JOINT CIRCULAR No. 01/2014/TTLT-UBDT-BTC detailing and guiding the implementation of policies for persons of influence among ethnic minority communities.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Detailed regulations and guidance on implementation of policies for persons of influence among ethnic minority communities

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 Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, promulgated by the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;

Pursuant to Decree No. 84/2012/NĐ-CP dated October 12, 2012 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the National Ethnic Minorities Committee;

Pursuant to Decree No. 215/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 23, 2013, promulgated by the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decision No. 18/2011/QĐ-TTg dated March 18, 2011 of the Prime Minister on policies for persons of trust among ethnic minority groups;

Pursuant to Decision No. 56/2013/QĐ-TTg dated October 7, 2013 of the Prime Minister amending and supplementing certain articles of Decision No. 18/2011/QĐ-TTg on policies for persons of trust in ethnic minority areas (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 18/2011/QĐ-TTg and Decision No. 56/2013/QĐ-TTg);

The Minister of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and the Minister of Finance issue this Joint Circular guiding the implementation of Decisions No. 18/2011/QĐ-TTg and No. 56/2013/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Joint Circular guides principles, conditions, procedures, and formalities for nominating and recognizing persons of trust; systems, policies, management, utilization, and settlement of funds for implementing policies for persons of trust among ethnic minority groups (hereinafter referred to as persons of trust).

Article 2. Applicability

1. Persons of trust as defined in Clause 1, Article 2 of Decision No. 18/2011/QĐ-TTg amended and supplemented by Decision No. 56/2013/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister.

2. Agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the implementation of policies for persons of trust.

Article 3. Principles, Conditions for Nominating and Recognizing Persons of Trust

1. Principles

a) A person nominated and recognized as a person of trust must meet all criteria stipulated in Clause 1, Article 2 of Decision No. 18/2011/QĐ-TTg amended and supplemented by Decision No. 56/2013/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister and be selected by more than 50% of the total number of delegates attending the inter-sectoral village conference;

b) The total number of persons of trust nominated and recognized shall not exceed the total number of villages in ethnic minority regions of the province;

c) Annually, review, assess, and promptly remove from the list of persons of trust and nominate and recognize additional or replacement persons of trust.

c) For some special areas, the participation period of civilian workers may be earlier or later than the above periods as specified by the Minister of Defense.

a) Villages with at least one-third of households or population being ethnic minorities (villages meeting the conditions) shall nominate and recognize one (1) person of trust;

b) In cases where villages do not meet the conditions but need to nominate one person of trust or villages meeting the conditions but need to nominate more than one person of trust due to multiple ethnic groups cohabiting, located in particularly difficult border areas, or complex security situations: based on the proposal of the People's Committee (PC) of the district, the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level shall take the lead, coordinate with the Public Security Office, the Provincial People's Council, and relevant departments to advise the Chairman of the PC of the province to decide on the number and nomination and recognition of persons of trust for villages as stipulated in Point b, Clause 2 of this Article, but the total number of persons of trust nominated and recognized throughout the province shall not exceed the total number of villages in ethnic minority regions of the province.

Article 4. Systems and Policies for Persons of Trust

1. Provision of Information

a) Regularly every six months or as needed, persons of trust shall be informed and provided information by local party committees and authorities about the Party's guidelines and policies, laws of the State; economic and social development situation and tasks, national defense, and security of the locality.

Content and expenditure levels shall be implemented according to the provisions of Joint Circular No. 73/2010/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated May 14, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance - Ministry of Justice guiding the establishment, management, use, and settlement of funds for legal education and dissemination work and Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC dated July 6, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance regulating travel expenses and costs for organizing meetings for state agencies and public institutions (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC);

b) Annually, based on the requirements, tasks, and specific conditions of the locality; based on the list of persons of trust needing training and knowledge enhancement organized by the People's Committee of the commune, the People's Committee of the province shall instruct the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level to take the lead, coordinate with relevant agencies to organize:

- Training and enhancing knowledge suitable for persons of trust. The number of classes and levels organized shall be determined by the People's Committee of the province. Content and expenditure levels shall be implemented according to the provisions of Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC and Circular No. 139/2010/TT-BTC dated September 21, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance regarding the preparation of budgets, management, and use of state budget funds for cadre and civil servant training and enhancement.

- Visiting and learning experiences within and outside the province regarding economic and social development and national defense and security. The establishment of delegations and the number of visits to learn experiences within and outside the province shall be determined by the People's Committee of the province, including visits outside the province organized once a year by the provincial level. Expenditure levels shall be implemented according to the provisions of Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance.

c) Persons of trust shall be provided:

- One copy/issue of the Ethnic Minorities and Development newspaper of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities; one copy/issue of the Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas Bulletin of the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level or one copy/issue of the provincial newspaper where the person of trust resides as decided by the People's Committee of the province and managed and implemented by the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level. Funding for this shall be allocated in the annual budget of the Ethnic Affairs Office of the provincial level to directly provide newspapers to persons of trust.

- In cases where persons of trust are provided different types of newspapers as stipulated in Point c, Clause 1 of this Article from different policies at the same time, they shall only be provided one copy of each type of newspaper.

2. Material Support and Spiritual Encouragement

Persons of trust shall be visited and presented gifts by local party committees and authorities:

a) During Tet and ethnic minority festivals;

b) When persons of trust are hospitalized for treatment at district-level hospitals or higher.

c) Visiting and consoling the families of persons of trust who are facing difficulties due to natural disasters; visiting and paying respects to the father (biological father, father-in-law, or father of the spouse, or legally adopted father as provided by law), mother (biological mother, mother-in-law, or mother of the spouse, or legally adopted mother as provided by law), spouse, children (biological children or legally adopted children as provided by law), and the person of trust who has passed away.

The content and expenditure levels for points a, b, and c of Clause 2 of this Article shall be implemented according to the corresponding provisions at points a, b, and c of Clause 2 of Decision No. 18/2011/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister.

d) In the course of performing their duties, if a person of trust sacrifices themselves or gets injured and meets the conditions stipulated in Article 17 or Article 27 of Decree No. 31/2013/NĐ-CP dated April 9, 2013 of the Government, they will be eligible for preferential treatment as prescribed in the Ordinance on Preferential Treatment for Persons Contributing to the Revolution.

The procedures and formalities for recognizing a person of trust as a martyr or for enjoying benefits similar to those of war invalids shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Sections 3 and 6 of Chapter II of Decree No. 31/2013/NĐ-CP dated April 9, 2013 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Ordinance on Preferential Treatment for Persons Contributing to the Revolution.

3. Welcoming and presenting gifts to delegations of persons of trust visiting and working with agencies assigned the task of managing and welcoming persons of trust.

a) Agencies assigned the task of managing and welcoming persons of trust include:

- Central agencies: The Committee for Ethnic Minorities, Ministry of Public Security, Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Border Guard Command, and other agencies assisting Party leadership, National Assembly, and Government in organizing the welcoming of persons of trust;

- Local agencies: Ethnic affairs offices, Public Security, People's Committees of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Border Guard units, and agencies assisting provincial and district-level Party committees, People's Councils, and People's Committees in organizing the welcoming of persons of trust.

b) The funds for implementation shall be allocated within the annual state budget estimates of the agencies assigned the task of managing and welcoming persons of trust. The content and expenditure levels shall be implemented according to the provisions of Circular No. 01/2010/TT-BTC dated January 6, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance regarding domestic reception expenses and Decision No. 76/2013/QĐ-TTg dated December 12, 2013 of the Prime Minister regarding reception, consolation, and congratulation expenses for certain groups organized by the Vietnam Fatherland Front at all levels.

4. Reward system

Persons of trust who achieve outstanding results in labor production, economic and social development, and national security and public order shall be proposed for commendation and rewards. The file requirements, procedures, and monetary reward amounts for persons of trust shall be applied according to the provisions of Decree No. 42/2010/NĐ-CP dated April 15, 2010 and Decree No. 39/2012/NĐ-CP dated April 27, 2012 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 42/2010/NĐ-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Encouragement and Commendation dated November 26, 2003 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Encouragement and Commendation dated June 14, 2005.

For cases where commendation is given outside the scope defined in Decree No. 42/2010/NĐ-CP dated April 15, 2010 and Decree No. 39/2012/NĐ-CP dated April 27, 2012 of the Government, the agency deciding on the commendation shall base it on the budget allocated for the work of encouragement and commendation, but the maximum amount shall not exceed the monetary reward level specified in Decree No. 42/2010/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 39/2012/NĐ-CP of the Government.

5. In cases where a person of trust simultaneously receives identical support policies and benefits but at different levels, they shall receive the highest level of support.

Article 5. Procedures and formalities for nominating and recognizing persons of trustworthiness

The provincial ethnic affairs agency shall take the lead and coordinate with the public security agency, the Provincial People's Committee for the Fatherland Front, and relevant departments to advise the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee on directing, guiding, and inspecting the nomination and recognition of persons of trustworthiness within the province according to the following procedures and formalities:

1. Nomination of persons of trustworthiness

Based on the directive document of the commune People's Committee, the Head of the Commune Front Work Board shall take the lead and coordinate with the Branch Party Secretary, the Village Chief, representatives of mass organizations, and households in the village to organize a multi-sector meeting to nominate persons of trustworthiness through one of two voting methods: raising hands or secret ballot (as decided by the meeting). The nominee must receive more than 50% approval from the total number of attendees at the meeting (if not selected in the first round, a second round will be conducted according to the aforementioned procedure; if still not selected, the village will not have a person of trustworthiness); the Village Chief shall prepare one set of documentation including the proposal letter sent to the Commune People's Committee along with the minutes of the multi-sector village meeting (according to Form 01 issued together with this Circular).

The implementation period shall not exceed five working days from the date all valid village documents are received and completed before January 20 each year.

2. Reviewing the results of nominating persons of trustworthiness

The Commune People's Committee shall check and review the results of nominating persons of trustworthiness in villages within the commune; prepare one set of documentation including the proposal letter sent to the County People's Committee along with the minutes of the commune People's Committee meeting reviewing the nomination results of persons of trustworthiness in villages (according to Form 02 issued together with this Circular).

The implementation period shall not exceed five working days from the date all valid village documents are received and completed before February 10 each year.

3. Compilation of proposals for recognizing persons of trustworthiness

The County People's Committee shall check and compile proposals from communes; prepare one set of documentation including the proposal letter sent to the provincial ethnic affairs agency along with the consolidated list of proposals for recognizing persons of trustworthiness in the county.

The implementation period shall not exceed five working days from the date all valid commune documents are received and completed before February 25 each year.

4. Completing the dossier, submitting and approving the list of persons of trustworthiness

The provincial ethnic affairs agency shall check and compile proposals for recognizing persons of trustworthiness from counties; prepare one dossier including the report letter along with the consolidated list (according to Form 03 issued together with this Circular), and the proposal letters from counties submitted to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. The inspection, compilation, and dossier preparation period shall not exceed five working days from the date all valid county documents are received and submitted to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee before March 20 each year.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall examine and approve the list of persons of trustworthiness in the province within five working days, completing before March 31 each year and sending to the National Ethnic Minorities Commission and the Ministry of Finance (including: the approval decision and the list of persons of trustworthiness according to Form 03, simultaneously sent via email to the address: [email protected]) for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister.

Article 6. Inspection, review, evaluation, removal from the list of persons of trustworthiness, and supplementary nomination and recognition of persons of trustworthiness

1. Removal from the list of persons of trustworthiness:

a) In the following cases, prompt action should be taken to propose removal from the list of persons of trustworthiness:

- Persons who violate the law; persons who have lost their capacity for civil conduct;

- Persons of trustworthiness who have passed away, moved to live elsewhere, or voluntarily requested to be removed from the list of persons of trustworthiness;

- Other violations that damage reputation and fail to meet the criteria stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 2 of Decision No. 18/2011/QĐ-TTg amended and supplemented by Decision No. 56/2013/QĐ-TTg of the Government Chairman, which shall be decided by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

b) When there are cases as specified in point a of Clause 1 of this Article, the Head of the Commune Front Work Board shall take the lead in organizing a multi-sector village meeting with participants as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Joint Circular; the person proposed for removal from the list of persons of trustworthiness must receive more than 50% approval from the total number of attendees at the multi-sector village meeting;

The Village Chief shall prepare a proposal letter along with the minutes of the multi-sector village meeting (according to Form 04 issued together with this Circular) to send to the Commune People's Committee for checking and reviewing (according to Form 05 issued together with this Circular), and report to the County People's Committee for consolidation and submission to the provincial ethnic affairs agency for the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee to consider and decide.

2. Supplementary nomination and recognition, replacement of persons of trustworthiness

Annually, the provincial ethnic affairs agency shall take the lead and coordinate with the public security agency, the Provincial People's Committee for the Fatherland Front, and relevant departments to advise the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee on directing and guiding counties to conduct reviews, evaluations, nominations, supplementary recognitions, and replacements of persons of trustworthiness;

The procedures, formalities, and timeframes for supplementary nomination and recognition, and replacement of persons of trustworthiness shall be carried out according to the provisions of Article 5 of this Joint Circular.

Article 7. Funding for implementation of policies

1. The funding for implementing policies for persons of prestige shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 5 of Decision No. 18/2011/QĐ-TTg of the Government Prime Minister. The central budget will allocate funds to localities receiving supplementary balance from the central budget for the expenditure items specified in point c, Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 4 of this Joint Circular; other expenditure items and remaining localities shall be self-funded by the local budget.

2. The preparation of budgets, execution of budgets, and settlement of accounts for funding the implementation of policies for persons of prestige shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulations of the State Budget Law, guiding documents of current laws, and consolidated and submitted to the Ministry of Finance and the National Ethnic Minorities Committee as stipulated.

3. Annual management funding for implementing policies at the local level shall be balanced and allocated from the local budget and assigned to the Ethnic Work Agency of the provincial and district levels to fund activities such as organizing implementation, inspection, evaluation, interim review, summary of policy implementation on the territory, travel expenses for cadres visiting persons of prestige, attending county, provincial, and central conferences and training sessions. The content and expenditure limits shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance.

Article 8. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The National Ethnic Minorities Commission shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to direct and inspect the implementation of this Joint Circular.

2. The People's Committee of the province shall directly and comprehensively be responsible for directing and organizing the implementation of policies within its province.

3. The People's Committee of the province shall designate the Ethnic Work Agency of the province as the permanent body; take the lead and coordinate with the Provincial Public Security Department, the Provincial People's Council for Ethnic Unity and Solidarity, and related units to assist the People's Committee of the province in managing and implementing policies; provide guidance and specific regulations on tasks for persons of prestige, work to review, evaluate, remove from the list of persons of prestige, and annually nominate and replace persons of prestige; assign and delegate management of policies for persons of prestige according to actual conditions and political tasks of the locality; organize inspections, monitoring, evaluations, and compile reports (before November 20 each year) on the results of policy implementation within the province to be sent to the National Ethnic Minorities Commission and the Ministry of Finance for compilation and reporting to the Government Prime Minister.

Article 9. Transitional Provisions

1. The systems and policies for persons of prestige stipulated in this Joint Circular shall take effect from the date when Decisions No. 18/2011/QĐ-TTg and No. 56/2013/QĐ-TTg of the Government Prime Minister come into force.

2. Persons of prestige elected previously (excluding cases already removed from the list of persons of prestige) shall continue to enjoy the systems and policies as stipulated in Decision No. 18/2011/QĐ-TTg and Decision No. 56/2013/QĐ-TTg of the Government Prime Minister until the date when the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province approves the list of persons of prestige for 2014 replacing the list of persons of prestige for 2013 as provided for in Article 5 of this Joint Circular.

Article 10. Provisions on implementation

1. This Joint Circular shall take effect from February 25, 2014, and replace Joint Circular No. 05/2011/TTLT-UBDT-BTC dated December 16, 2011, of the National Ethnic Minorities Commission and the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decision No. 18/2011/QĐ-TTg of the Government Prime Minister.

2. When the documents applied for implementing the systems and policies for persons of prestige stipulated in Article 4 of this Joint Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced by other documents, they shall be implemented in accordance with the new document's provisions.

During the implementation process, if there are difficulties, it is recommended that ministries, sectors, and localities promptly reflect them to the National Ethnic Minorities Commission and the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution./.