Inappropriate regulations; localities await special mechanisms.

On the morning of May 25th, the National Assembly held a plenary session to discuss the Report of the Supervisory Delegation and the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on the results of the thematic supervision of "the implementation of Resolution No. 43/2022/QH15 dated January 11, 2022 of the National Assembly on fiscal and monetary policies supporting the socio- economic recovery and development program and the resolutions of the National Assembly on a number of important national projects until the end of 2023".

Projects with special mechanisms can be implemented quickly.

Speaking in the assembly hall, delegate Hoang Van Cuong – from the Hanoi City National Assembly delegation – expressed his agreement and highly appreciated the report of the Supervisory Delegation, which comprehensively assessed the achievements, shortcomings, limitations, and causes, pointed out responsibilities, and proposed very specific recommendations for actions to be taken after the supervision.

A panoramic view of delegates discussing in the assembly hall on May 25th. Photo: quochoi.vn

Through his monitoring, delegate Hoang Van Cuong observed that programs and projects with specific mechanisms and policies have overcome many difficulties, helping projects to be implemented quickly. For example, nationally important projects are awarded through direct contracting, and construction material mining projects do not require permits. Therefore, although these projects have large total investment amounts and many inherent obstacles such as land clearance, most of them are implemented very quickly. Meanwhile, many projects that do not require land clearance but lack specific mechanisms are implemented slowly, and some projects are even abandoned, with many units having to return capital, even though these units desperately need such projects.

" Therefore, no matter how complex a project is, if there is a special mechanism that allows unnecessary regulations to be disregarded and methods that are appropriate to reality to be followed, then even the most difficult projects can be implemented. In contrast, if a project is necessary but must comply with current regulations, it may not be implemented, " Representative Cuong emphasized.

According to the delegates, many issues currently being implemented in the projects require adjustments to better suit the reality and achieve greater effectiveness, but these adjustments are not yet included in the specific mechanisms, resulting in many projects being halted pending further action.

Representative Hoang Van Cuong cited the Khanh Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot expressway project as an example: “ To build a road, they have to remove the topsoil. If this soil were used to reclaim land for construction materials, it would become a very good agricultural area. However, this is not being done; instead, it is being concentrated in the construction materials mining area, which is very illogical .”

For the Hanoi Ring Road 4 project, all the most difficult stages, such as land clearance, have been resolved very quickly, and the construction of the parallel access roads has been basically completed one year ahead of schedule.

However, the main project, the highway construction, cannot yet be put out to tender because it must be implemented through a public-private partnership and domestic bidding process. Domestic capital is very limited, and attracting foreign investors requires mandatory conditions such as the use of advanced technology and international management experience.

The Ring Road 4 project does not require any special international technology or engineering, nor does it have any impact on national security or defense. The most important condition is that the project needs to attract contractors with sufficient financial capacity to implement it.

Accordingly, delegate Hoang Van Cuong proposed that the resolution on monitoring the Ring Road 4 in the Capital Region should be amended to allow domestic investors to form joint ventures with foreign investors, with the domestic investor being the leading entity in the joint venture.

The National Assembly needs a resolution allowing officials to exercise flexibility in performing their duties.

The delegates also affirmed that reality shows that many regulations are not in line with practice. Everyone sees the need to do things differently from the regulations to be more appropriate and effective, but in practice, when performing their duties, those carrying out their tasks still have to comply with the regulations and implement inappropriate actions; in fact, many people do not dare to do so and instead shift responsibility to higher authorities.

Delegate Hoang Van Cuong gives his comments in the assembly hall. Photo: quochoi.vn

This could lead to localities waiting to request special mechanisms to resolve the issue. Recently, almost every session of the National Assembly has considered and passed resolutions on special mechanisms and policies. Even in this session, the Western North-South Expressway project has proposed a special mechanism, as have Nghe An and Da Nang provinces.

" I believe that localities, sectors, and fields will continue to request special mechanisms in the upcoming sessions, " the delegate affirmed.

To address the current situation where officials are rigid and hesitant to act for fear of making mistakes, and to encourage officials to be dynamic and creative in performing their duties, the delegate proposed that the National Assembly should have a resolution allowing them to apply legal provisions or select the most appropriate legal provisions flexibly and creatively to suit the specific subjects, conditions, and circumstances when performing their duties.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/dai-bieu-hoang-van-cuong-quy-dinh-khong-phu-hop-dia-phuong-cho-co-che-dac-thu-322267.html