Vietnam’s central government is planning to curtail government spending by cutting back the amount spent on state-issued cars.
In a session of the National Assembly held on October 23, Nguyen Duc Hai, chairman of the assembly’s Finance and Budget Committee, presented the auditing results of the state budget thus far in 2017, in addition to plans for next year’s spending, reports Tuoi Tre.
Hai shared that the country is facing financial difficulties, therefore the committee will be putting in place several austerity measures starting from next year. Specifically, in 2018, only officials who are ministers or higher will be allowed to use the state budget to buy government cars. Lower-ranking officials will be provided transportation only for urgent occasions.
Moreover, Hai’s committee also strongly recommended that authorities scale back purchases of big-ticket items and spending on festive occasions such as ground-breaking ceremonies, conferences, etc.
His presentation also mentioned a proposal from the central government to increase the minimum wage for civil servants by 7%. Most members of the committee are in agreement with the raise – a stance at odds with the previously announced decision to implement cutbacks.
[Photo via Lao Dong]
