Nghe An will conduct a comprehensive inspection of the management of donation money at relics.

Reduce risk and loss

After offering incense atOng Hoang Muoi Temple(Hung Thinh commune, Hung Nguyen district), a group of tourists from Hoang Mai district, Hanoi capital donated money. After recording all the tourists' information, the relic staff instructed them to put money into the donation box.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Khanh - Deputy Head of the Management Board of Ong Hoang Muoi Temple said that since 2016, Hung Nguyen district has established a Counting Team and a Donation Monitoring Team at the relics managed by the district, including Ong Hoang Muoi Temple. Every time the temple opens the donation box, members of the two teams will attend and witness.

"All the money from the donation boxes will be transferred to another box, sealed and using two types of locks, one lock is given to the relic management unit and the other lock is given to the head of the relic management board. Every day, members of the relic management board are responsible for managing the donation money on the altars and collecting it into the donation box," Mr. Khanh shared.

Research at many major relics in the province shows that the management and use of donation money is carried out seriously and strictly. At Qua Son Temple (located in Boi Son Commune, Do Luong District), the District People's Committee also established a Team to supervise donation activities.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Nam - Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Do Luong district, Deputy Head of the Management Board of Qua Son temple, said: "The regulations on management and use of donation money at the temple are announced and publicly posted. At the donation boxes, the Temple Management Board arranges staff to record carefully and clearly and has surveillance cameras. After being counted, the donation money will be transferred directly to the State Treasury, reducing the risk of risk and loss...".

According to the report of the Department of Culture and Sports, Nghe An currently has 2,602 relics, of which 471 have been ranked, 5 are special national relics, 144 are national relics, and 322 are provincial relics. In addition, the whole province has 92 festivals.

Mr. Bui Cong Vinh - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports said that Nghe An has many relics and festivals associated with national heroes and famous people who have influenced the historical process of the nation and need to be preserved and promoted. However, the State's budget is limited so it cannot take care of all the relics, while many people have the desire to contribute, protect and promote the value of the relics. It is the source of donations in recent times that has helped many relics to be preserved, restored and promoted in value.

In addition, this revenue is also used for community activities and contributes to the socio-economic development of the locality. In 2022, according to reports from localities, the revenue from donations transferred to the State Treasury of 7 key relics in the province including: Ong Hoang Muoi Temple, Con Temple, Qua Son Temple, Hong Son Temple, Duc Hoang Temple, Bach Ma Temple, and Vua Mai Temple is more than 26.1 billion VND.

Will check overall

Since 2016, the management and collection of donations at relics in Nghe An (at relics with a Relic Management Board, mainly at district and provincial levels) has been implemented according to Decision No. 18/2016/QD-UBND of the Provincial People's Committee on receiving, managing and using donations at historical and cultural relics and scenic spots in Nghe An province.

Accordingly, the relic management unit establishes a monitoring team to monitor activities related to donations every year. Each time the donation box is opened, there must be a representative of the relic management board and the monitoring team.

Decision 18 also stipulates the process of using cash donations, accordingly, "Every year, relic management units must prepare reports, settle the collection and expenditure of donations and fully comply with the financial reporting regime as prescribed by law and send reports on the collection and expenditure of donations to the Department of Culture and Sports for synthesis and monitoring".

The Decision also clearly stipulates expenditures from public donations, including: Expenditures for relic restoration activities (public donations from each relic are used for that relic); expenditures for regular activities at the relic; expenditures for labor contract allowances at the relic; retained for the local budget of the relic to spend on local social welfare; allocated for the source of preserving and promoting cultural heritage to be used for preserving and promoting cultural heritage in the whole province.

In addition to implementing the regulations of Decision No. 18/2016/QD-UBND, to prevent loss of donation money, in recent years, the management boards of some relics such as Con Temple, Qua Son Temple, Hong Son Temple... have installed surveillance cameras in the areas of altars, donation tables, and donation boxes. Representatives of the inspection agencies of related sectors also said that in recent years, inspections have shown that the management and collection of donation money at relics have been strictly implemented, and no violations have been detected.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular 04/2023/TT-BTC, effective from March 19, 2023. According to this Circular, for relics and festivals organized by state agencies, the implementing unit must have an account at the State Treasury or a commercial bank to reflect the receipt, management and use of funds for organizing festivals in the form of transfer and electronic payment. For cases of receiving in cash, the units must assign a person to receive and open a book to record the full amount of money received.

According to Ms. Phan Thi Anh - Head of Heritage Management Department (Department of Culture and Sports), compared to Decision No. 18/2016/QD-UBND of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee, the regulations on reception in Circular 04/2023 have many similarities. However, the difference between Circular 04/2003 and Decision 18 lies in the regulations on the use of donation money. Circular 04 stipulates more clearly the management and use of donation money and sponsorship in 5 types of relics, including: Relics that are also religious establishments; Relics that are also belief establishments; Relics under private ownership; Relics assigned to public service units for management and use; Relics assigned to the Relic Management Board for concurrent management and use.

On October 30, the Ministry of Finance issued an official dispatch guiding the implementation of inspections of the management of donations and sponsorships at historical and cultural relics. In early November, the People's Committee of Nghe An province also issued a document assigning relevant departments and branches to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the management of donations and sponsorships at relics in the province to send to the Ministry of Finance before March 31, 2024.

Currently, the Department of Culture and Sports has issued a document with a list of relics that have been granted a certificate of relic classification by a competent state agency, or included in the provincial relic inventory list, and sent it to the Department of Finance and the People's Committees of districts, cities and towns as a basis for inspection; at the same time, coordinate with the Department of Finance to advise the Provincial People's Committee to direct and guide the implementation of a comprehensive inspection of the management of donations and sponsorships at relics in the province. It is expected that from the beginning of 2024, the inspection will begin.

Mr. Bui Cong Vinh - Deputy Director of Department of Culture and Sports