VietNamNet
Bridge – Top lawmakers want the new
draft Law on National Reserves to encourage enterprises and organisations to
take part in the storage of crucial commodities for use in cases of national
emergencies.
The
draft law urges participation of non-State sectors in national reserves'
infrastructure and storage. It is proposed to replace the current
"obsolete" ordinance issued in 2004.
At the
National Assembly Standing Committee's meeting yesterday, April 11, Deputy
Minister of Finance Nguyen Huu Chi said the existing ordinance had not kept up
with the realities of the socialist-oriented market economy.
"The
ordinance just regulates the national reserves contribution from the State
budget but fails to encourage the participation of enterprises, organisations
and individuals in reserve activities such as the infrastructure building,
storage, logistics and preservation," Chi said.
Chi
said the existing ordinance was found wanting in management and control
mechanisms.
"For
instance, the purchase method does not meet requirements of urgency, thus
causing difficulties in the annual routine of reserving goods," he said.
Assembly
Finance and Budget Committee Chairman Phung Quoc Hien said the draft law needed
to clearly detail the encouragement of all economic sectors to take part in
national reserves, the conditions and procedures of import and export, as well
as storing of national reserve commodities and products.
Hien
recommended to take money off the list of national reserves.
"They
should be essential commodities and materials," he said, adding there were
suggestions to put gold and minerals on the list but that needed more
discussion.
Regarding
the Prime Minister's authority to decide the import and export of national
reserves, Hien suggested the entire Cabinet be involved in non-urgent purchases
to avoid the concentration of responsibilities on the Prime Minister.
Chairman
of the NA Law Committee Phan Trung Ly agreed. He said that the long-term
strategy should be decided by the National Assembly and that the Government
should base its actions on the details of the decision.
"There
needs to be detailed regulations on auditing, inspection and solving of
complaints and denunciations," Ly said.
NA
Deputy Chairman Huynh Ngoc Son said the proposed objectives of the national
reserves were too broad and not realistic. The objects were: "To prevent
and resolve the consequences of natural disasters and diseases; to ensure
national defence, social security and order; to stabilise the market, to cope
with climate change; to ensure social welfare".
"National
reserves should only be used in extraordinary and emergency cases," Son
said.
He also
urged for a detailed decentralisation of the management and use of the reserve
to localities to ensure their timely use in situation of need.
Two other laws
On the
same day, members of the NA Standing Committee also discussed the draft Law on
Pricing and the revised Law on Water Resources.
They
called for a detailed list with categories of goods and services whose prices
would be determined by the Government.
"A
regulation on such a list is necessary and important," said Chairman of
the NA Economic Committee Nguyen Van Giau. "It has a direct effect on the
production of businesses and people's lives."
He said
that a detailed regulation would ensure transparency and create favourable
conditions for management and implementation.
The
Government would determine the prices of essential goods and services according
to the list and in some cases where necessary, the National Assembly would
consider pricing changes, he said.
The NA
Standing Committee members also urged relevant sectors and agencies to continue
discussions and reviews to reach a final list of items to be listed for price
stabilisation and to ensure consistency with the list of goods and services
with prices determined by the Government.
Most of
the members also agreed with the revision on the Law on Water Resources, which
regulates the management, protection and use of water resources.
However,
there were also some comments that the law should not address work on
preventing and responding to water related disasters, as this issue should be
regulated by the Law on Disaster Prevention and Response.
Participants
also discussed a regulation on collecting fees for issuing rights for
exploiting water resources. According to that, organisations and individuals
who exploit water to generate electricity for commercial purposes, or exploit
water, both on-earth and underground, to supply businesses, services and
non-agricultural production would have to pay fees for the rights to exploit
water.
The
same fee would also apply to large scale exploitation of rivers, lakes and the
sea for business purposes.
VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News
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