Joint Circular No. 50/TT-LB guiding the management, allocation, and use of capital to support ethnic minorities, particularly the Khmer and Cham ethnic groups, facing special difficulties.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Circular No. 50/TT/LB OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR ETHNIC MINORITIES AND MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS ON GUIDELINES FOR MANAGEMENT, DISTRIBUTION, AND USE OF FUNDS TO SUPPORT ETHNIC MINORITIES IN DIFFICULT CONDITIONS 

To implement Resolution No. 22/NQTW dated November 27, 1989 of the Central Party Committee on major policies for economic and social development in mountainous regions, Decision No. 72/HĐBT dated May 13, 1990 of the Council of Ministers on specific policies for economic and social development in mountainous regions.

To ensure that funds from the State Budget allocated to support ethnic minorities, particularly Cham and Khmer minorities in difficult conditions, are used for their intended purposes and with effectiveness; the Ministry of Finance and National Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Regions provide guidelines for managing, distributing, and using these funds as follows:

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES:

1. Funds to support ethnic minorities, particularly Cham and Khmer minorities in difficult conditions, are State Budget funds aimed at helping these minorities stabilize their lives and gradually integrate into the local community. These funds must be directly invested in households; the scope of support includes:

- Support for living expenses

- Support for production development in the form of low-interest or interest-free loans.

2. Annually, funds to support ethnic minorities, particularly Cham and Khmer minorities in difficult conditions, are balanced into the provincial budget by the Provincial Department of Finance and Prices, distributed through the State Treasury system, and directly provided to households. The expenditure of these funds must be settled according to current regulations.

3. The National Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Regions is responsible for guiding, inspecting, and supervising the use of funds to support ethnic minorities in difficult conditions in various localities, ensuring that the funds are used for their intended purposes, effectively, and in accordance with established regulations.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

1. Objectives, contents, and levels of expenditure:

Funds to support ethnic minorities, particularly Cham and Khmer minorities in difficult conditions, aim to help these minorities stabilize their lives and gradually integrate into the local community. The main contents and levels of expenditure include:

- Support for living expenses for extremely poor households without sufficient food or essential household items such as clothing, bedding, pots, knives, spades... Each household will receive support ranging from 200,000 VND to 300,000 VND.

- Support for production development including provision of seedlings, livestock, construction of household gardens, small-scale production and processing...

To maximize the benefits of the supported capital, production support funds may be applied in the form of low-interest (0.3%/month) or interest-free loans.

+ The maximum loan amount with an interest rate of 0.3%/month is 1.5 million VND per household, with a repayment period not exceeding two years.

+ The maximum interest-free loan amount is 1 million VND per household, with a repayment period not exceeding one year. The target group for interest-free loans is households in extremely difficult circumstances without means of production. The target group for low-interest loans is households with means of production but lacking capital to develop production.

2. Planning, allocation, and distribution of funds:

a) Planning and allocation of funds:

Each year, based on the specific situation of ethnic minorities, particularly Cham and Khmer minorities in difficult conditions, the Ethnic Minority Committee or the organization responsible for ethnic minority affairs in the province prepares a budget estimate for supporting these minorities, which is sent to the Provincial Department of Finance and Prices and the Provincial Planning Committee for consolidation and submission to the Provincial People's Committee for approval and forwarding to the National Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Regions. The National Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Regions consolidates and prepares a budget estimate for supporting ethnic minorities in difficult conditions, which is submitted to the Ministry of Finance and the State Planning Commission for approval by the Prime Minister and allocation of annual budget targets and tasks to each locality.

Based on the allocated funds for supporting ethnic minorities in difficult conditions, the Ethnic Minority Committee or the organization responsible for ethnic minority affairs in the province prepares a budget allocation plan for each district according to the above contents, which is sent to the Provincial Department of Finance and Prices and the Provincial Planning Committee for consolidation and submission to the Provincial People's Committee for approval and allocation to each district.

b) Regulations for fund distribution:

- For living support funds:

The examination and support for households of ethnic minorities in extremely difficult conditions should be organized through public evaluation, with proposals from the District People's Committee, opinions from the United Front Organization at the county level, and approval by the Chairman of the District People's Committee.

- For production support funds:

Households requiring production loans must submit a loan application detailing the purpose, amount requested, and repayment period (including interest if applicable), which should be evaluated through public consultation, with proposals from the District People's Committee, the United Front Organization at the county level, the Branch of the State Treasury at the county level, and approval by the Chairman of the District People's Committee.

c) Fund distribution:

Based on the approved allocation of funds for supporting ethnic minorities in difficult conditions, the Provincial Department of Finance and Prices organizes direct distribution of living support funds and distribution through the State Treasury system for production support funds, which are then lent to eligible recipients listed in the approved list by the District People's Committee.

For production support funds, apart from the aforementioned criteria, the State Treasury implements distribution and lending according to the existing job creation loan mechanism. The State Treasury has the authority to suspend fund distribution and lending upon discovering misuse of funds.

3. Repayment of loans, extension of repayment periods, and reduction or exemption of loan debts:

Upon maturity, borrowers must repay the full loan amount and interest (if applicable) to the State Treasury where the loan was taken out. In cases where borrowers cannot repay due to natural disasters, epidemics, etc., leading to reduced income, they must apply for an extension of the repayment period or request partial or full debt relief. The decision to extend the repayment period or grant partial or full debt relief is made by the Chairman of the District People's Committee.

In cases where borrowers are unable to repay due to natural disasters, epidemics, etc., leading to reduced income, they must apply for an extension of the repayment period or request partial or full debt relief. The decision to extend the repayment period or grant partial or full debt relief is made by the Chairman of the District People's Committee.

The recovered loan principal and interest (if any) shall be retained by the province to serve as capital for continued lending to other households to support their livelihoods.

4. Reporting and settlement of funds:

The State Treasury shall maintain accounting records to track the amount of support funds provided to ethnic minorities in difficulty; at the end of each quarter and year, it shall prepare reports on the settlement of support funds for ethnic minorities in difficulty and submit them to the Department of Finance and Prices.

The Department of Finance and Prices shall be responsible for reviewing and approving the settlement of support funds for ethnic minorities in difficulty according to current regulations on review and approval of settlements, reporting to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, while also sending the report to the Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas Commission for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister, and simultaneously sending to the Ministry of Finance and the National Planning Commission.

5. The Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas Commission, based on the specific situation of each locality during each period, shall guide localities in effectively implementing special support funds for particularly difficult ethnic minorities, conducting inspections and supervision to ensure that the funds are used for their intended purposes, efficiently and practically, reaching every household.

6. In the implementation of organizing the provision of support funds for ethnic minorities in difficulty, there are some emerging tasks such as holding meetings to disseminate and implement policies, discussing measures to implement, preparing allocation plans, maintaining accounting records and forms to monitor and manage, organizing inspection teams, supervising, evaluating, etc.; therefore, a certain amount of funds is needed to ensure these activities. The Joint Ministries have agreed that the expenditure levels for these activities from the fund of 500 million dong and above shall be 2%, below 500 million dong shall be 3% of the actual loan amount, calculated within the total source of special support funds for particularly difficult ethnic minorities, and shall be assigned to the Department of Finance and Prices to base on the workload, prepare budgets to submit to the Provincial People's Committee for supplementary funding for each implementing unit.

III. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS:

This Circular takes effect from January 1, 1995. During the implementation process, if any issues arise, please reflect them back to the Joint Ministries for consideration and adjustment to make them appropriate./.