LookAtVietnam – The effectiveness of the economic stimulus package, the State budget deficit and rising unemployment were among the top concerns of deputies during the second day of the National Assembly’s fifth plenary session yesterday.

An overview of Dung Quat Oil Refinery in Quang Ngai Province. Using capital in large State-owned enterprises needs to be under strict supervision.

Currently, the package was focused on enterprises with sound operations, while firms truly facing insolvency were unable to enjoy assistance, Loan said.

She also said the Government needed to assess the nation’s economic situation against that of other countries, and she urged greater co-ordination among fiscal policy, monetary policy and the stimulus package.

Deputy Nguyen Dang Trung from HCM City suggested the Government take a longer-term view. Pouring a large amount of money into the market without proper consideration would risk igniting inflation, he said. If the economy descended into an inflationary spiral, it would be very difficult to recover.

Trung also called on the National Assembly to improve administration and oversight of major projects by State-owned enterprises, as these organisations held a large proportion of State capital.

State spending

In discussions of the looming budget deficit, Loan noted that the price tag for the stimulus package was VND143 trillion, and she warned against overspending that exceeded 6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Allowing the deficit to reach 8 per cent of GDP, as has been estimated by the National Assembly Economic Committee, was too much and posed too much risk to the economy, agreed Trung, calling for a ceiling of 6-6.5 per cent.

Deputy Tran Du Lich said that a deficit of 8 per cent would be acceptable if inflation were also kept below 10 per cent.

Deputy Dang Huyen Thai of Ha Noi urged greater spending to alleviate the unemployment problem, as well as to further streamline administrative procedures.

Deputy Nguyen Dinh Quyen, also from Ha Noi, and deputy Ma Dien Cu from the central province of Quang Ngai agreed that the stimulus package did not include measures to stem unemployment and create jobs.

But Lich asked why the capital investment poured into the economy so far had created only a few new jobs.

Deputy Dang Ngoc Tung from HCM City suggested that the Government implement stricter controls on foreign workers in Viet Nam. The Government needed reliable statistics on professional and manual workers in Viet Nam so that it could implement reasonable policies to ensure the interests of Vietnamese workers.

State compensation

National Assembly deputies yesterday also discussed the Draft Law on State Compensation, focusing on the scope of compensation and State responsibilities for paying compensation.

Article 13 of the draft law would provide that the State has a responsibility to compensate for damage caused by illegal activities of State employees, and it lists 11 prevalent examples of illegal activities.

Some deputies said the inclusion of the list was unreasonable, however.

Deputy Pham Quy Ty from Binh Duong Province said that there were 22 other laws which at least mentioned State compensation. The new law needed to be consistent with those laws, or it should not list specific cases.

Meanwhile, regarding the issue of which State agency was responsible for overseeing implementation of the law, deputy Nguyen Ba Thuyen from Lam Dong Province said that it was unnecessary to set up an independent State agency for the purpose.

To do so, he said, would undercut the State’s goal to streamline administrative procedures.

But Ha Noi deputy Nguyen Ngoc Dao, Thai Binh Province deputy Pham Xuan Thuong, Kien Giang Province deputy Dinh Xuan Thao argued in favour of a dedicated authority to help the Government administer payment of compensation, noting that the State obligation to pay competition related directly to the lawful rights of citizens as well as to the State budget and State prestige.

They suggested the Ministry of Justice be assigned responsibility for overseeing State compensation.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News