The Provincial People's Council proposes solutions to combat waste in the use of public assets.

On the afternoon of August 2nd, the Economic and Budget Committee of the Provincial People's Council continued its review meeting regarding reports and draft resolutions in the field of finance and budget, to be submitted to the second session of the Provincial People's Council, term 2021-2026.

Attending the meeting were members of the Provincial Party Standing Committee: Nguyen Nam Dinh - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council and Le Hong Vinh - Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; and representatives from several provincial departments and agencies.

Tax debt is increasing.

Review of the report on the implementation of the revenue and expenditure budget.budgetThe meeting reviewed the state's report on austerity measures and waste prevention in the first six months of the year, and the tasks and solutions for the last six months of 2021. Attendees assessed the decisive leadership and management of the Provincial People's Committee and the Finance sector, with numerous solutions to increase revenue.savespend.

Despite the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the production and business activities of enterprises and people, budget revenue in the province during the first six months of the year reached 10,042 billion VND, achieving 71.6% of the provincial People's Council's budget estimate and increasing by 37.8% compared to the same period in 2020.

Comrade Nguyen Nam Dinh - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council - requested the Provincial People's Committee to implement solutions to practice thrift and combat waste in the use of public assets. Photo: Mai Hoa

Alongside increasing revenue, many cost-saving and waste-fighting measures have been implemented.

Savings results in the sectorinvestIn the first six months of the year, over 246 billion VND was cut; over 228 billion VND was saved in the preparation, appraisal, approval of budget estimates and final accounts, management, and use of state budget funds; nearly 4 billion VND and over 192 hectares of land were recovered in the management, exploitation, and use of natural resources; and 7.2 billion VND was saved in the appraisal, management, and procurement of public assets…

Comrade Phan Thi Hoan - Secretary of the Party Committee of the Enterprise Bloc, member of the Economic and Budget Committee of the Provincial People's Council, expressed concern about the decrease in development investment expenditure targets for the 2021-2025 period compared to the 2016-2020 period. Photo: Mai Hoa

In addition, some opinions have raised concerns about the sudden surge in land use fee revenue in the first six months of the year, reaching 102.7% of the projected amount and increasing by 52.2% compared to the same period last year; meanwhile, infrastructure investment costs are high, meaning that actual revenue is limited.

On the other hand, tax arrears continue to increase, rising by 218 billion VND compared to December 31, 2020. The practice of saving and combating waste in the use of public assets, such as the use of automobiles as stipulated in Government Decree No. 04/2019/ND-CP, and the recovery of land from some former headquarters of certain agencies and units, has not been effectively implemented.

Deputy Director of the Department of Finance Nguyen Thanh Tung explained some issues of concern to the members. Photo: Mai Hoa

Concerns about investment in development.

During the review of the draft resolution on the 5-year financial plan, 2021-2025, a matter of concern for the members was the fact that the development investment expenditure target for the 2021-2025 period is only over 30,361 billion VND and the recurrent expenditure is over 105,405 billion VND; whereas in the 2016-2020 period, development investment expenditure was over 43,168 billion VND and recurrent expenditure was over 86,442 billion VND.

This contradicts the policy of reducing current expenditures and increasing investment in development.

Comrade Le Hong Vinh - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee - received and clarified some of the issues raised by the meeting participants. Photo: Mai Hoa

In addition, some opinions suggested that the Provincial People's Committee should focus on solutions to increase revenue through supporting and resolving difficulties and obstacles for businesses, promoting economic growth; accelerating the equitization of enterprises; and implementing solutions for effective management and use of public assets…

Also this afternoon, the Economic and Budget Committee reviewed the draft resolution on the investment policy for public investment projects; and the draft resolution on adjusting or abolishing the investment policy for projects.

Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Investment Phan Van Hoan explained some issues raised by meeting participants regarding the draft resolution on the investment policy for public investment projects. Photo: Mai Hoa