What can Ho Chi Minh City do after 4 months of having special mechanisms?

On the morning of November 26, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired the first meeting of the Steering Committee for the implementation of Resolution 98/2023 of the National Assembly (effective from August 2023) on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Ho Chi Minh City. The Steering Committee was established under Decision 850 of the Prime Minister (referred to as Steering Committee 850), with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh as its head.

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Reporting at the meeting, Mr. Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, said that up to now, 2/11 tasks of the central ministries and branches have been completed, the remaining tasks are being carried out and are expected to be completed this year. As for the decree on decentralizing state management in a number of areas to Ho Chi Minh City, the Ministry of Home Affairs is expected to complete it in the first quarter of 2024.

Regarding the 22 tasks of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, up to now, 7 tasks have been completed, 4 basic contents have been completed, the remaining contents are expected to be completed before December 31.

Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai reports at the meeting

Some implemented mechanisms and policies include: allocating capital to support poverty reduction and job creation (allocated VND 2,796 billion, disbursed VND 1,560 billion); spending additional income for cadres, civil servants, and public employees; expanding a number of special associations and central agencies located in the area; organizing the apparatus of Thu Duc City; increasing the number of vice chairmen of the People's Committee for 3 districts, Thu Duc City and 52 wards and communes.

Mr. Mai assessed that in the past time, there was concentration, determination, and completion of a large amount of work, but some institutionalization tasks were slow. Some new contents did not have a legal framework, requiring time for research and multi-sectoral coordination, and the amount of work that needed to be done was too much for the city's apparatus and staff.

The Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City proposed that the Government soon issue decrees on decentralization of state management and regulations on loan interest rates for BT (build-transfer) projects. Ministries and branches should guide the implementation of mechanisms and policies to encourage strategic investors, rooftop solar power, and authorize the issuance of criminal records.

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Speaking at the meeting, a representative of the Ministry of Finance said that payment for BT projects in cash is not within the scope of regulation of the Law on Investment under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP Law), so there is no basis to affirm the authority, procedures for signing and managing BT contracts.

Not to mention, the signing and management of BT contracts also have different opinions from ministries and branches on applying the Construction Law and Investment Law, making it difficult to draft the decree.

Regarding BT project interest, the representative of the Ministry of Finance said that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee proposed to apply it during and after the project construction period, Resolution 98/2023 stipulates loan interest payment after completion. Based on Decree 10/2020 determining loan interest costs, the Ministry of Finance drafted a plan to support loan interest after completion, and during the construction period, it is applied according to the Construction Law.

Overview of the first meeting of the Steering Committee for the implementation of Resolution 98/2023 of the National Assembly

When hearing about this problem, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that when issuing a special mechanism, the most flexible things must be applied. If there is a special mechanism but it is still stuck in a forest of regulations and still waiting for consensus, then what is special about it?

According to him, no resolution or document can cover all the realities of life, and at the time of drafting, it was not foreseen. Therefore, the general spirit is that since it is a specific situation, we should apply the most flexible methods, while at the same time strengthening inspection and supervision to avoid corruption and negative policies.

The Prime Minister noted that if the Ministry of Finance finds that a document is not clear, it must report to the Deputy Prime Minister in charge. If it is not clear, it must report to the Prime Minister according to the Government's working regulations.

"Now that we are stuck with the PPP Law, the Construction Law, and everything else, there is no need to issue a special mechanism," the Prime Minister said, while also requiring that when we untie the knots, we must have an output, not tie them up again.

The Prime Minister listened to the recommendations of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee.

Regarding the regulations on BT project loan interest rates, the Prime Minister requested to try to promulgate them in December 2023. Once promulgated, Ho Chi Minh City must be able to do it and have the tools to confidently implement them.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked ministries and branches to resolve the issue once and for all. "Let's sit here and discuss solutions, discuss outputs, discuss how to implement the resolution well. We must have an offensive mindset, first is decentralization, second is eliminating cumbersome procedures, third is making the work simple," he added.

Quick view at 12 noon on November 26: Panorama news

According to Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen, this resolution pilots a number of revolutionary and reformist policy mechanisms. The implementation provisions state that in case there are different regulations on the same issue between Resolution 98 and other laws or resolutions of the National Assembly, Resolution 98 shall apply.

The resolution has opened the way for breakthroughs. This is the general policy of the Politburo, the National Assembly, and the Government to pilot in Ho Chi Minh City, not just for Ho Chi Minh City.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/tphcm-lam-duoc-gi-sau-5-thang-co-co-che-dac-thu-18523112609564504.htm