Nearly 2.3 billion USD in state capital saved in 2022: Gov't report

On behalf of the Government, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc delivered a report on thrift practice and wastefulness prevention last year in front of the 15th National Assembly (NA) at the ongoing fifth session on May 23.

He said that thanks to proactive governance, the state budget spending tasks in 2022 basically reached their targets.

In particular, the Government has pushed ahead with carrying out the Party Central Committee’s Resolution No 19-NQ/TW on reforming the organisation and management, and improving the quality and efficiency of non-business public units, with a focus on perfecting the mechanisms and policies on financial autonomy.

The implementation of fixed spending and financial autonomy in ministries, sectors, and localities last year saved over 3.49 trillion VND, of which 1.17 trillion VND was saved by Hanoi and another 1.22 trillion VND by Ho Chi Minh City, Phoc noted.

The Prime Minister issued a decision on a general programme on thrift practice and wastefulness prevention for 2023 that features eight focal tasks and four groups of measures, the official added.

Reading the verification report, Chairman of the NA's Finance-Budget Committee Le Quang Manh said that the committee basically agreed with the Government’s report and highly valued the Government, ministries, sectors, and localities’ activeness and determination to achieve encouraging results in thrift practice and wastefulness prevention in 2022.

However, he went on, the Government’s report didn’t assess or analyse improvements in the organisation of thrift practice and wastefulness prevention; or sufficiently point out problems, shortcomings, causes, and responsibilities for the management and use of public investment capital, recycled resources, renewable energy, and digital resources, among others.

Notably, Manh underlined the sluggish implementation and many problems of the three national target programmes on new-style rural area building, sustainable poverty reduction, and socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, which have eroded the effectiveness of investment capital use and wasted state funding.

The NA committee also gave some proposals to the Government and the PM to help with thrift practice and wastefulness prevention.