On the afternoon of November 10, before voting to approve the Resolution on the 2024 Central budget allocation plan, Chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee Le Quang Manh presented a report explaining, accepting and revising the draft Resolution.
Mr. Manh said that the Government has not yet had a plan to allocate the 2,850 billion VND in regular expenditures of the National Target Program (NTP).
The National Assembly Standing Committee has directed agencies to closely coordinate and clarify this unallocated amount. Accordingly, the agencies reporting to the competent authorities have issued many documents urging the ministries and agencies in charge of the National Target Program.
However, by the time of synthesizing the report to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and decision, some contents and tasks of implementing the National Target Program assigned to ministries and central agencies did not have complete documents and procedures. In organizing the implementation, when all procedures are complete, the competent agencies will coordinate with the Program management agencies to submit to competent authorities the allocation plan according to regulations.
The National Assembly Standing Committee believes that the National Target Programs aim to improve the lives of people, especially the disadvantaged. If the above expenditure is not allocated, the implementation of the National Target Programs may continue to be delayed, leading to impacts on the people.
Therefore, the National Assembly Standing Committee proposed that the National Assembly allow the allocation of VND 2,850 billion for regular expenditure of the National Target Program and requested the Government to direct relevant agencies to urgently complete procedures and documents for detailed allocation, ensuring compliance with legal regulations, publicity and transparency.
Chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee Le Quang Manh presented a report explaining the acceptance (Photo: Quochoi.vn).
The Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee said that 2024 is the second year in the 2023-2025 budget stabilization period.
The 2024 local budget balance expenditure estimate is determined based on the local budget balance revenue estimate enjoyed according to decentralization, the additional balance from the central budget (NSTW) to the local budget (if any) and the prescribed policies and regimes.
However, with the 2024 State budget revenue estimate submitted by the Government to the National Assembly, up to 30/63 localities have reduced local budget revenue by VND 19,200 billion, while the ability to strive to increase revenue is very difficult because most of the provinces have limited economic development conditions.
To create initiative for localities and to have more resources to meet important spending tasks for socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security in the area, it is necessary to have support from the central government (both capital construction investment expenditure and regular expenditure);
Therefore, based on the provisions of Clause 7, Article 9 of the State Budget Law, the ability to balance the 2024 State budget estimate, in Report No. 43 dated October 21, 2023 on the allocation of the 2024 central budget estimate, the Government submitted to the National Assembly an increase in the additional balance for localities by 2% compared to the 2023 estimate.
At the same time, localities are required to base on actual conditions and local balancing capacity to proactively arrange the local budget expenditure structure in 2024 according to the principle of thoroughly saving regular expenditures to focus resources on increasing development investment expenditures, aiming to develop the socio-economy, ensure national defense and security, and implement social security policies, poverty reduction and regimes and policies issued by the Central Government, requiring localities to balance implementation resources.
Provinces receiving balanced subsidies from the central budget will have difficulty in resources to carry out the above spending tasks, and need this increased level of support. This handling is similar to the Government's proposal to increase 2% of additional balanced expenditure from the central budget to local budgets, which has been decided by the National Assembly for the 2019 and 2020 budget estimates.
Accordingly, accepting opinions, the National Assembly Standing Committee proposed that the National Assembly keep the Government's proposal, increasing the balance by 2% for localities. This content has been stated in Clause 2, Article 1 of the Draft Resolution .
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