Trang Chủ
"We are making every effort to strongly curtail the dollarisation of the economy and the monetization of gold and make sound policies to make sure that these financial resources can be used to support the economy," Binh testified during the morning general session of the National Assembly televised live yesterday.
Binh reassured lawmakers that other companies would be eligible to make gold bars and that the gold would be lawful for circulation.
SJC already accounts for over 90 per cent of the Vietnamese gold market, but the State Bank announced in May that SJC would become the only company authorised to produce gold bars, effectively granting the company a monopoly.
Since the May announcement, the banking system has bought up 60 tonnes of gold from the public, worth an estimated US$3 billion, Binh said.
However, he said, the Government did not require that gold bars be converted from other brands to SJC gold bars.
"We have been working on educating the public on this information, but it seems that there is still confusion and concern about this," Binh said.
Minimum wage
Also during yesterday's National Assembly session, Minister of Finance Vuong Dinh Hue told lawmakers that the Government would increase the minimum wage beginning in July 2013 from the current level of VND1.05 million per month to VND1.15 million despite the increased pressures on the already growing State budget deficit.
Hue said the Government had to delay the original plan to raise the minimum wage by May 2013, which would have required new budget allocations of VND60 trillion (nearly US$3 billion).
He acknowledged that balancing the State budget was a critical task, noting that 28 out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide were likely to fail to make their expected contributions to the State budget in 2012 due to the economic slowdown.
The current forecast for the year was for a growth rate of 5.5 per cent.
Under the plan for increasing the minimum wage, about 8 million people would see their wages increase by VND100,000 ($5) in the six months beginning in July 2013.
The initial increase would require additional budget of about VND18 trillion ($850 million), with another VND1.5 trillion to come from local budgets, Hue said.
"The Government is striving to keep inflation at 7-8 per cent annually to make sure that the new increase will actually benefit State workers," Hue stressed.
Dam safety
Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai yesterday provided an update to lawmakers on the status of the dam at the Tranh River Hydroelectric Plant No 2.
Hai said that the Prime Minister has ordered the plant to leave the reservoir empty this year while engineers assess the safety of the dam for downstream residents.
A team has also been organised to inspect the dam during this year's flood season.
The Government has also appointed the Ministry of Science and Technology in combination with other relevant agencies and foreign experts to work on increasing the safety of the dam and to devise measures in case of an emergency, including what would happen if the dam burst.
Hai reassured National Assembly deputies that the province and the Government were both taking timely action on this matter to ensure production and that residents' lives were stabilised.
State budget spending
Deputies yesterday also called for the Government to adjust the plan for State budget spending for 2013 in order to keep the normal expenditure on beneficiaries of social welfare and maintain sufficient funds for socio-economic development.
They stressed that 2013 will mark a turning point in the development plan for the 2011-2015 period, and it is therefore essential to keep the input and expenditure in balance.
"The input for the State budget in 2013 will face many difficulties due to the ongoing economic downturn, but we have to commit sufficient spending on welfare beneficiaries such as pensioners," stressed chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung.
Regarding the expenditure plan for the 2013 state budget, most of the deputies agreed that spending should prioritise investments in urgent projects.
Danh Ut from Kien Giang said the Government should focus on spending in rural areas, and reduce spending on governmental related bodies.
Huynh Minh Hoang from Bac Lieu agreed, adding that investment should focus on developing the agriculture sector in these areas which will help increase farmers' income.
Concerning the regulation of state budget spending, many deputies urged the government to introduce stricter policies on exceeding expenditure.
Do Manh Hung from Thai Nguyen said that it is necessary to more closely monitor state budget expenditure in infrastructure projects to avoid corruption and losses.
Nam Dinh's Tran Quang Trieu said the Government should emphasise minimising stagnant tax payments preventing trade fraud and smuggling.
Despite understanding that money will be restricted in the next state budget, most members of the congress insisted that the government keep to the scheduled VND180 trillion ($8.5 billion) spending for social-economic development projects, as these will preserve national internal strength.
According to a recent audit report by the State Audit of Viet Nam, total State budget revenue in 2010 reached VND588.4 trillion ($28 billion) while total expenditure hit VND648.8 trillion ($30.89 billion) due to increased spending for development investment.
In comparison, the total expense over seven months this year was VND498.16 trillion ($24 billion) while total input in the same period reached only VND393.5 trillion ($18.7 billion), falling 2.8 per cent in comparison with 2011.
About 1.4 per cent of this decrease fell in the area of domestic collection while the rest was caused by the fall in import-export deals.
