At a workshop jointly organized by the European Union office in Vietnam and Oxfam in the Northern province of Vinh Phuc on March 30, Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri provincial People’s Council Nguyen Duc Dung said the application of the criteria set for defining Provincial Open Budget Index (POBI) has helped the provincial People’s Council have a scientific basis when making decisions to select public investment projects, thus ensuring ensure objectivity, publicity and transparency.

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At the event

The project has also helped promote the participation of local people in evaluating and giving feedback on the quality of public investment projects and the State’s programs in the locality, he added.

According to Nguyen Dang Anh, deputy head of the committee for economic and budget affairs under the Quang Tri province People’s Council, after a consultation with 678 local households, shortcomings in allocating funds to agro-forestry-aquaculture encouragement programs and collective economic development were uncovered.

The province saved over VND 4 billion of State budget from cutting unnecessary items, he said.

Reports at the workshop showed that Hoa Binh and Quang Tri are supporting community groups in joining the State budget and public investment supervision.

Participants said initiatives for improving the efficiency of State budget management in localities are good lessons for relevant agencies to develop policies and measures for applying in a larger scale.

Dr. Le Dang Doanh, member of the Committee for Development Policy of the UN, stressed the need to raise transparency and accountability to better the efficiency of the corruption fight and State budget wastefulness.

Source: VNA