Authorities have pulled the plug
on VND3.4 trillion (US$161 million) worth of projects. Minister of Planning and
Investment Vo Hong Phuc spoke with Tin Tuc (News) about cutting the State
budget.

Why hasn’t the Government set a
specific target for cutting public spending?

It’s important to emphasise that cutting public investment at
this time isn’t to cut total spending sourced from Government bonds and the
State budget, since most of this capital is poured in poverty alleviation in
mountain and remote areas, infrastructure, education and healthcare. For this
reason, each ministry and local government has been
ordered to slash spending on projects not urgently needed for socio-economic
development, public welfare or to overcome natural disasters.

What we
are also doing is no longer allowing unused capital to be rolled over into the
next year. By so doing, we can cut another VND50 trillion ($2.3 billion) in
spending.

What is the progress of ministries and local authorities in implementing
Resolution No 11 on curbing inflation?

Most
cities and provinces have been very active in re-examining public projects. They
are determined not to invest in ineffective, unnecessary projects or projects
that have been taking too long to complete.

Still,
22 ministries and localities have not yet submitted reports on their plans to
cut spending. We will report the list of those that have not strictly complied
so that penalties can be meted out.

What measures will be taken to ensure effective public investment in the long
run?

We must
restructure investment for greater effectiveness. The private sector will take
part in areas in which they have expertise. The State will support the private
sector in the form of public-private partnerships to control capital more
effectively. In the future, the Government will instruct ministries and sectors
to co-ordinate with the private sector in stronger, more methodical manner.

How do we know the right projects are being slashed if the process isn’t
publicised? Who’s co-ordinating the effort?

We
currently allow local authorities to reorganise projects based on the needs of
each locality and overall Government guidelines. It is quite right to publicise
the name of specific projects, and the southern province of Binh Duong and other
southern provinces have done so. But most cities and provinces have not because
there are many projects in their localities and they are finding it hard to
select the right projects to cut. Under existing law, projects proposed to be
cut must be approved by People’s Councils. Many have not yet undertaken this
step, so a list of projects hasn’t been published.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News