National Assembly deputies
spent yesterday morning, Nov 11, in group discussion on the Weights and Measures bill and
the implementation of the Dung Quat Oil Refinery Plant.

Dung Quat Oil Refinery is a milestone in the development of the nation’s oil and gas industry. (Photo: VNS)

The
majority of the deputies agreed that the Dung Quat oil refinery plant had made a
positive impact on the country’s socio-economic and political development as
well as national security. It also marked a milestone in the development of the
nation’s oil and gas industry.

The
deputies spent a lot of time on the lessons learned during the project’s
implementation, particularly the causes behind the nine-year delay in the
plant’s completion.

Nguyen
Ngoc Dao, from Ha Noi, said: “The decision to invest in the Dung Quat Oil
Refinery Plant has proved a scientific and technological success.”

Dao said
the National Assembly and the Government had not properly taken into account the
subjective and objective causes behind the low efficiency of the project,
including the impact of climate change and the location of the oil refinery
plant.

Nguyen
Van Binh from the northern province of Bac Ninh wanted the National Assembly to
conduct an assessment on the project’s economic effectiveness.

Nguyen
Ngoc Hoa, from Ho Chi Minh City, wanted to know when the US$3 billion invested
in the project would be repaid.

Supporting Hoa, many deputies expressed their worry about the stockpiling of
petrol in the plant’s depots while many Vietnamese companies have to import it
from abroad.

Tran Du
Lich, from HCM, City said the project had set out two objectives at the
beginning, namely – leverage for economic development for the central region and
the development of the country’s oil and gas industry.

“It is
too early to talk about the economic efficiency of the project. So for the
immediate future, we should focus on the socio-economic effects,” said Lich.

The Dung
Quat oil refinery plant won National Assembly approval in 1997. Yet the
construction phase started in 2005. After four years of construction, in
February 2009, the first refinery oil was produced.

Weights

During
their discussion, the majority of the deputies agreed on the need to have a
Weights and Measures Law. They believed that the law would strengthen management
capacity and ensure unity in measurement activities nation-wide.

They asked the law drafting committee to take into account
comments and suggestions by the deputies during their group discussion to make
the law more comprehensive, and in closer conformity with laws related to
products and commodities, consumer rights, and complaints and denunciations.

Denunciation Bill

In the
afternoon, deputies worked in groups to debate the Denunciation Bill which was
once part of the Complaint and Denunciation Law and has since developed into its
own separate law.

Deputies
in the Ha Noi group expressed concerns over the definitions of denunciation
parties, denunciation rights of expatriates and overseas Vietnamese, the
protection framework for denouncers, and anonymous denunciations.

Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between the subject, object and deed
in a denunciation given that they overlap, said deputy Chu Son Ha.

He
wondered how to handle a denunciation if the person being denounced was both a
State official and a party member.

He
demanded that the bill should elaborate which institutions can accept and handle
denunciations by type of case.

“The law
should also elaborate on how to handle denunciations by overseas Vietnamese,” he
said, citing a clause which allows expatriates living in the country to execute
their denunciation rights in accordance with the law.

Deputy
Hong Anh voiced the need for a specific framework to protect denouncers so that
they will not be deterred by the risk of revenge.

Anh’s
point was echoed by other deputies, who complained about general regulations in
the law regarding this issue, and required elaboration by authorities at various
levels on protections for denouncers.

Deputies
also mentioned the law also needs to protect the denounced in terms of
employment, dignity, and political and economic benefits.

“The law
should ensure restoration of honour, rights and benefits of the denounced in
case the allegations cannot be proven,” said deputy Nguyen Thi Hoa.

Most
deputies said they agreed that denouncers may not remain anonymous.

“The
requirement will enhance the sense of responsibility of denouncers and reduce
the number of untrue denunciations which would cost a lot of time and money,”
said Deputy Ha Van Hieu.

Anonymous denunciations will be overlooked.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News