At the plenary discussion session at the National Assembly hall on the afternoon of May 23, in the speech on the content of receiving and explaining some opinions raised by National Assembly deputies, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang explained the major contents of the draft Law on Bidding (amended), especially the issue of bidding and bidding in the fields of health and public investment - major bottlenecks in the implementation of current projects.
The National Assembly discussed in the hall.
Expand bidding but strictly control to avoid abuse
According to the Minister of Finance, implementing Resolution No. 68 and Resolution No. 66 of the Politburo , the Ministry of Finance has reviewed, eliminated and simplified many administrative procedures in the laws. Such as amending the bidding law to cut some intermediate steps and eliminate unnecessary procedures.
Eliminate the procedure for evaluating contractor selection results for simple, small-scale bidding forms, eliminate the role of the bidding party, transfer the task to the investor and expert team to reduce one intermediate level. Streamline the focal point and simplify the procedural process.
The Ministry of Finance has amended the PPP Law to eliminate the procedure for establishing an appraisal council, simplify the content of the bidding documents, and shorten the time for evaluating bid documents. The Public Investment Law has been amended to speed up the process of appraising and approving public investment project programs by allowing the establishment of an appraisal council simultaneously with the investment preparation process of the project program to immediately carry out some necessary procedures. The Prime Minister may assign ministries and ministerial-level agencies to establish appraisal councils in accordance with the functions and tasks of the sector and field of the project program.
Delegate Ta Van Ha spoke.
According to the Minister, this draft Law proposes to allow contractor appointment in some necessary cases, especially in urgent contexts such as natural disasters, epidemics, national defense and security, or when the investor does not increase the total investment and has sufficient conditions for control.
“ It is not true that just because there is a problem, we choose to appoint a contractor. Appointment of contractors must have strict conditions and a clear inspection and supervision mechanism. People choose to do easy things first, but push difficult things to each other, which is very dangerous for the system, ” said Mr. Thang.
Minister Nguyen Van Thang emphasized that this mechanism cannot be abused as a way to "avoid bidding" while the Law sets out the goal of openness, transparency, and competition.
Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang quoted the direction of General Secretary To Lam: “ The General Secretary has repeatedly emphasized: cadres must dare to think, dare to do, dare to take responsibility for the common good, but must not act haphazardly or carelessly. Must be based on legal principles, for work efficiency, avoid stagnation due to fear of making mistakes .”
Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang.
Minister Thang said that this is the guideline for perfecting the revised Law on Bidding, in which the bidding mechanism needs to be designed with clear responsibilities, transparent processes and strict post-auditing.
Preventing low bids and then “running away” One of the current shortcomings in bidding is that some contractors intentionally bid very low to win the bid, then work slowly, abandon the project or ask for price adjustments.
“ There are many cases of unusually low bids, then unfinished construction or price increases, affecting the progress and quality of the project. There must be a post-audit mechanism, increased contract performance guarantees, and clearer requirements for technical and financial capacity commitments ,” Mr. Thang affirmed.
The draft revised Law on Bidding proposes a solution to increase technical scores in evaluation, not only based on low price, while tightening bidding conditions to select truly capable contractors.
" Regarding the bidding law, it has been amended to overcome limitations and shortcomings such as slow progress, increased costs, low quality, causing losses and affecting cadres. Removing obstacles and truly meeting the requirements as stated by the General Secretary is the most effective, accelerating project implementation progress and implementing project works as soon as possible.
Incorporating the opinions of the General Secretary as well as the National Assembly delegates, the draft law stipulates that investors are empowered to decide and take responsibility for applying forms of contractor selection such as bidding, designated bidding, ordering... According to the principle of ensuring progress, quality and not increasing the total investment.
Expand the mechanism of designated bidding and apply the form of contractor selection in special cases to speed up the progress of project bidding packages. At the same time, supplement and perfect the monitoring and inspection mechanism for these bidding packages to ensure compliance with the policy of strongly shifting from pre-inspection to post-inspection ," said the Minister.
Delegates attending the meeting.
Do not let “fear of mistakes” become a reason for inaction, remove obstacles for bidding in the health sector. Regarding the issue of bidding for drugs and medical equipment – which has caused many bottlenecks in the past – the Minister emphasized the need to create conditions for financially autonomous health units to be proactive in purchasing and bidding.
“ Doctors cannot spend their time doing examinations to go through bidding procedures and purchase supplies. Autonomous hospitals must be given the right to bid, and the Ministry of Health must play a guiding role and build a list, and cannot take on all the work itself ,” the Minister stated.
He also affirmed that it is necessary to change the mindset in medical bidding: not only choosing low prices but also choosing products that are suitable in terms of quality and technical expertise, to better serve patients.
A reality raised by many delegates at the National Assembly is that the mentality of "fear of mistakes and fear of responsibility" is causing many officials to not dare to sign or decide, thereby causing congestion in project implementation.
The Minister of Finance frankly admitted: “Partly it is because the law is not clear, but partly it is because officials are afraid of conflict. They do not do difficult things, only do certain things. Not daring to make decisions and not daring to take responsibility is a huge obstacle.”
He affirmed: the law must be clear and strict enough to serve as a basis for enforcement, but must also give reasonable power to those who implement it, and at the same time have an effective inspection and supervision mechanism to avoid laxity or "dodging work".
Minister Nguyen Van Thang pledged that the Ministry of Finance will fully absorb opinions from National Assembly deputies, coordinate with ministries and branches to complete the draft Law on Bidding (amended), ensuring feasibility, transparency, limiting negativity and promoting public investment disbursement, especially in essential areas such as healthcare, infrastructure and social security.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/bo-truong-nguyen-van-thang-chi-dinh-thau-khong-phai-la-giai-phap-de-dai-ar944829.html
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