Gov't asks NA to raise budget overspending level Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung (Source: VNA) The National Assembly’s Committee for Finance and Budget has expressed approval to the government’s proposal to raise the budget overspending level to 5.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) from the previously set 4.8 percent. In a document verifying the Government report on the implementation of the 2013 State budget estimates and the State budget estimates and central budget allocation for 2014, the committee also agreed to cut several expenditure items as mentioned in the Government report. The committee basically reached consensus on the principles of central budget allocation for the next year. However, it proposed the Government need to give priority to poor provinces with limited budget collection sources, localities heavily devastated by natural disasters. Attention should also be paid to areas inhabited by ethnic minority people, agricultural and rural development and farmers while the practice of thrift should be further promoted. The committee commended the Government on its efforts in ensuring spending in the context of sharply decreasing budget revenues. The 2013 State budget collection is estimated at 790.8 trillion VND, down 63.63 trillion VND compared to plans, while State spending is projected at 986.3 trillion VND, up 8.3 trillion VND. Also on the NA’s third working day on October 23, the Government presented a report on three years of implementation of national target programmes for 2011-2015. The government affirmed that the programmes have obtained encouraging results, thus contributing to fulfilling the goals of ensuring social security and reducing poverty, particularly in mountainous, remote and ethnic people-resided areas. During 2011-2013, the national target programmes received nearly 80.3 trillion VND from the State funding and official development assistance sources. However, the report admitted that some programmes might not achieve the set goals as scheduled while capital arrangement for the programmes was lower than planned. The Government proposed reducing the number of national target programmes after 2015, keeping only those in key areas such as building new style rural areas, poverty reduction and environmental protection. The same day, the Government also presented a plan on supplementary bond issuance for the 2014-2016 period, asking for an additional 170 trillion VND worth of Government bonds. It said 61.68 trillion VND of the additional mobilised capital will be spent on projects upgrading national highways 1A and 14 (Ho Chi Minh highway’s section running through the Central Highlands), and 73.32 trillion VND will be supplied to incomplete projects funded by Government bonds for 2011-2015. The Government plans to allocate 20 trillion VND as counterpart capital in ODA projects in poor and difficulty localities clarified in the Prime Minister’s Decision 60/QD-TTg, and another 15 trillion VND to rural infrastructure development under the national target programme on new rural area building. The Committee for Finance and Budget ’s verification report agreed with the Government proposal on supplementary bond issuance and allocation, adding that although public debt has yet to exceed the limit set by the NA, but the Government should take active measures to keep debt under control. The implementation of the 2013 state budget estimates, the State budget estimates and central budget allocation for 2014, the three-year implementation of national target programmes in the 2011-2015 period and the plan to issue Government bonds in the 2014-2016 period will be further discussed by NA deputies on October 25.-VNA