Using the budget for entertaining guests: Guests 3, host 7

Rich people have money to help poor countries and developing countries, but they are very strict in spending, especially spending money that is not their own.

The story of some teachers having to go out drinking and singing with guests at receptions has again sounded the alarm about the spending of "free money" by some local "public servants".

In fact, almost everyone knows, especially restaurants, how the guest bills (paid by the state) are written. Even the guests of the inspection committee, an agency whose job is to check and remind about proper spending, still eat, drink and have fun as usual...

Many places, even the Provincial People’s Committee, have submitted a request for additional support of hundreds of millions of dong to cover unexpected guest reception expenses. The People’s Committee has no source of payment so it still owes the restaurant.

This story reminds me of the time when the head of the Japanese aid agency for Vietnam visited his hometown and was invited by the local people to drink a bottle of wine worth thousands of dollars, which surprised and puzzled him. And I also remember how the Americans spent public money during the exchange trip of a group of Vietnamese writers and journalists to the US.

Illustration photo.

Through the State Department, the Americans contribute a sum of money to annually invite cultural figures from all over the world to learn about the country, people and culture of America. Each person is given a sum of money equal to half the cost of the trip, the other half must be paid by themselves. Wherever we arrive, we are warmly welcomed. If we want to learn something, we can send our requests in advance or directly, and whatever is possible, the partner agencies will satisfy us.

However, from the bottle of water to lunch, dinner, museum entrance tickets, and sightseeing tickets, each guest pays for their own meals. If someone doesn't eat, the host doesn't ask, assuming that person has other needs: dieting, eating different meals... Americans are very clear, not only in our story, but also in their lives. The two people who ate with us during the lunches were high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they also only ate small meals, with their own money. They said the President, the Governor... and even their officials were all like that.

If they are guests, they are assigned to use whichever fund they want to use, but they eat with their own money, with their salaries, and they also ask us not to buy meals for them. “Public administrative spending is an expense that needs to be considered carefully, because the people have the right to strictly control it, possibly through state agencies, possibly through the people's feedback. People's feedback does not need to mention their names, and any form of feedback will be considered and investigated…” One of the two people told me.

I give two examples, one about Japan, one about America to show that people are rich, have money to help poor countries, developing countries, but they are very strict in spending, especially spending money that is not their own. I think that cultural nature only exists in self-respecting people who have built a civilized way of working.

In our country, the Ministry of Finance has also issued a document with specific regulations on the guest reception regime, depending on each position, how much each meal portion costs. But who is called a guest, and why is entitled to the guest reception regime… is unclear. Many people on business trips already have business expenses in their unit, but when they go to another unit, they also enjoy the guest reception regime. As for the other unit, even though they "distort their face" to pay for the guest reception, they do not dare to have any opinion, for two reasons. One is, they will later make a report to request additional budget; two is, they are embarrassed to say it, because when they come to that locality in the future or before, they will also enjoy the same. Moreover, "the guest is three, the host is seven", when there is an opportunity, they "express their feelings" to each other.

Furthermore, reading the proposals for additional budget, in which the reception of guests has led to debt, I kept thinking, how unfortunate (or honorable) is the “boss” who approves additional budget for reception of guests. One proposal is only a few hundred million, many proposals are many billions, it is not simple. Even though the people cannot read the proposals, they are the ones who write the invoices, they understand everything.

According to Vietnamnet.vn