Outsourcing official vehicles saves 3,400 billion VND per year.

By contracting out the costs of using official vehicles, it is estimated that the number of official vehicles will decrease by more than 10,500. This would save the budget approximately 3,400 billion VND annually in operating costs for these vehicles.

The number of official vehicles currently serving the positions of (secretary, minister, deputy minister, chairman, etc.) and the number of vehicles expected to remain after the allocation of official vehicle usage costs (excluding deputy ministers, deputy secretaries, chairmen of People's Councils and People's Committees, etc.). Photo: Tu Trung.

The total number of government vehicles nationwide as of the end of 2016 was 34,241. Of these, 864 were vehicles for official positions, 17,047 were for general work purposes, and 16,330 were specialized vehicles.

This information was provided by Mr. Tran Duc Thang, Director of the Public Assets Management Department, Ministry of Finance, at a press conference on the mechanism for contracting out official vehicles on the afternoon of March 8th.

Mandatory allocation of costs for the use of official vehicles.

According to Mr. Thang, in accordance with the Prime Minister's directive, the number of government vehicles must be reduced by 30-50% by 2020 compared to the current level.

In that spirit, the Ministry of Finance has finalized the draft decision to amend Decision 32 of the Prime Minister on standards and norms for the use of official vehicles.

According to a proposal from the Ministry of Finance, only heads of Party committees, members of the Central Committee of the Party, ministers... and those holding positions with a starting salary coefficient of 9.7 or higher will be provided with official vehicles.

Furthermore, leaders holding positions such as deputy ministers, deputy secretaries of provincial Party committees, chairmen of People's Councils, chairmen of People's Committees, heads of specialized National Assembly delegations in provinces and centrally-administered cities, chairmen of boards of directors, chairmen of member boards, general directors of economic corporations, deputy heads of Party committees at the central level, vice chairmen of the National Assembly's Ethnic Council, vice chairmen of National Assembly committees, deputy directors of the Supreme People's Procuracy, deputy chief justices of the Supreme People's Court... and other leadership positions with a position allowance coefficient of 1.25 or higher must implement a lump-sum system, meaning that transportation costs from their residence to the office are mandatory.

For meetings and business trips, official vehicles will still be used for general transportation purposes.

The budget will no longer allocate funds to equip vehicles for these leaders. It is estimated that the number of official vehicles serving these positions will decrease by 684, meaning there will only be just over 180 vehicles nationwide.

Regarding the vehicle allowance, the Ministry of Finance has proposed two options to the Government, suggesting a mechanism of a fixed allowance of 6.5 million VND/month/person.

This amount will be adjusted when the CPI increases or decreases by 20%. Regarding the selection of this fixed allowance, Mr. Thang explained that it is based on the allowances that the Ministry of Finance is currently applying to deputy ministers and directors-general, such as a maximum allowance of 10 million VND/person/month and a minimum allowance of 3 million VND/person/month.

Therefore, a rate of 6.5 million VND/person/month is appropriate. The vehicle allowance will be transferred directly to the monthly salary. The second option is to set a rate of 16,000 VND/km.

Acknowledging that this fixed rate is higher than taxi fares, Mr. Thang analyzed the situation based on the standard of a vehicle valued at 1.1 billion VND, which these officials are entitled to use, and therefore proposed a rate of 16,000 VND/km.

Looking at the overall cost of operating a government vehicle, which is 320 million VND/year (including maintenance, fuel, driver's salary, etc.), it is estimated that with this fixed-rate pricing, the cost will be reduced by half.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the mandatory allocation of official vehicles will help reduce the number of vehicles used for official positions by approximately 684 and up to 10,000 vehicles used for general work, saving the budget thousands of billions of dong from purchasing vehicles. Photo: Tu Trung.

Reduce the number of vehicles used for general official duties by 42-62%.

Mr. Thang stated that there are currently more than 17,000 vehicles used for general official duties.

And to ensure a reduction in the number of vehicles, the Ministry of Finance also wants to tighten regulations, such as allowing departments and divisions under central ministries and agencies with fewer than 50 staff members to be equipped with one vehicle for every two units.

Units with more than 50 personnel are allowed a maximum of one vehicle per unit.

However, the Ministry of Finance also proposed a second option: if the staff is under 50 people, only 3 units will be equipped with 1 vehicle; if the staff is over 50 people, 1 vehicle will be provided for 2 units.

As for vehicles used for general work in localities such as the People's Committee office and the People's Council office, the number will be increased to 4, which is 2 more than currently.

These agencies have about a dozen positions that are entitled to use official vehicles. In reality, reducing the number of vehicles hasn't been truly effective or ensured the best possible work performance. The Provincial Party Committee Office will be equipped with a maximum of two vehicles.

Mr. Thang also stated that the estimated total number of local vehicles will decrease by 42-62%, approximately 7,160-10,560 vehicles, depending on the chosen plan.

Although he did not specifically answer about the economic benefits of applying a fixed allowance for official transportation costs and reducing the number of official vehicles used for general work, Mr. Thang said the impact would be significant.

The Ministry of Finance will calculate the specifics when submitting the proposal to the Prime Minister. However, it is estimated that with a reduction of 684 vehicles for official use and a maximum of 10,000 vehicles for general work, the budget will save 3,400 billion VND annually just in operating costs alone.

On the other hand, with an average car purchase price of 800 million VND per vehicle, the budget wouldn't need to spend trillions of VND to buy cars.

According to Mr. Tran Duc Thang, one of the options for dealing with surplus vehicles after the government vehicle outsourcing program is to auction them off and deposit the proceeds into the state budget.

Many people support contracting out the use of official vehicles.

According to Bui Sy Loi, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs, saving money in the use of official vehicles currently depends primarily on the awareness of those entitled to be transported by official vehicles, as well as on the monitoring of vehicle usage.

"The misuse of government vehicles for private purposes does exist, but not all those entitled to transportation abuse the system."

"I am using a very old official vehicle, and I am willing to accept a contract for its use, provided there is a legal document that stipulates reasonable and fair regulations for all parties. The costs of using the vehicle for official duties and meetings after the contract is implemented must be reasonable and convenient," Mr. Loi said.

Permanent member of the Committee on Social Affairs, Luu Binh Nhuong, said that he used to drive his own car to work and also intended to receive a fixed allowance under the mechanism currently implemented by the National Assembly Office (10 million VND/month), but after a while, he registered to receive a government car.

"I find driving to work inconvenient because I still have to think about work and answer many phone calls on the way. The distinction between white and blue license plates is also bothersome."

"Once, when I went to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs for a meeting, the gatekeeper said that cars with white license plates weren't allowed into the courtyard, so I had to park on the sidewalk. I support all policies to save public assets," Mr. Nhuong expressed.

Deputy Chairman of the Judicial Committee Nguyen Van Pha confided: "If the system of contracting out official vehicles is implemented uniformly, truly economically and effectively, then I am willing to accept it. I can go to work by motorbike or taxi. When the press and public opinion mention the misuse of official vehicles, even those who are serious about using them feel hurt and insulted."

According to Tuoi Tre newspaper