Proposing the Ministry of Finance to be the focal point for public debt management

(Baonghean.vn) - This is the opinion expressed by delegates at theConference to collect comments on the Draft Law on Public Debt Management (amended) byNghe An National Assembly Delegation organized on the morning of October 19.

Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation Nguyen Thanh Hien chaired the meeting. Photo: Thanh Le

Speaking at the conference, delegates agreed on the necessity of promulgating the Law on Public Debt Management (amended) to replace the 2009 law, and basically agreed with the content of the draft law.

Mr. Cao Tien Trung - Deputy Head of the Economic - Budget Committee, Provincial People's Council said that it is necessary to unify the scope of public debt; at the same time, specify a focal point for public debt management to overcome the overlapping situation of public investment and public debt management.

“It is proposed to stipulate a unified focal point for the Ministry of Finance in public debt management to meet the requirements of administrative reform towards streamlining and efficiency. Currently, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the State Bank of Vietnam are assigned the responsibility for public debt management,” said Mr. Trung.

Another content that delegates are interested in discussing is whether basic construction debt is included in public debt?

Responding to concerns from delegates, the representative of State Audit Office Region 2 clarified: Debt for basic construction cannot be included in public debt, because when the investment policy is approved, the capital source has been approved and appraised. Meanwhile, the Law on Public Investment strictly prohibits the inclusion of debt for basic construction investment in public debt.

It is necessary to control and handle ineffective public investment projects. (Source: Dat Viet Newspaper)

Regarding this content, Ms. Thai Thi An Chung - Deputy of the Legal Committee, Provincial People's Council proposed: The Law on Public Debt Management (amended) needs to calculate a plan to handle the arising debt of basic construction, especially urgent projects that cannot be left unfinished.

Ms. An Chung said that many important projects are invested by enterprises, the State must be responsible for paying the debts of enterprises. Therefore, the draft Law on Public Debt Management (amended) should add a transitional provision to handle issues related to basic construction debt.

Also at the conference, some opinions of delegates suggested adding some indicators on public debt safety; public debt monitoring needs to be supplemented more specifically; the draft law needs to pay attention to adding people's supervision rights, etc.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation Nguyen Thanh Hien acknowledged and highly appreciated the delegates' comments. The Provincial National Assembly Delegation Office will continue to synthesize the comments and recommendations through the forums and convey them to the National Assembly so that the law can be soon passed and put into practice.

Thanh Le