Quyết định 25/2006/QD-TTg

DECISION

PROMULGATING THE GOVERNMENT'S PROGRAM OF ACTION ON THRIFT PRACTICE AND WASTE COMBAT

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
Pursuant to the Government's Resolution No. 17/2005/NQ-CP of December 29, 2005;
At the proposal of the Finance Minister,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To promulgate together with this Decision the Government's Program of Action on thrift practice and waste combat.

Article 2.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."

Article 3.- Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of Government-attached agencies, presidents of provincial/municipal People's Committees, and general directors of state corporations (directors of state companies) shall have to implement this Decision.

GOVERNMENT’S PROGRAM

OF ACTION OF THRIFT PRACTICE AND WASTE COMBAT
(Promulgated together with the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 25/2006/QD-TTg of January 26, 2006)

A. OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROGRAM

1. Objectives:

- To prevent and repel the situation of waste occurring in all domains of the present socio-economic life, contributing to raising the efficiency of management and use of national resources for socio-economic development;

- To heighten the sense of responsibility of all levels, branches, agencies, units, organizations, cadres, public servants and citizens for thrift practice and waste combat;

- To create a basis for all levels and branches to elaborate their own programs on thrift practice and waste combat in the fields under their management and within their management scope; to make thrift practice and waste combat a routine duty of all authorities and branches from the central to grassroots levels and of each agency, unit or organization.

2. Requirements:

- To adequately and promptly elaborate and promulgate legal documents guiding the implementation of the Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat;

- To concretize the tasks of and measures for thrift practice and waste combat in the domains falling within the governing scope of the Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat;

- To promptly and effectively apply a number of measures and perform a number of tasks, in order to make a vigorous improvement in thrift practice and waste combat in 2006.

B. CONTENTS OF THE PROGRAM OF ACTION

I. SYSTEMATICALLY PROMULGATING LEGAL DOCUMENTS TO GUIDE AND ORGANIZE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW ON THRIFT PRACTICE AND WASTE COMBAT:

1. To ensure the enforcement of the Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat, right after it takes effect as from June 1, 2006, in the first and second quarters of 2006,  the Government shall promulgate the following legal documents:

- A Government decree detailing a number of articles of the Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat.

- A Government decree stipulating payment of compensations for damage, disciplining and sanctioning of administrative violations in the domain of thrift practice and waste combat.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall, within their management scope and domains, review legal documents relevant to the provisions of the Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat, then promptly devise plans on supplementation, amendment thereof or promulgation of new ones according to their competence, or propose competent authorities to promulgate them; annul regulations which no longer meet the requirements of thrift practice and waste combat, loose regulations which may cause waste of state budget, money, assets, labor, working time and natural resources.

3. The list of legal documents which must be promulgated (see the enclosed list) shall define and assign specific responsibilities for drafting such legal documents for performance in 2006, in order to create a positive change in thrift practice and waste combat, serving as a premise for subsequent years.

II. ORGANIZING THE STUDY FOR THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAW ON THRIFT PRACTICE AND WASTE COMBAT

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, and provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall coordinate with mass organizations in organizing the study for thorough understanding of the Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat, the Government’s Program of Action and programs on thrift practice and waste combat of their own branches, levels and units for their cadres, public servants and members in order to elevate their law knowledge and law observance awareness and make them voluntary to act for substantial changes in working style, administrative reform, thrift practice and waste combat.

The Justice Ministry shall coordinate with the Finance Ministry in working out a plan guiding the organization of courses for their cadres and public servants to study and thoroughly grasp the Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat.

2. The press and news agencies shall step up the propagation, dissemination and education of the law on thrift practice and waste combat on the mass media in appropriate and effective forms; acknowledge good people and good deeds in thrift practice and waste combat; and promptly criticize and condemn agencies, units, organizations and individuals that commit violations causing waste.

III. PERFECTING THE SYSTEM OF NORMS, CRITERIA AND REGIMES TO SERVE AS A BASIS FOR THRIFT PRACTICE AND WASTE COMBAT

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, and provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall make general reviews of norms, criteria and regimes in all domains, specially focusing on the management and use of state budget; capital construction investment; management and use of working offices, official-duty houses, public-utility works and other public assets; the exploitation, management and use of natural resources; draw up lists of norms, criteria, regimes and economic-technical norms, which are needed or no longer appropriate in specialized domains, then devise plans on amendment or supplementation of existing ones or promulgation of new ones according to their respective competence or propose them to competent authorities for promulgation. In 2006, they shall have to basically complete the amendment, supplementation or promulgation of norms, criteria, regimes and economic-technical norms to serve as grounds for thrift practice and waste combat; strictly manage the implementation of already promulgated norms, criteria and regimes; and make public the norms, criteria, regimes and economic-technical norms so as to facilitate the supervision of thrift practice and waste combat.

2. The amendment and supplementation of norms, criteria, regimes and economic-technical norms in all domains must ensure that they shall be suitable to practical requirements, scientific and technological advances and the state budget’s capability in each period.

IV. PROMOTING PUBLICITY TO FACILITATE THE INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF THRIFT PRACTICE AND WASTE COMBAT

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies and provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall direct and guide units under their respective management in implementing the regulations on publicity to facilitate the inspection, examination and supervision of thrift practice and waste combat; and at the same time, enhance the inspection of observance of legal provisions on publicity, and make the publicization of thrift practice and waste combat activities a routine work of state agencies, units and organizations.

2. Heads of state agencies, units or organizations must make public activities in strict compliance with legal provisions, first of all the publicity of the use of state budget and assigned financial sources (if any); make public the procurement and use of working equipment and facilities and means of transport; the management and use of working offices, official-duty houses, public-utility works and other assets in their agencies, units or organizations.

3. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, and provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall have to report on the implementation of publicity in units under their respective management and the results of supervision of thrift practice and waste combat to the Finance Ministry for sum-up and annual report to the Government.

V. INSPECTING, EXAMINING AND HANDLING VIOLATIONS OF REGULATIONS ON THRIFT PRACTICE AND WASTE COMBAT:

1. Inspection and examination of thrift practice and waste combat constitute a content of administrative inspection and specialized inspection plans of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, provincial/municipal People’s Committees and the Government, as well as a measure to detect and prevent acts of violating the law on thrift practice and waste combat.

2. In 2006, the inspection and examination of thrift practice and waste combat shall be concentrated on the following seven domains:

a/ Land management and use;

b/ Investment projects funded with the state budget or sources originating from the state budget;

c/ Management and use of working offices, official-duty houses and public-utility works;

d/ National programs;

e/ Management and use of foreign aids and financial assistance sources;

f/ Procurement, furnishing, management and use of means of transport;

g/ Procurement, furnishing, management and use of working equipment and facilities;

The Government Inspectorate shall have to guide the inspection and report to the Government on results of inspection of thrift practice and waste combat at its year-end meeting.

3. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies and provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall have to:

a/ Direct units under their respective management to resolutely handle violations in thrift practice and waste combat, which have been detected through inspections and examinations in recent years;

b/ Promptly handle violations strictly according to provisions of law; publicly announce on the mass media the agencies, units, organizations and individuals that commit acts of violation, causing waste of state budget, money and assets, labor, working time and natural resources as well as the handling of such violation acts;

c/ Report violations falling under the Prime Minister’s handling competence to the Home Affairs Ministry for sum-up and reporting to the Prime Minister for timely handling.

VI. ORGANIZING EFFECTIVE THRIFT PRACTICE AND WASTE COMBAT IN THE FOLLOWING DOMAINS:

1. Management and use of the state budget:

In management and use of the state budget, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, provincial/municipal People’s Committees must:

a/ Strictly observe the provisions of the State Budget Law at all stages of elaboration, appraisal, approval, distribution of budget estimates, management, use and control of expenditures and settlement of state budget. Heads of agencies, units and organizations that use the state budget shall have to explain the management and use of the assigned state budget allocations at the request of competent state agencies;

b/ Step up the application of new financial management mechanisms for practicing thrift and combating waste, especially the regime of autonomy and self-responsibility for use of state payrolls and administrative management expenditures by state administrative agencies. Public non-business units must shift to apply the regime of financial autonomy associated with self-responsibility according to the Government’s regulations; and at the same time, expand and promote the socialization of non-business domains;

c/ Review the performance of scientific and technological tasks, concentrate the state budget allocations on key scientific and technological tasks which need priority and have been selected and approved by competent authorities (except for scientific and technological tasks which must be directly assigned); refuse to allocate funds for scientific and technological tasks for which procedures have not been completed; stop allocating funds to and transfer funds already allocated for scientific and technological subjects and projects executed not according to the set schedules and without efficiency to other scientific and technological subjects and projects which yield efficiency and need to be accelerated; retrieve and remit into the state budget funds used for improper purposes or at variance with the set regimes;   

Apply the mechanism of bidding for selection of agencies, units, organizations or individuals to perform scientific research and technological development subjects. Particularly for scientific research and technological development subjects, of which funds are partially supported by the State, the funding portions allocated by the state budget shall be subject to the mechanism of presumptive fund allocation.

Review and guarantee the conditions for target programs to be executed according to the set schedules and with efficiency; organize the integration of programs of the same nature and executed in the same locality; reduce expenditures for program management and intermediary operations, and concentrate program funds on specified program beneficiaries.

d/ Concentrate efforts on the fulfillment of the following tasks in 2006:

- Carrying out and completing the allocation and assignment of the 2006 state budget estimates according to the provisions of the State Budget Law, ensuring that the budget allocations are consistent with the budget estimates assigned by competent state agencies in terms of total level and specific items. Before March 31, 2006, the Finance Ministry shall report to the Government for submission to the National Assembly Standing Committee results of the 2006 state budget allocation, adjust or reduce their expenditure estimates regarding budget items not yet allocated. The additional budget allocation outside the assigned estimates must be made according to the provisions of law.

- Applying the regime of autonomy and self-responsibility for use of state payrolls and administrative management funds to all administrative agencies; applying the mechanism of financial autonomy and self-responsibility to all public non-business units in strict compliance with the Government’s regulations.

- In the first quarter of 2006, amending and supplementing the criteria and norms for use of cars at administrative agencies, non-business units and state companies. By the end of the second quarter of 2006, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies and provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall have to complete the review and rearrangement of existing means of transport under their management strictly according to the set norms, criteria and regimes, and transfer them from over-furnished places to under-furnished places; and concurrently report results to the Finance Ministry for sum-up.

In the first quarter of 2006, the Finance Ministry shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate concerned agencies (and several localities) in, elaborating the scheme on an experimental mechanism whereby means of transport for daily home-office-home transport are used by either of two modes: renting means of transport from transport service enterprises, and allocating package allowances directly to persons entitled to use state-funded means of transport in some ministries, branches and localities which have conditions and register for pilot application. To suspend the procurement of new means of transport by state agencies, units and organizations as from June 1, 2006. Where it is really necessary to procure means of transport in service of the State’s defense, security and external relations, the Finance Ministry shall report such to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

- In the second quarter of 2006, the Industry Ministry shall formulate and submit to the Government for approval a Program on power conservation for implementation throughout the country.

- From 2006, when organizing conferences, review ceremonies or commemorate anniversaries, all agencies, units and organizations which use the state budget must compact activities to raise efficiency, thoroughly practice thrift and combat waste. Agencies, units and organizations must not use the state budget funding for guest reception, giving of gifts and presents in contravention of regulations.

2. Management of construction investment:

In management of construction investment, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, provincial/municipal People’s Committees  and investors must:

a/ Consider the combat against waste in construction investment the pivotal task which must be seriously and effectively performed by all levels and branches. Agencies and units which manage, approve and execute investment projects must strictly comply with the current investment management procedures and regulations, make concentrated investments and avoid scattered investments so as to meet the requirements of thrift practice and waste combat; clearly define responsibilities of each agency, unit, organization or individual that causes waste at every stage of investment process;

Heads of agencies managing investment, agencies approving investment projects, units executing investment projects funded with the state budget must be held responsible before the Government and law for waste occurring in works or investment projects managed, approved or executed by their agencies or units;

b/ Review the list of planned investment projects, issue decisions on suspension or cessation of investment projects not under planning or plans approved by competent authorities, with uncertain or no investment efficiency, not yet invested with sufficient capital sources, not up to the technical standards or incompliant with the provisions of the Regulation on construction investment management;

c/ In 2006, efforts shall be concentrated on the following tasks:

- Assigning the 2006 investment capital plan within the time limit prescribed by law, ensuring investment concentration and avoiding scattered investments. The allocation of 2006 investment capital to localities must ensure the following priority order:

(1) Payment of debts for completed work volumes of previous years’ projects and projects for which investment capital settlements have been completed, repayment of preferential credit loans, and recovery of amounts advanced for implementation in previous years, so that by the end of 2006, debts of investment projects shall be definitely settled in strict accordance with the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 36/2004/QH11 of December 3, 2004, on capital construction investment with the state budget capital;

(2) Allocation of reciprocal capital for ODA-funded projects, and urgent projects for natural calamity and disease outbreak prevention and combat;

(3) Allocation of capital to transitional investment projects according to the schedules approved by competent authorities;

(4) Allocation of capital to newly started projects when all the investment procedures are completed. It is strictly prohibited to convert investment capital of projects funded with borrowed capital into state budget-allocated capital.

- Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, and provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall review and reorganize investment project management boards to make them compacter, neater and more professionally qualified; and separate investment and construction consultancy units from investors and project managers in order to prevent negative phenomena and waste in the construction investment process.

Before March 31, 2006, the Finance Ministry and the Planning and Investment Ministry shall sum up cases where investment capital plans are assigned in contravention of regulations, then report them to the Prime Minister for handling measures.

- The Construction Ministry shall have responsibilities:

(1) To step up the implementation of the Prime Minister’s Directive No. 21/2005/CT-TTg of June 15, 2005, on organization of implementation of the National Assembly’s resolution on capital construction investment with the state capital and combat of waste and loss in construction investment;

(2) To submit in the second quarter of 2006 to the Government for promulgation a regulation on separation of investment and construction consultancy units to operate as independent entities.

(3)  To submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation a regulation on ground-breaking, construction commencement and inauguration of local works, adhering to the principle of thrift practice and waste combat, to be implemented as from June 1, 2006;

(4) To expeditiously review, amend and supplement the standards, criteria  and economic-technical norms in construction; to review capability of subjects engaged in construction and raise effectiveness of operation of the construction quality inspection network throughout the country, ensuring thrift practice and waste combat in construction investment.

3. Management and use of land, working offices and official-duty houses:

a/ Land, working offices and official-duty houses assigned to agencies, units and organizations must be managed and used for right purposes, with efficiency and thrift.

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies and provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall, within their management scope, conduct the inspection and review of areas of land, working offices and official-duty houses under their management for arrangement with rational use in accordance with the set regimes and criteria in order to ensure thrift practice and waste combat. They shall neither assign more land nor permit the building of more working offices until they complete the rearrangement for use in accordance with the set norms and criteria.

In 2007, the Finance Ministry shall submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation a regulation on management of official-duty houses for uniform application throughout the country.

b/ State agencies, units and organizations shall review the land areas assigned by the State without the collection of land use levy for determining the land use right value calculated into the value of their assets. Heads of agencies, units and organizations shall have to preserve assigned land areas, ensuring that such land areas are used for right purposes, and bear responsibility for management and use thereof according to the provisions of law.

For land assigned to state corporations and companies for use, in the fourth quarter of 2006 the Finance Ministry shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in, submitting to the Government for promulgation a regulation on determination of land use right value to be calculated into the value of assets of state corporations or companies, and performing the land management according to the regime of management of state assets in the fourth quarter of 2006.

c/ In 2006, to reassign and rearrange houses and land under the state ownership throughout the country on the principle that areas of working offices used not for proper purposes shall be recovered for transfer from surplus places to deficiency places.

In the first quarter of 2006, the Finance Ministry shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned agencies in, submitting to the Prime Minister for issuance a decision on handling, reassignment and rearrangement of houses and land under the state ownership.

4. Management, exploitation and use of natural resources:

a/ Ministries and branches assigned to manage domains related to natural resources shall have to review the planning and plans on management, exploitation and use of each type of natural resources, especially land, water, forest and minerals for purpose of thrift practice and waste combat; revise existing regulations on restoration, protection and development of natural resources, and promulgate new ones;

b/ In 2006, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned agencies in, submitting to the Prime Minister a scheme on policies to encourage organizations and individuals to recycle and reuse natural resources and renewable energy sources for purpose of thrift practice and eco-environmental protection.

5. Training, management and employment of laborers and use of working time in the state sector:

a/ The Education and Training Ministry, the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Ministry and the Home Affairs Ministry shall review regulations on training, management and employment of laborers and use of working time in the state sector for amendment, supplementation and perfection thereof; shall not let the occurrence of an imbalance between training and employment; recruitment of laborers not according to employment needs; or a situation that cadres and public servants are not employed according to their trained professions or occupations, thus failing to bring to the fullest play their capabilities or wasting the working time and workforce;

b/ The Home Affairs Ministry shall prescribe or guide state agencies, units and organizations in formulating rational structures of public-servant grades and ranks for efficient use of the existing contingent of cadres and public servants; carry out the state payroll streamlining to weed out cadres, public servants who are incapable and professionally unqualified or breach the labor discipline;

c/ The Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Ministry shall elaborate the program on training and employment of the contingent of highly skilled workers and raising of labor quality to meet the requirements of domestic and overseas labor markets;

d/ In 2006, state agencies, units and organizations shall have to enhance the supervision of the observance of regulations and internal rules on labor discipline, especially regulations on the use of working time;

e/ The Home Affairs Ministry shall coordinate with the Vietnam Confederation of Labor in launching the movement “Eight hours of quality and efficient work” among cadres and public servants; and stringently handle violations of the working time discipline.

6. Management and use of capital and assets in state companies:

a/ State corporations and companies shall base themselves on the Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat and the State’s regulations to formulate and promulgate mechanisms, regulations, norms, standards and regimes for effective management and use of resources assigned by the State;

b/ To apply the regime of compulsory audit and financial publicity in the state corporations and companies; to promptly detect and handle according to provisions of law acts of causing waste of capital, assets, labor and natural resources;

c/ In 2006, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies and provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall, within the ambit of their respective functions and assigned tasks, intensify the supervision of management and use of the State-assigned resources by state corporations and companies; the supervision of performance of responsibilities by representatives of owners at state corporations and companies for deciding investment, guaranteeing loans and approving policies on purchase, sale, lending, borrowing, lease and rent according to the competence defined in Decree No. 132/2005/ND-CP on exercise of rights and performance of obligations of state-owners of state companies; and the supervision of the signing and performance of economic contracts in construction investment, production and business, and the enterprise management expenditures of state companies.

7. Production and consumption: 

a/ Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies and provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall have to:

- Intensify the propagation and dissemination of thrift practice and waste combat in production and consumption among the entire population, cadres and public servants to raise their awareness about thrift practice and waste combat in production and consumption, conserving resources for investment in production and business; encourage people to actively participate in campaigns for purchase of public bonds for fatherland construction, bonds for construction of socio-economic infrastructure works and show gratitude toward people with meritorious services.

- Launch a campaign for thrift practice and waste combat in mass organizations and societies, villages, hamlets and residential quarters; concentrate efforts on the building of a new lifestyle and eradication of backward customs and bad practices which cause waste; condemn all extravagant activities in the society; and take thrift practice and waste combat results as a criterion for assessment and evaluation of cadres, public servants and members of these organizations.

b/ In 2006, the Culture and Information Ministry shall guide the implementation of the Regulation on practicing of a civilized lifestyle in weddings, funerals and festivities under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 308/2005/QD-TTg of November 25, 2005; guide the mass media agencies in promptly commending good examples and directing public opinions condemning and criticizing acts of violating the State’s regulation on weddings, funerals and festivities.

C. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. Basing themselves on this Program of Action, ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies or Government-attached agencies and presidents of provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall elaborate their respective specific programs of action. In the program of action of each level or each branch, apart from well implementing the Government’s Program of Action, such level or branch must define a number of specific tasks within its management scope and concentrate efforts on directing the performance thereof, thus making a substantial progress right in 2006; set specific time limits for performance and completion of such tasks; assign specific responsibilities to persons in charge of each work; make quarterly reviews and send reports to the Finance Ministry on the implementation for sum-up and report to the Prime Minister, which shall serve as basis for publicization of results of implementation of their respective programs of action; and handle violations.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies and provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall send reports on the implementation of the Government’s Program of Action and their respective specific programs of action to the Finance Ministry before September 15 every year for sum-up and submission to the Government for presentation before the National Assembly at the year-end session according to the provisions of the Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat.

3. The Finance Ministry shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned agencies in, guiding and organizing the implementation of this Program of Action.

LIST

OF TASKS SPECIFIED IN THE GOVERNMENT’S PROGRAM OF ACTION ON THRIFT PRACTICE AND WASTE COMBAT
(Promulgated together with the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 25/2006/QD-TTg of January 26, 2006)