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Government investments to undergo assessment
The Ministry of Planning and Investment will not allow public investment projects to be included in government planning until they have been properly assessed.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dr Bountavy Sisouphangthong made the announcement at the Project for Enhancing Capacity in Public Investment Programme Management (PCAP) in Vientiane on August 23.
“We will start to implement the plan next year for the 2012-13 fiscal year,” he said. The assessment of projects will help ensure the government obtains the maximum benefits from its public investment projects.
“We don't have much money, so our investments should be high quality,” he explained. As of 2012, each investment from the government will have to be assessed by the ministry.
The government spent more than US$606 million on public investment projects in the 2010-11 fiscal year.
The PCAP has produced guide books and training materials to distribute to relevant officials throughout the country, as well as organised many training courses for officials at the ministerial and provincial levels.
The first and second PCAP programmes, sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), supported the Lao government for seven years before concluding recently.
However, Laos will lobby for continued support from JICA for the programme, as further progress is still required. Dr Bounthavy said that the programme had helped officials from the government to better understand investment laws and regulations.
In the past, he said, many government officials did not understand investment laws or theories, leading to overspending and the inefficient use of public funds. “Also, some government projects that were contracted to private businesses were completed to a low quality standard because low price normally means low quality,” he explained.
Chief Representative of the JICA Laos Office Mr Masato Togawa said that the public investment project scheme is one of the most essential and effective means to achieve National Socio Economic Development Plan targets.
He said the proper management of these projects is necessary to increase transparency and accountability of the development activities conducted by the governmen t.
JICA has been supporting the ministry with a series of technical cooperation projects for the PCAP1 and PCAP2 since 2004. “Our aim is to establish workable standards, procedures and tools for public investment project management in Laos,” he said.
“We found that PCAP2 contributed to strengthening the capacity of the ministry and management with a new assessment, monitoring and evaluation procedure,” he observed. The enactment of the public investment law also enhanced the authorisation of tools and formats developed by the project, especially through interviews and meetings, he said.
“We see the good influence of the ministry and PCAP as the backbone of a better public investment programme management nationwide,” he continued. Needless to say, further continuous efforts by the ministry and other government bodies are essential to achieve the overall project goal.
“Sector ministries and provincial sector departments effectively and efficiently implement public investment programmes on schedule and in accordance with planned budget execution under an upgraded sector programme,” he mentioned.
“The ministry has presented us with the training plan to prepare for the 2012-13 fiscal year public investment programme budget, which involves all organisations gathered here.”
vientiane times
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