Ministries and localities have been told not to buy cars this year unless otherwise dictated by a comprehensive review of the number of State-owned cars (Photo: infonet.vn) Hanoi (VNA) - Ministries andlocalities have been told not to buy cars this year unless otherwise dictatedby a comprehensive review of the number of State-owned cars.
Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Huu Chi, whoissued the order, said it was aimed to tighten public spending and improve theeffectiveness of using public property. Instead of buying additional cars,ministries and localities should pay a travel allowance to officials who werepreviously eligible to use State-owned cars or to rent cars, he said.
Chi also ordered the ministries and localitiesnot to use money from Official Development Assistance (ODA) and preferentialand commercial loans to buy State-owned cars.
Management boards of foreign-aid projects thatwant to buy cars are required to submit a detailed plan to the finance ministryfor approval, he said.
Since March 1, Hanoi is the first locality inthe country to carry out a pilot programme of travel allowances to officials ofthe departments of transport, finance, planning and investment, labour, invalidand social affairs, as well as State-agencies in the districts of Ha Dong, LongBien, Thanh Tri and Gia Lam.
The maximal travel allowance is 9.3 million VND(407 USD) a month.
Mai Xuan Vinh, head of the Finance Department’sPublic Property Management Office, said redundant State-owned cars at theagencies would be handed over to the city administration, which would allocatethem to other State-agencies lacking State-owned cars. Schools and hospitalswere among those on the priority list.
Data from the city’s Finance Department showedthe city has about 400 State-owned cars, with the cost to run a car about 223million VND (9,750 USD) each year.
The programme is expected to save the capitalbudget 50 billion VND (2.2 million USD) a year. The city plans to introduce theprogramme at all State-agencies by October.-VNA
VNA
