Joint Circular No. 03/1999/TTLT/BKH-NN guiding the implementation of the National Target Program for Rural Clean Water and Environmental Sanitation

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing the National Target Program on Rural Clean Water and Environmental Sanitation
(Pursuant to Decision No. 237/1998/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister)

On the basis of Decision No. 237/1998/QĐ-TTg dated December 3, 1998 of the Prime Minister approving the National Target Program on Rural Clean Water and Environmental Sanitation; Decision No. 531/TTg dated August 8, 1996 of the Prime Minister on managing national programs;

Decision No. 05/1998/QĐ-TTg dated January 14, 1998 of the Prime Minister on managing national target programs;

In order to effectively implement the National Target Program on Rural Clean Water and Environmental Sanitation (NSVSMTNT), the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development hereby provide guidance on the following points:

I. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM

1- By the year 2000: Increase the proportion of people using clean water to about 45%; Improve environmental sanitation, prioritizing border areas, islands, ethnic minority regions, and other rural areas with difficulties.

2- By the year 2005: Approximately 80% of the rural population will have access to clean water; 50% of households will have sanitary latrines; 30% of livestock shelters and 10% of rural craft villages will be able to treat waste. The majority of rural schools, hospitals, health stations, markets, and other public facilities will have clean water and maintain a clean environment, with most rural residents practicing good personal hygiene.

3- Contribute to preventing depletion, pollution, and protecting the quality of water sources.

II. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

- The State creates a legal environment including planning, technology, models, communication, and training to enable the people to take the lead, with the State supporting investment in border areas, islands, ethnic minority regions, and other rural areas with difficulties, and formulating appropriate mechanisms and policies to encourage private sectors and enterprises to invest in building rural clean water and sanitation facilities in various forms to socialize the provision of clean water and environmental sanitation in rural areas.

- Provincial People's Committees manage and mobilize resources including tax revenues from agricultural land retained by localities, international organization funds, integration of economic and social development programs, mobilization of resources from individuals and organizations within the province, and all strata of the population to effectively achieve the program's objectives; Incorporate the goals and solutions for providing clean water and environmental sanitation in rural areas into the overall goals of annual socio-economic development plans at the local level.

- Investment and construction of projects must be conducted openly and democratically, involving discussions and participation of beneficiaries from the planning, design, construction, management, operation, and maintenance phases to ensure the sustainability of the project.

III. SCOPE OF THE PROGRAM

To ensure the provision of clean water and improvement of environmental sanitation in rural areas in accordance with the targets approved by the Government, including:

- Management and investment in constructing water supply facilities serving rural communities;

- Management and investment in constructing facilities related to the treatment of human and animal waste such as sanitary latrines, livestock shelters, and waste treatment in rural craft villages;

- Contributing to the protection of water sources, preventing depletion and pollution during exploitation and use, ensuring the preservation of environmental hygiene and landscape.

The program is implemented for rural areas including towns with a population of less than 30,000 people (in accordance with the National Strategy on Rural Water Supply and Sanitation).

IV. CONTENT OF INVESTMENT

1- Sources of investment capital for the program and principles of use:

a) Sources of investment capital for the program include:

- Budget funds; central budget, local budget, and funds from other target programs integrated within the area;

- International funds: sources from international organizations providing assistance to the program under signed agreements, sources from non-governmental organizations (NGOs);

- Credit funds: the State provides loans at preferential interest rates for investment in water supply and sanitation construction projects;

- People's funds: mobilizing contributions from the public according to the provisions set forth in Circular Joint No. 103/1999/TTLT/BTC-NN and PTNT dated August 21, 1999 issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and funds from individuals and organizations participating in investment contributions to the program;

- Self-investment funds of the people.

b) Use of capital sources:

b.1) Budget funds (central, local, and international aid), mainly implement:

- Developing planning for rural clean water supply and environmental sanitation;

- Propaganda and mobilization of the entire population to participate in the implementation of the program;

- Training to enhance the capacity of cadres participating in the National Target Program on Clean Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation in rural areas and the needs of the people;

- Research, application, and transfer of technology, provision of new materials and equipment for rural water supply and environmental sanitation;

- Establishing mechanisms and policies to implement the program;

- Supporting funding to build pilot models;

- Matching with international aid funds;

- Supporting funding for the construction of water supply and environmental sanitation facilities in border areas, islands, ethnic minority regions, and other difficult rural areas.

b.2) People's funds and credit funds: mainly implement the construction of projects in various forms such as:

- Contributing part of the funding to invest in water supply and sanitation projects with state support and international organizations;

- Investing in the construction of projects for water supply and environmental sanitation services in rural areas for business purposes;

- Investing in the construction, operation, and transfer of rural water supply and environmental sanitation projects under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model;

- Other investment forms.

2- Investment projects: Including centralized water supply works, decentralized water supply works, environmental sanitation works at village, commune, or inter-commune levels, and other rural clean water and environmental sanitation projects.

3- Project investors: Depending on the scale and nature of each project, the People's Committee of the province, ministries, and sectors participating in the program decide that the People's Committee of the commune, the People's Committee of the district, or specialized agencies shall be the project investors.

4- Project development, review, and approval:

The establishment and approval of investment projects shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations on investment management and construction;

After the investment project is approved, the Provincial Steering Committee (or Provincial Steering Board) of the program sends it to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (National Target Program Steering Board on Clean Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation in rural areas) for consolidation to serve as the basis for compiling the annual investment plan;

V. INVESTMENT MECHANISM

1- Investments and constructions must be based on projects, wherein:

a) For projects in particularly difficult communes, they are implemented in accordance with Joint Circular No. 416/1999/TTLT/BKH-UBDTMN-TCTX dated April 29, 1999 on the management of investment and construction of infrastructure projects in particularly difficult mountainous and remote communes.

b) For projects in other areas, they are implemented in accordance with current regulations on basic construction investment management (Government Decree No. 52/1999/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 1999 on investment and construction management).

2- The level of state investment support for projects is implemented in accordance with Joint Circular No. 103/1999/TTLT/BTC-NN&PTNT of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on guiding the management, allocation, and settlement of expenses for the National Program on Rural Clean Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation.

VI. PLANNING WORK

1- Building and consolidating plans:

a) Investments are based on projects approved by competent authorities;

b) Annually, following the guidance of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces and cities (referred to as provinces), and the Heads of ministries and sectors participating in the program must evaluate the implementation of the plan for the year, report, and propose the demand for the next year's plan to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Finance;

c) Based on the objectives of the program, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development consolidates and proposes the goals, tasks, and investment capital requirements for the program for the next year's plan, including state capital (development investment capital, public service capital, credit capital, international aid capital), people's contribution capital, and capital raised from organizations and individuals, submitted to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance (accompanied by a capital investment allocation table, program goals, and tasks for provinces, ministries, and sectors participating in the program).

2- Assigning plans:

a) The Prime Minister assigns the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People's Committees of provinces, ministries, and sectors participating in the program the total state capital of the program for the next year's plan (budget capital, credit capital, international organization aid capital);

b) The Prime Minister delegates the Minister of Planning and Investment to assign annual plans to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the People's Committees of provinces, and participating ministries and sectors regarding targets, tasks, investment capital structure, and project list (state budget capital support), while informing the consolidated program plan to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as the basis for directing;

c) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development does not assign plans to vertical systems at the local level but only guides professional practices, technical solutions, and mechanisms and policies to implement the plan.

d) The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Heads of Ministries and sectors participating in the program shall detail and assign specific targets to each project for units with the following contents:

- List of projects, objectives and tasks of each project.

- Implementation funds: total investment capital and structure of investment sources to implement the program (state budget capital, credit capital, international aid capital, capital from organizations and individuals, contributions from the people).

VII. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

- Based on this Circular, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall establish mechanisms and policies suitable to the specific characteristics and circumstances of the locality to mobilize all resources to achieve the goals of the Program.

- Ministries and levels shall organize guidance, inspection, supervision, and urging implementation in accordance with the spirit and content of this Circular according to their functions.

- This Circular takes effect from the date of signature. During the implementation process, if there are any unsuitable aspects, please reflect them back to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for further study and supplementation.