc Hien said that the National Assembly agreed with the Government that the reports must be presented by the Minister of the advisory agency or the Deputy Prime Minister, instead of the Deputy Minister level.

On August 16, the National Assembly Standing Committee discussed the Government's Proposal to adjust the foreign capital plan. The person expected to report was Minister of Planning and Investment - Nguyen Chi Dung, but he was not present, instead, Deputy Minister Nguyen The Phuong.

At the beginning of the meeting, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Phung Quoc Hien noted the absence of Mr. Nguyen Chi Dung. According to Mr. Hien, the Government has agreed with the National Assembly Standing Committee that the reports must be presented by the minister of the advisory agency who attends the meeting and presents them in person. If the minister is absent, the Deputy Prime Minister must present them on behalf of the Government.

Previously, the representative of the Ministry of Planning and Investment did not specify the reason why the Minister did not attend, but speaking with VnExpress after the meeting, a source from this agency said that it was because Mr. Nguyen Chi Dung had an unexpected work schedule and the Ministry had also reported in writing to the National Assembly Standing Committee beforehand.

When listening to the report, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Phung Quoc Hien also said that Deputy Minister Nguyen The Phuong had not read correctly the report on adjusting foreign capital submitted by the Government to the National Assembly Standing Committee.

According to the Government's report on adjusting the foreign capital plan for 2016, the current disbursement amount is too different between central and local ministries and branches. Some places have basically disbursed the plan, but many central and local ministries and branches have disbursed very little.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Phung Quoc Hien speaks at the National Assembly Standing Committee. Photo: NA

The total foreign capital plan for 2016 is 50,000 billion VND. Accumulated from the beginning of the year to the end of May 2016, only 17,297 billion VND has been disbursed, reaching 36% of the assigned capital plan. Besides a few units with high disbursement rates, there are many units with low disbursement rates or have not disbursed the capital plan for 2016 at all, such as the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Quang Ninh, Hung Yen, Vinh Phuc provinces... In the list, there are 5 central ministries and branches and 11 localities with disbursement of less than 10% of the plan.

According to Deputy Minister Nguyen The Phuong, the reasons for slow disbursement are the differences in bidding between domestic and donor procedures, slow site clearance, limited capacity of management boards of some projects, and counterpart funds not meeting the demand...

Disagreeing with this opinion, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Phung Quoc Hien said that ODA capital management is very complicated, so management must be strengthened. The 13th National Assembly has proposed to supervise the disbursement of ODA capital, but currently 638 billion VND has not been allocated, 3 localities have not needed it but still allocated it, 3 ministries have not completed the procedures but still recorded the capital, some ministries have recorded the plan but some places have not recorded it...

"Unfortunately, the Government's report is not clear. I propose that the Government temporarily review it, possibly presenting it to the National Assembly in October, to put ODA management in order," said Mr. Phung Quoc Hien.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Phung Quoc Hien also asked: "Why did you present it without enough evidence to propose the National Assembly to allocate?". Deputy Minister Nguyen The Phuong replied: "At that time, we hoped that the procedures would be completed by that time." Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien interrupted: "We have to follow the law, there is no hope in the law, there must be complete procedures to include it in the budget."

Speaking at the meeting, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan agreed with the majority of opinions of members of the National Assembly Standing Committee that there was not enough basis for the Committee to comment on adjusting the foreign capital plan for 2016.

The National Assembly Chairman requested the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to propose solutions to restore discipline and strictly implement the management and use of state budget capital sources, including foreign capital. All policies, allocations and adjustments must be in accordance with the law and regulations.

According to Doan Loan/VNE