After contracting out official vehicles, the same will apply to contracting out official housing and telephones.

According to the draft Law on Management and Use of State Assets (amended), not only official vehicles, but also telephones, official residences, etc., will soon be subject to contracting out.

According to the draft Law on Management and Use of State Assets (amended), which the Government is submitting to the National Assembly for approval, budget allocation will be the preferred method, and other methods will only be applied if budget allocation is not feasible. In addition to official vehicles, budget allocations will also apply to official residences, official telephones at private residences, mobile phones, and other assets.

In the near future, in addition to official vehicles, official housing and telephone services will also be provided on a contract basis... (Illustrative image: Internet)

Compared to the 2008 Law on State Assets, which had 6 chapters and 39 articles, this draft law has 10 chapters and 137 articles, expanding the scope of regulation to include various types of assets, aiming to increase the efficiency of managing and utilizing public assets. Accordingly, from government vehicles, roads, even airspace, sea areas, and radio frequencies, all fall under the management of State Assets.

Strict regulations on compensation for damage to public property.

On the morning of October 31st, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung presented to the National Assembly the draft Law on Management and Use of State Assets (amended). Accordingly, the draft regulations on the management and use of public assets at agencies, organizations, and units have added several new forms in investment, construction, procurement, use, and disposal of public assets.

Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung presented to the National Assembly the draft Law on Management and Use of State Assets (amended).

Specifically, this includes centralized procurement; investment in the construction of office buildings and operational facilities for public service activities through public-private partnerships (PPP), contracting out the use of public assets; mobilizing capital for investment in construction and asset procurement at public service units; and writing off assets due to force majeure.

Specifically, the allocation of funds for the use of assets applies to official residences, vehicles for official positions and vehicles for general work of state agencies; official telephones at private residences, mobile phones, and other assets according to the management and use regulations for each type of public asset issued by competent state agencies.

"Funding allocation is the preferred method when there is a need to use public assets at agencies, organizations, and units. Only when the allocation method cannot be applied will other methods be applied," the draft Law clearly states.

Furthermore, the draft Law also stipulates the handling of violations of the law on the management and use of public assets. Accordingly, individuals who violate the law on the management and use of public assets and cause damage to the State must compensate the State for the actual damage incurred.

"Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, individuals who violate the law on the management and use of public assets may also be subject to disciplinary action, administrative penalties, or criminal prosecution in accordance with the law," according to the draft.

Furthermore, the head of the agency, organization, or unit is accountable and jointly responsible if violations of the law on the management and use of public assets occur within their agency, organization, or unit. Depending on the severity, they may be subject to disciplinary action or criminal prosecution as prescribed by law.

Minister Dinh Tien Dung emphasized: It is necessary to establish a legal basis for strict management and economical use of public assets; prevent and combat loss, waste, corruption, and other acts that infringe upon public assets; exploit public assets rationally and effectively, linked with mobilizing social resources to invest in development and exploitation of public assets to create financial resources that contribute effectively to socio-economic development and the restructuring of the state budget; gradually specialize and professionalize the management of public assets, and develop public asset services according to market mechanisms while ensuring the people's ownership of assets.

Transparency of information on public assets

In the report on the draft Law on the Management and Use of State Assets (amended) presented to the National Assembly on the morning of October 31st, Mr. Nguyen Duc Hai - Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee - noted that it is necessary to clearly distinguish between public assets serving state management, providing public services, serving national interests and public interests, and public assets serving commercial purposes, in order to regulate them appropriately, based on separating the entities managing and using different types of public assets to optimize the efficiency of management and use.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Hai - Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee of the National Assembly

In principle, according to Mr. Hai, public assets used for state management, which are provided in kind by the State and formed from or have a budgetary nature, cannot be exploited for production, business, or service provision. If public assets are used for commercial purposes, they must comply with the regulations in the Enterprise Law, the Law on Management and Use of State Capital Invested in Production and Business in Enterprises, and other relevant laws.

The Finance and Budget Committee agrees with the provisions on the information system on public assets and the national database on public assets in the draft law. The construction and operation of this information system will contribute to creating an important channel for providing comprehensive information on public assets, especially the total public asset resources, serving as a basis for state agencies in the process of macroeconomic management, state budget management, and supporting e-government.

However, to ensure the exercise of the people's right to oversight, it is suggested that regulations on the public disclosure and transparency of information on public assets (except for information classified as state secrets) be added to the electronic information portal.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the current value of assets extracted from the State each year is nearly 100,000 billion VND. However, with this revised law, it is expected that this figure will increase by more than 20% by 2020. In addition, the draft also aims to reduce expenditures and attract other economic sectors to participate in the efficient exploitation and investment of public assets.

According to VOV