It is critical to issue regulations to enhance discipline in public investment disbursement, along with the amendments to several existing law provisions to speed up the implementation of public–invested projects.
According to the Ministry of Finance statistics, the public disbursement rate was estimated at 27.75 per cent of the Government’s plan, slightly lower than the same period last year, which was at more than 29 per cent.
Of it, the disbursement of domestic capital was 29.06 per cent and foreign capital 8.61 per cent, compared to 31.75 per cent and 7.37 per cent of the same period last year, respectively.
According to a joint report of the ministries of Finance, and Planning and Investment, most of the causes which lead to stagnation in the disbursement of public investment had been recognised for many years but failed to be resolved thoroughly.
The biggest bottleneck was the compensation for site clearance due to problems related to compensation prices, plans and difficulties in relocating utility works, as well as inconsistencies between the planning of land and others.
The plan of using State capital had been close to feasibility, failing the capital allocation. A huge amount of capital remained non-disbursed because the projects had not completed the investment procedures. The project planning was also not realistic.
There was also a lack of sense of law observance, respect for discipline in implementing public investment projects and seriousness in complying with regulations, criteria, and principles.
Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung pointed out other causes, such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and skyrocketing materials.
Dung, however, added that the disbursement of public investment was often low in the first months of this year and sped up in the last months. He said that the low disbursement rate in the first half of this year could not demonstrate the result of the full year.
Accountability enhanced
2022 was an important year to create a foundation for realising the goals of the medium-term public investment plan in 2021-25, Dung said.
He stressed that speeding up public investment and increasing the socio-economic efficiency of public-invested projects was critically important to stimulate economic growth in both the short and long term as public investment continued to be recognised as the driver for growth, especially the capital in infrastructure development.
The problems with the implementation of public investment projects must be solved radically through continued improvement of policies, renovations in approach, and management of the use of this capital in accordance with development requirements, Dung said.
To fulfil the public investment plan this year, it was necessary to enhance the accountability of the heads.
Accordingly, the heads of ministries and central and local agencies must remove difficulties related to land and natural resources and review the transferring of investment from slow-to-disburse projects to projects with good progress. They must be responsible for the investment efficiency of the projects under their management, according to the ministries of Finance, and Planning and Investment.
The site clearance compensation policies must be transparent and create trust and consensus among the people.
The two ministries also called for the early promulgation of regulations, which aimed to enhance discipline in implementing public-invested projects in accordance with the approved strategies and plans and prevent term thinking in the development and selection of public investment projects.
There should be sanctions for ministries and agencies which failed to disburse their allocated capital on time.
Relevant laws such as the laws on land, State budget, construction and minerals should be considered for amendments to ensure a consistent legal system, which was a prerequisite for the smooth implementation of public investment projects, Dung stressed.
In 2017-22, the public investment rate was highest in 2020, at 96.47 per cent, followed by 2021 with 95.7 per cent. The lowest rate was recorded in 2018 at 76.89 per cent, then in 2019 at 78.83 per cent. — VNS