Removing difficulties for monitoring activities

(Baonghean) - In practice, the monitoring activities of the People's Inspection Committee (PICC) and Community Investment Supervision Committee (CIMB) in localities increasingly affirm the role of "eyes and ears" of the people in participating in social management and operation. However, the difficulties and obstacles encountered are a significant obstacle that has prevented these activities from achieving the desired results.

The people's "ears and eyes" are promoted

It can be said that since the 11th National Assembly promulgated the Law on Inspection, which includes provisions on People's Inspection (TTND) and assigned the Fatherland Front at all levels to be responsible for organizing and directing the activities of the People's Inspection Committees in communes, wards and towns. Accordingly, the Government issued Decree No. 99/2005/ND-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Inspection on the organization and operation of the People's Inspection Committee. Along with that, the birth of Decision No. 80/2005/QD-TTg on promulgating regulations on community investment supervision... the supervision activities have received more attention. Up to now, Nghe An has 431/431 communes establishing People's Inspection Committees and Community Investment Supervision Committees. Trusted and assigned responsibilities by the people, the People's Inspection Committees and Community Investment Supervision Committees have promoted their roles, promptly detecting, preventing and handling many investment activities that harm the interests of the community.

Construction of rural roads in Nam Dan district is always supervised by the Road Construction Supervision Board.

Nam Dan district is a locality that is highly appreciated by the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee for its monitoring activities. Currently, in 24 communes and towns in the district, the People's Inspection Committee and the Community Inspection Committee have been established with a total of 185 members, of which 166 members work concurrently in both committees. Not letting down the people's trust, in 2013, the People's Inspection Committees supervised 94 cases. Of which, 31 cases were verified, 35 cases were recommended and 25 cases were resolved. Also in 2013, the Community Inspection Committee supervised 75/91 construction investment projects in the area, accounting for 82.4% of the projects monitored. During the monitoring process, violations were detected in projects and recommendations were made for post-monitoring handling of 2 projects.

Typically, in the case of rural road construction in Nam Cat commune, the Construction Supervision Board discovered incorrect technical factors and the quality of sand and gravel was not guaranteed. Or the project to upgrade canals and pumping stations in Nam Cuong commune was implemented but progress was slow. Thanks to the role of the Construction Supervision Board, the investor and contractor actively implemented it to ensure the proposed progress... Mr. Le Van Binh, Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Nam Dan district, said: The supervision activities of the People's Inspection Boards and Construction Supervision Boards in the communes have contributed to raising the responsibility of the construction contractors in paying attention to the quality and progress of construction.

In many other localities, the supervisory role of the People's Inspection Committee and the People's Procuracy has shown that this is a correct policy, promoting the people's mastery in state management. In Yen Thanh district, the supervision activities have been paid attention to by Party committees and authorities at all levels, so in 39 communes and towns, responsible and capable cadres have been formed. Many cases have been detected and promptly recommended, strengthening the people's trust. Notably, the construction of Duc Quang dam in Duc Thanh commune with a capital of 265 million VND to serve irrigation for over 60 hectares of agricultural land in the commune. Through the supervision process, the commune's People's Procuracy Committee discovered that the flood discharge project did not ensure the design elevation, and all materials were inadequate. Mr. Cung Dinh Hop, Vice Chairman of Duc Thanh Commune People's Committee said: "During the construction process, I and the members of the committee found that the investor intentionally cut materials, did sloppy construction, and did things dishonestly. In that situation, the Construction Inspection Committee made a record, recommended to the Standing Committee of the Commune Fatherland Front Committee through the Commune People's Committee, recommended to the Commune People's Council to force the contractor to completely dismantle the project, in the presence of local leaders, project owner, contractor and construction unit."

Difficulties to be resolved

The current problem is that the People's Inspection Board and the Project Supervision Board only carry out supervision activities for projects invested by districts and communes, while it is very difficult to access projects invested by the Central and provincial governments. The main reason is that the project management board and contractors have not provided the necessary documents and records in a timely manner, especially for projects related to traffic and irrigation. For example, the project to upgrade and expand National Highway 540 and Xo Viet Road (section through Kim Lien Relic Site) has a total length of 2.4 km, with an approved budget of 57 billion VND. Construction started in November 2011 and was required to be completed by March 2013, but after the deadline, the project is still very unfinished. During the implementation process, the Commune's Project Supervision Board has not been given favorable conditions to perform its supervisory role. Mr. Le Van Binh, Chairman of the Fatherland Front of Nam Dan district, said: This is one of the major obstacles for projects because the supervision role of the central and provincial levels has not been fully demonstrated. Partly because the supervision board lacks information and because there is no close coordination, it is very difficult to implement.

According to the "Regulations on community investment supervision", the scope of community supervision is very wide. The Community Supervision Board must participate in many stages, the most difficult of which is monitoring and checking compliance with procedures, technical regulations, material norms and types of materials in accordance with regulations during the project investment implementation process; monitoring and checking the results of acceptance and final settlement of works... Due to limitations in the capacity and professional qualifications of the members, supervision activities have not achieved high results. Most members supervise visually, that is, listen and see but do not have enough qualifications to read design drawings, participate in supervising estimates, acceptance and final settlement of works. Mr. Vuong Dinh An - Chairman of the Fatherland Front of Van Dien commune (Nam Dan) said: These are the most fundamental limitations of the community supervision force. Because with mainly elementary and intermediate qualifications, it is difficult to have enough capacity to grasp all technical parameters and specialized concepts. Therefore, training sessions and knowledge and professional qualifications need to be organized more often.

Although the activities of the community investment supervision boards have contributed to limiting waste and loss of State money, the budget for activities is very limited, and some localities do not have enough budget to arrange for the People's Inspection Board and Community Investment Supervision Board. Up to now, Hung Nguyen district has established 23 People's Inspection Boards and 23 Community Investment Supervision Boards, of which 18 are part-time. However, up to 5 community investment supervision boards do not have operating budget such as: Hung Tien, Hung Nhan, Hung Khanh, Hung Lam, Hung Phu. Some other boards only receive 20,000 VND per month for each member. Mr. Pham Van Trung - Vice Chairman of the Fatherland Front of Hung Khanh commune (Hung Nguyen) said: Although the cadres are very dedicated and responsible for their work, the lack of budget makes it difficult to organize any work. Not to mention, to motivate and encourage people to participate in community investment supervision, it is difficult for the locality to arrange any other budget.

Regarding this issue, Ms. Phan Thi Thuy - Vice Chairman of the Fatherland Front of Hung Nguyen district said that the operating budget of the board is too small and not commensurate with the functions, tasks, and activities as prescribed. Especially in the current conditions when we are promoting the implementation of the new rural construction program. Therefore, in addition to supplementing funding so that members of the boards can operate with peace of mind, it is necessary to clearly define the responsibilities of those with the authority to approve planning and projects, investors, construction units and State management agencies... in creating conditions for the Community Investment Supervision Boards to operate in accordance with the authority prescribed by law and consider this a necessary legal document to accept and finalize the project. Only then can the responsibility of investors for this activity be enhanced.

Article and photos:Pham Bang