Efforts underway to accelerate socioeconomic recovery program

Disbursed capital

Do Thanh Trung, Director General of the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s National Economic Issues Department, said the government has issued 14 of the 19 legal documents needed for the program’s realization. Some of these policies have been implemented with capital disbursed and used to support people and businesses, Trung said.

The VND33.5 trillion disbursed funding included VND22.6 trillion worth of tax and fee exemptions and discounts (accounting for about 35 percent of the target). Localities donated rent for 2,431 people according to Government Resolution 11/NQ-CP.

The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) disbursed VND4.869 trillion for four credit programs, including loans for job creation, student loans, loans to non-state preschools and primary schools, and home purchase loans for individuals.

Regarding public investment, the government has proposed that the National Assembly consider capital for various tasks and projects, a plan to flexibly adjust the program’s public investment capital and a 2021-2025 medium-term public investment plan, and investment policies for three national projects – the Khanh Hoa-Buon Ma Thuot, Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang and Bien Hoa-Vung Tau highways.

Within four months, following the direction of the government and the prime minister, the Ministry of Planning and Investment sent nine documents to ministries, agencies and localities, asking them to review and make cost estimates for the program’s tasks and projects.

On May 22, the government reported to the National Assembly Executive Committee on the program’s estimated lists of projects and related capital needs, and a plan to allocate additional state capital to ministries, organizations and localities in 2022.

Slow implementation

Although it has recorded initial achievements, the program’s implementation remains slower than the target. The government has directed the establishment of a steering committee for the socioeconomic recovery and development program to speed up its implementation.

The role of the steering committee and the prime ministerial working group will be brought into play to ease the implementation of tasks by ministries, agencies and localities.

Investment procedures for the program’s projects will be thoroughly and efficiently accomplished. The Ministry of Planning and Investment will list and submit to the government tasks and projects whose investment procedures have been completed, so they can be submitted to the National Assembly Executive Committee in early July for capital allocation.

Relevant authorities will speed up policy implementation and ensure that projects related to project sites, labor force, and mines, among others, are implemented immediately after receiving the allocated capital.

Nguyen Hoa