The Ministry of Finance has just sent a report to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on the results of the pilot inspection of the management of donation money at historical and cultural relics and pagodas in Quang Ninh province.
The inspection period is 2022 and the first 4 months of 2023 (not applicable for 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the monuments must be closed).
Regarding the composition of the Inter-Ministerial Inspection Team, in addition to representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism according to the Prime Minister's Conclusion, the Ministry of Finance has requested the Government Committee for Religious Affairs under the Ministry of Home Affairs , which is the state management agency for beliefs and religions, to send people to join the inspection team.
How much income and expenses?
According to the report, the total amount of donations in 2022 is 70.8 billion VND (excluding donations, sponsorships in kind, and construction works). According to the assessment of the subjects assigned to manage the relic, 2022 is the third consecutive year affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the amount of donations and sponsorships collected in 2022 is only about 40% -60% of the amount of donations and sponsorships collected in 2019, the time before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the total expenditure was 54.4 billion VND, of which: Management expenses were 13 billion VND; festival expenses were 8.1 billion VND; relic restoration and embellishment expenses were 12.9 billion VND; charity expenses were 2.9 billion VND; other expenses (including propaganda and promotion of festivals and relics; ensuring security and order, health , environmental protection, fire prevention and fighting; renovation and upgrading of auxiliary works including toilets, internal roads, electricity, water supply and drainage, parking lots, etc.) were 17.5 billion VND.
In the first 4 months of 2023, the total revenue was 61 billion VND (excluding donations, in-kind sponsorship, and construction works), almost equal to the revenue of the whole year 2022.
Total expenditure is 29.4 billion VND, of which: Management expenditure is 5.9 billion VND; festival expenditure is 8 billion VND; relic restoration and embellishment expenditure is 8.6 billion VND; charity expenditure is 0.8 billion VND; other expenditures (including propaganda and promotion of festivals and relics; ensuring security and order, health, environmental protection, fire prevention and fighting; renovation and upgrading of auxiliary works including toilets, internal roads, electricity, water supply and drainage, parking lots, etc.) are 6.1 billion VND.
Some relics have revenue in the first 4 months of 2023 of over 1 billion VND, including: Cua Ong - Cap Tien temple relic is 19.8 billion VND (equal to 32% of the total revenue from donations and sponsorships at relics in the province); Yen Tu historical relic and scenic area is nearly 7.2 billion VND (of which Dong pagoda is 4.3 billion VND); Thanh Mau temple in Tra Co, Mong Cai is 5.3 billion VND; Bach Dang historical relic site, Ha Long is 3.2 billion VND; Hung Hoc pagoda in Nam Hoa, Quang Yen is 2.7 billion VND; Tran Dynasty historical relic site in Dong Trieu is over 1.7 billion VND; Long Tien pagoda in Bach Dang ward, Ha Long is 1.5 billion VND; Duc Ong temple in Hong Gai ward, Ha Long is 1.5 billion VND; Xa Tac temple in Ka Long, Mong Cai is 1.3 billion VND.
The above data is compiled from reports of 221 entities, equal to 47% of the total number of entities managing relics. After excluding relics without merit, there are over 50 relics without reported data (including Ba Vang Pagoda in Uong Bi, a provincial relic, which is assessed to have good merit collection).
According to the Ministry of Finance's assessment, with the actual revenue in the first 4 months of 2023 being 61 billion VND, plus full reporting of donations at relics, the total revenue from donations and sponsorships in Quang Ninh province for the whole year of 2023 is expected to be over 180 billion VND.
Concerns about revenue in Yen Tu scenic area
Among the 5 special national relic sites in the province, Yen Tu historical relic and scenic site is a famous spiritual eco-tourism destination, welcoming over 2 million visitors each year.
The inspection team found that although the work of supervising the reception and counting of money in the donation box had the coordination of many related parties, the amount of donation money collected in 2022 was 3.7 billion VND, only equivalent to the amount collected at Bach Dang Historical Relic Site (3.3 billion VND), lower than the amount collected at Thanh Mau Temple, a provincial-level relic in Tra Co Ward, Mong Cai (5.8 billion VND) and less than 1/5 of the amount collected at Cua Ong Temple (20.1 billion VND).
"Looking at the above comparison data, it is inevitable that there will be concerns about the objectivity in receiving and counting donation money at Yen Tu Historical Relic and Scenic Area," the Inspection Team assessed.
At relics with abbots: Most relics have reports on income and expenditure, but only the amount in the donation box. In reality, there are some other donations in the form of offerings and transfers that are not reflected in the reports sent to the Inspection Team. According to visitors' assessments, these amounts are often higher than those in the donation box.
Specifically at Yen Tu Historical Relic and Scenic Area, according to data provided by the Yen Tu National Forest and Relic Management Board: from 2007 to April 2023, the total revenue in the donation box was 287 billion VND, the total expenditure was about 638 billion VND.
Accordingly, the actual donation revenue is about 351 billion VND higher than the revenue stated in the report sent to the Inspection Team (2.2 times higher).
| Circular No. 04/2023/TT-BTC is the first legal document regulating the management, collection and expenditure of donations and sponsorship for relics and festival activities; it specifically stipulates the forms of receiving, managing and using donations and sponsorships on the basis of respecting and protecting religious establishments, religious establishments and the legal assets of religious establishments and religious organizations. Regulations on opening accounts and books to record revenues and expenditures to ensure safe and transparent management, create trust as well as promote efficiency and bring common benefits to the community, are basic principles in the management of donations and sponsorships. Therefore, the inspection team recommends that localities pay attention to directing the implementation of this Circular. |
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