Fuel price cuts have been released simultaneously with the convention of
the National Assembly multiple times, but the two ministers in charge of the
reduction said it is only a random coincidence.
On November 11 the retailing
price of A92 gasoline was slashed by VND500 per liter to VND23,150, the first
cutback since late August, according to a decision issued the same day by the
Ministries of Finance, and Industry and Trade.
The price reduction was released
just one day before the two ministers addressed delegates at the question and
answer session held during the NA convention in Hanoi, where the coincidence
between the cut and the Q&A session came under question.
“I still remember that a similar
price cut was released at the NA 3rd meeting session, and now one more was
announced last night,” delegate Do Van Duong from Ho Chi Minh City said to
begin his question.
“So I’d like to ask the Ministers
of Finance and Industry and Trade if this is an accidental coincidence, or a
flexible solution of you two ahead of this Q&A session,” he challenged the
ministers.
Minister of Industry and Trade Vu
Huy Hoang replied, “Maybe it’s only a random case.”
“With the responsibility assigned
by the NA and the government, I don’t think we can have such a flexible
solution as the delegate said.
“Simply speaking, when global prices
went down, we had to cut domestic prices,” he concluded.
His finance counterpart added,
“It seems like the NA meeting has something to do with fuel prices, as the
delegate has implied.
“But this is a very open and
transparent issue: we just reduce prices whenever possible,” he said.
Yet to receive audit report
The delegates also posed
questions regarding a recent report by the State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) which
discovered that the fuel wholesaler Petrolimex still grants high salaries to
its chief executives despite the huge losses it has incurred.
But Hoang said he has yet to
receive the official report from the SAV.
Similarly, when asked by delegate
Nguyen Minh Hong from Nghe An whether or not Petrolimex will have to review its
operations with loss, Hoang reiterated that the ministry will only do so once
they receive the audit report.
In regards to fuel quality, Hoang
said the initial solution should be to strictly control imports as 70 percent
of the fuel commodities consumed in the country are imported products.
“Loose management will open the
door for poor quality fuel to enter the country,” he said.
“We have detected some cases but
due to the light penalties, prevention is ineffective.
“We will petition the government
to review the issue,” he said.
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