Reduce 5% of recurrent expenditure estimate from beginning of year

	11-month budget collection reached 95% of estimate
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The Prime Minister requests to actively cut unnecessary expenditures. Photo: Internet

Prime Minister directs to closely control public investment and reduce expenditures from the stage of formulation, appraisal and approval of projects

This is one of the important instructions in Directive No. 01/CT-TTg dated January 4, 2024 on strengthening savings in state budget expenditures signed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Over the past time, the thrift practice and anti-waste in the management and use of the state budget has been promoted and achieved positive results.

However, the results of the National Assembly's supervision of the implementation of policies and laws on thrift practice and anti-waste, conclusions of state inspection and audit agencies and the annual reports on the State budget settlement show that there are still shortcomings, limitations, and waste in the management and use of state budget and public assets…, affecting administrative discipline and effective use of state budget resources.

To overcome the shortcomings, meet management requirements and save expenditure, and strictly comply with the Party’s polices and regulations, legal regulations, and and directions of the Government and the Prime Minister on thrift practice and anti-waste, contributing to further improving the efficiency of state budget use, the Prime Minister requests Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and other central agencies, Chairman of People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities to drastically and effectively performing tasks.

Regarding building and perfecting institutions, the Ministry of Finance presides and coordinates with local and central agencies and localities to review, evaluate and propose competent authorities to revise the State Budget Law and related legal documents under the provisions of Resolution No. 23/2021/QH15 of the National Assembly and the Project on “Innovating the managementdecentralization and allocation of state budget to ensure the key role of the central budget and the initiative of local budgets, relevant agencies and units” to promptly and effectively implement.

The Prime Minister requires revise the Law on Thrift Practices and Anti-Waste in 2023 and related laws and legal documents, and to overcome overlaps and ensure uniformity of the related legal system.

Promote restructuring of state budget spending

The Prime Minister requests to review, build and perfect the legal system on public expenditure, the autonomy mechanism of public service delivery units, and the management and use of public assets in line with the legal development program of the National Assembly and the Government.

The Prime Minister asks ministries of Planning and Investment, Construction, and Transport, to review, complete, and issue appropriate norms and unit prices; strictly control public investment management, reduce Prime Minister directs to closely control public investment and reduce expenditure from the stage of formulation, appraisal and approval of projects, and construction estimates.

Strengthen recurrent expenditure savings; promote the restructuring of state budget spending, gradually reduce the proportion of recurrent expenditure associated with innovating the regular spending allocation mechanism, ensure the expenditure for people, social security, health care, environment, defense and security and education - training, science - technology... in accordance with provisions of law.

The Ministry of Finance is assigned to preside and coordinate with ministries, central agencies and localities to promote the restructuring of state budget expenditure in a sustainable direction, reduce the proportion of recurrent expenditures; to increase the proportion of development investment expenditure and debt payment in total state budget expenditure and reduce state budget deficit as per Resolution No. 23/2021/QH15 of the National Assembly; to achieve the average proportion of recurrent expenditure for 2021-2026 of about 62-63% of total state budget expenditures, and to strive to reduce the proportion to less than 60%.

The Ministry is required to manage the State budget expenditure estimates, strengthen recurrent expenditure savings, review and reduce expenditures that are not really necessary and are deployed slowly to reserve resources for socio-economic recovery and development, prevention and overcoming the consequences of natural disasters, epidemics, and climate change, implement expenditures for social security, ensure security and defense, and reform salary and social insurance policies in line with Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW and Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW of the 12th Central Executive Committee.

The ministry is also requested to cut 5% of the recurrent expenditures compared to assigned estimates from the beginning of year.

Ministries, central agencies and localities are requested to implement the state budget expenditures in accordance with assigned estimates, ensuring allocation and assignment of estimates to budget-using units and subordinates as per provisions of the Law on State budget and guiding documents.

Review and adjust expenditure estimates; proactively cut necessary expenditures; reduce expenditures for organizing conferences, seminars, ceremonies, business trips at home and abroad, especially foreign research and surveys.

The directive requests to reduce 5% of recurrent expenditure estimate compared to the assigned estimate to increase investment in strategic infrastructure, health care, education, and climate change and social security; notify agencies and units to proactively save expenditure.

Save state expenditures, especially recurrent expenditures, right from the stage of determining tasks; ensure the unified implementation of tasks from the stage of estimating to implementing the allocation, management and use of the state budget.

Proactively review policies and tasks, give priority for urgent and key expenditures to build the estimates.

Submit to competent authorities for promulgation of new policies, projects and tasks when are really necessary and with guaranteed resources; estimate the fund to implement new policies, regimes and tasks.

Invest in construction and purchase public assets in accordance with regulations, standards, norms, and ensure savings. Review and rearrange public assets to ensure proper use, standards and norms and meet requirements; Promote the handling of assets that no longer to be used transparently; recover assets used by the inappropriate people and purpose, or in excess of standards and norms; prevent waste of public assets.

The Directive requires the Government Inspectorate and the Ministry of Finance to closely coordinate with ministries, central agencies and localities to strengthen inspection, supervision and publicly implement the use of state budget, tighten discipline, strengthen the responsibility of leaders in the management and use of the state budget, ensuring state budget expenditures inline with spending regimes, standards, norms and regulations.