Joint Circular No. 02/2002/TTLT/BTC-MTTW guiding financial management for the implementation of the "National Solidarity Movement to Build a Cultural Lifestyle in Residential Areas" campaign and other fundraising campaigns initiated by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for financial management in implementing the "National Solidarity Movement to Build a Cultural Lifestyle in Residential Areas" and other fundraising campaigns initiated by the National Front Committee of Vietnam.

Implementing Directive No. 23/1998/CT-TTg dated May 20, 1998 of the Prime Minister on enhancing coordination with the National Front Committee of Vietnam to promote the movement "National Solidarity to Build a New Life in Residential Areas"; Implementing the conclusions of the Prime Minister at the joint meeting with the Standing Board of the National Front Committee of Vietnam (Government Office Circular No. 57/TB-VPCP dated July 3, 2001); Based on the opinions of the Prime Minister (Government Office Circular No. 6100/VPCP-QHQH dated December 13, 2001) agreeing to rename the movement "National Solidarity to Build a New Life in Residential Areas" as the movement "National Solidarity to Build a Cultural Lifestyle in Residential Areas" managed and chaired by the National Front Committee at the commune, ward, and town level, continuing from the previous movement; The Ministry of Finance and the Standing Board of the National Front Committee of Vietnam jointly issue guidelines for financial management in implementing the movement "National Solidarity to Build a Cultural Lifestyle in Residential Areas" and other fundraising campaigns initiated by the Standing Board of the National Front Committee of Vietnam as follows:

I- SCOPE OF APPLICATION AND OBJECTS

This Circular applies to the movement "National Solidarity to Build a Cultural Lifestyle in Residential Areas" organized and implemented by the National Front Committees at all levels; national programs and projects and emergency fundraising campaigns to support affected populations in disaster recovery and international assistance as directed by the Party and Government, initiated by the Standing Board of the National Front Committee of Vietnam.

II- PRINCIPLES FOR GRANTING FUNDS

1- Funds for the movement "National Solidarity to Build a Cultural Lifestyle in Residential Areas" shall be guaranteed by the state budget according to the principle that the budget at the level organizing the implementation shall guarantee the operational funds. For residential areas, the provincial budget shall balance the funds.

2- Funds for mobilizing the people to implement certain projects within national programs and projects shall be guaranteed from the program and project budgets according to regulations on the use of funds for each national program and project.

3- Funds for emergency fundraising campaigns to support affected populations in disaster recovery and international assistance as directed by the Party and Government, initiated by the Standing Board of the National Front Committee of Vietnam, shall be guaranteed by the central budget.

III- CONTENT AND LEVELS OF EXPENSES

1- For the movement "National Solidarity to Build a Cultural Lifestyle in Residential Areas":

1.1- Content of expenditure:

a- Expenses carried out by the National Front Committee of Vietnam:

- Expenses for organizing the movement: Costs for information dissemination and propaganda to mobilize the people to participate in the movement.

- Expenses for directing, inspecting, and urging progress.

- Annual mid-term review expenses and periodic five-year reviews.

- Expenses for rewarding outstanding collectives and individuals in the movement.

- Expenses for office supplies and other expenses serving the movement (if any).

b- Expenses carried out by the Provincial and District-level National Front Committees:

- Expenses for organizing the movement: Costs for information dissemination and propaganda to mobilize the people in the province and district to participate in the movement initiated by the National Front Committee of Vietnam.

- Expenses for directing, inspecting, and urging progress.

- Annual mid-term review expenses; Five-year periodic reviews for the provincial level, two-year reviews for the district level.

- Expenses for rewarding outstanding collectives and individuals in the movement.

- Expenses for office supplies and other expenses serving the movement (if any).

c- Expenses carried out by the Commune, Ward, and Town-level National Front Committees:

- Expenses for organizing the movement: Costs for making slogans, banners, and posters for propaganda of the movement.

- Expenses for meetings to implement the movement in residential areas (tea and drinking water).

- Expenses for issuing certificates recognizing cultural families and good deeds.

- Annual mid-term review expenses.

- Expenses for annual reward activities.

- Expenses for office supplies and other expenses (if any).

- For residential areas:

- Expenses for tea, drinking water, oil, and electricity for meetings of the People's Committee Work Team in residential areas to discuss measures to mobilize the people.

- Expenses for organizing the annual National Solidarity Day (November 18).

- Expenses for information dissemination and propaganda by the People's Committee Work Team in the community.

- Expenses for fuel and transportation costs for mobilization activities by the People's Committee Work Team in residential areas and communes.

- Expenses for public recognition of individual and community achievements in various movements and campaigns initiated by the Party, State, and National Front Committee annually and in emergencies.

- Expenses for office supplies and other expenses (if any).

1.2- Levels of Expenses:

- The level of expenses for meals and accommodation for delegates attending conferences shall be implemented according to current regulations on travel allowances and conference expense regulations.

- The level of reward expenses shall be applied according to the level specified in Circular No. 25/2001/TT-BTC dated April 16, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance on guidelines for financial management in implementing reward systems for outstanding achievements in economic and social tasks and national defense; For cases of rewards outside the scope defined in Circular No. 25/2001/TT-BTC dated April 16, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance, the local budget shall allocate funds for rewards based on the financial capacity of the locality, but the maximum reward amount shall not exceed the level specified in Circular No. 25/2001/TT-BTC dated April 16, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance.

- For residential areas: To facilitate the success of the movement in residential areas, the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall allocate a budget of 1,000,000 VND per year per residential area (One million dong per year per residential area) to ensure the implementation of the expenses for the movement "National Solidarity to Build a Cultural Lifestyle in Residential Areas" as stipulated in Clause d, Point 1.1 of this Circular.

2\. For the people's movement to implement certain projects within national programs and projects:

Annually, based on the tasks of the People's Council of the United Front Federation at all levels in implementing national programs such as poverty reduction, prevention of social evils, HIV/AIDS prevention, drug prevention, crime prevention, and ensuring traffic safety; on the basis of proposals and budgets of the Standing Board of the United Front Federation, the Chairperson of the People's Councils at all levels shall consider allocating necessary funds according to current regulations for the United Front Federations at all levels to implement each national program.

3\. For the sudden fundraising campaigns:

3.1\. Contents of expenditure:

- Expenses for organizing the movement: Costs for information dissemination and propaganda to mobilize the people to participate in the movement.

- Expenditure for inspection and urging.

- Expenditure for mid-term and final reviews of the campaign.

- Expenditure for rewarding outstanding collectives and individuals in the campaigns.

- Other expenditures serving the campaign: transportation costs for goods, allowances for staff directly collecting money and goods donated by organizations and individuals.

3.2\. Levels of expenditure:

- The level of expenditure for meals and accommodation for delegates attending meetings to disseminate policies, mid-term and final reviews of the campaign shall be in accordance with current regulations on meeting expenses.

- The level of expenditure for rewards shall be applied according to the level of expenditure prescribed in Circular No. 25/2001/TT-BTC dated April 16, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance guiding financial management for outstanding achievements in economic and social tasks and national defense; for cases of rewards outside the scope defined in Circular No. 25/2001/TT-BTC dated April 16, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance, rewards shall be implemented according to the budget capacity allocated for the campaign at the local level, but the maximum reward amount shall not exceed the reward amount prescribed in Circular No. 25/2001/TT-BTC dated April 16, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance.

- Allowances for state civil servants directly collecting donated money and goods, overtime and night work allowances shall be applied according to the regulations on overtime pay as stipulated in Circular No. 18/LĐTBXH-TT dated June 2, 1993 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs guiding the implementation of overtime pay and night shift allowances.

- Allowances for outsourced laborers, the maximum amount shall not exceed VND 20,000 per day per person.

- Transportation costs for goods: Based on valid invoices and receipts from organizations providing transportation services.

IV\. ESTABLISHING, IMPLEMENTING, AND SETTLING BUDGET EXPENSES:

The establishment, implementation, and settlement of state budget expenses shall be carried out in accordance with the guidance provided in Circular No. 103/1998/TT-BTC dated July 18, 1998 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the decentralization, establishment, implementation, and settlement of the state budget, and current regulations on the management, use, and settlement of expenses for national programs and projects. This circular provides additional guidance on the following matters:

1- For the movement "National Solidarity to Build a Cultural Lifestyle in Residential Areas":

- Annually, along with the preparation of the budget for the next year, the Standing Board of the United Front Federation at all levels shall prepare a budget to ensure sufficient funding for the United Front Federations at all levels to organize the implementation of the "All-People Solidarity Campaign for Building a New Cultural Life in Residential Areas" according to the current financial expenditure regulations and specific expenditure levels as stipulated in Point III of this Circular, and submit it to the finance authority at the same level for review and consolidation to be submitted to the competent authority for approval to allocate into the annual budget of the United Front Federation. The Standing Board of the United Front Federation at all levels shall be responsible for settling the expenses used with the finance authority at the same level according to current regulations.

Specifically, for the expenses to implement the contents of the All-People Solidarity Campaign for Building a New Life in Residential Areas, the Standing Board of the United Front Federation at provincial and centrally-administered city levels shall prepare a budget and submit it to the People's Councils at provincial and centrally-administered city levels for approval. The People's Councils at provincial and centrally-administered city levels shall be responsible for allocating and balancing sufficient funds down to communes and wards to ensure the expenditure level as prescribed in Point III-1.2 of this Circular (VND 1 million/year/residential area). The People's Councils at commune and ward levels shall be responsible for disbursing and settling these expenses according to current regulations.

2\. For the implementation of national programs and projects: The Standing Board of the United Front Federation at all levels shall base on current regulations on expenditure contents, expenditure standards, and guidelines for preparing budgets for each national program and project to prepare a budget and submit it to the Program Management Board under the central ministries and agencies (for the central level) and the Program Management Board at provincial and centrally-administered city levels (for the local level). When allocating program and project budgets, the Program Management Board and the People's Councils at local levels shall consider the proposals of the United Front Federation to allocate appropriate funds in line with the program and project contents while guiding the United Front Federations at all levels to comply with the regulations on using funds for each national program and project.

3\. For sudden fundraising campaigns:

- When launching a sudden fundraising campaign, based on the expenditure contents and levels prescribed in Point III above, the Standing Board of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front shall prepare a budget for each campaign, including detailed allocations for localities, and submit it to the Ministry of Finance for review and submission to the competent authority for approval of the budget to implement the campaign. The Standing Board of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front shall be responsible for allocating and guiding localities to use the allocated funds effectively and economically for their intended purposes.

- Based on the budget allocations for localities by the Standing Board of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Ministry of Finance shall implement the allocation of funds to localities to organize the implementation of the campaign. At the end of the fundraising campaign, the Standing Board of the United Front Federation at all levels shall be responsible for settling the expenses used with the finance authority at the same level according to current regulations.

On the basis of the volume of work that needs to be implemented and the amount of funds allocated by the Standing Board of the Central Steering Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front to the locality, in accordance with the guidance on the use of funds issued by the Standing Board of the Central Steering Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Standing Board of the Provincial People's Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front shall propose a plan for allocating funds to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees at the district, county, town level; commune, ward, town level for submission to the People's Committee of the province, centrally governed city for approval as the basis for allocating and disbursing funds to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees at the district, county, town level; commune, ward, town level for implementation.

- At the conclusion of the fundraising campaign, the Standing Board of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees at all levels shall be responsible for settling accounts for the funds used with the financial authorities at the same level according to current regulations. The Standing Board of the Central Steering Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front shall be responsible for compiling the total expenses incurred for organizing the fundraising campaign to report to the Prime Minister and send to the Ministry of Finance for monitoring.

V. IMPLEMENTATION

- Financial authorities at all levels shall periodically and urgently conduct inspections of the allocation, management, and use of funds to ensure that the funds used for campaigns are in line with their intended purposes and are effectively utilized.

- The Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front shall be responsible for coordinating with financial authorities at all levels to inspect and guide the use of funds for campaigns in accordance with the prescribed content and regulations.

This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of signature and shall replace Circular No. 71/1999/TTLT/BTC-MTTQTW dated June 11, 1999, jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front. Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Finance and the Standing Board of the Central Steering Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front for consideration and resolution.