‘Overstepping’ Central Ministries, Gia Lai Illegitimately Approves 53 Mineral Mines

The Government Inspectorate has issued Conclusion No. 263, dated July 19, on the inspection results of the responsibilities of the People’s Committee of Gia Lai province in the management and use of land with origins from agricultural and forestry farms, as well as sand, soil, and gravel extraction activities and investment construction management in the province.

Wastefulness in Public Investment

Conclusion 263 has pointed out a series of violations in various fields in Gia Lai province during the 2016-2020 period, notably in public investment management. Specifically, in the implementation process, the People’s Committee was slow to develop documents announcing material prices in the province, causing difficulties in preparing investment project estimates; and slow in issuing directives and urging the implementation of bidding through the network according to the prescribed roadmap. The People’s Committee also loosened management, lacked inspection, and failed to direct the implementation of the construction of a detailed plan for monitoring, supervising, and inspecting bidding activities as prescribed.

For example, in the formulation, appraisal, and approval of the medium-term public investment plan, the decision on investment policy, and the investment decision of some projects were not realistic, posing a risk of wasting resources. Typically, the project to renovate the headquarters of the Provincial Party Committee of Gia Lai had an unrealistic cost estimate, and during the implementation process in 2017, the scale had to be adjusted, increasing the total investment from VND 25 billion to VND 43 billion, causing wastefulness.

The project to channel water from Ho Mnui Lake (Dun commune, Chu Se district) incurred costs for the formulation, appraisal, and project management but did not include compensation for site clearance costs, demonstrating a lack of responsibility, which led to the project not being implemented due to the unavailability of the cleared site.

In particular, the Djang Irrigation Project (Kbang district) was approved by the People’s Committee in 2017 with an unrealistic investment policy, demonstrating a lack of responsibility, which led to the suspension of the project as the project area affected 4.3 hectares of protective forest.

The allocation and arrangement of medium-term public investment capital for the period of 2016-2020 were slow, inadequate, and delivered in multiple batches, which were not realistic. During this phase, the medium-term public investment plan had to be adjusted and supplemented eight times, but the total allocated capital was still insufficient compared to the approved plan by VND 1,518 billion.

Especially, the approval of investment projects in a scattered manner has led to difficulties in implementation due to the imbalance of capital sources, resulting in 32 projects falling behind schedule and being left unfinished due to capital shortages. These projects, with a total capital of VND 1,931 billion, have been transferred to the 2021-2025 period, posing a risk of wasting the state budget due to fluctuations in the prices of raw materials and labor.

In addition, the project to build a retaining wall along Hoi Phu stream, implemented by the Management Board of Investment and Construction Project of Pleiku city as the investor, also encountered violations. Specifically, for Package No. 1 (section Km1+440 – Km 1+760), the investor agreed to allow Trung Kien Co., Ltd. to sign a subcontract worth more than VND 23.2 billion (equivalent to 70% of the value of the contract performed by Trung Kien Co., Ltd.), violating the prohibited acts in bidding. Some winning bidders also forged similar contracts to participate in bidding and won.

Arbitrary Mine Licensing

Conclusion No. 263 also pointed out many violations in sand, soil, and gravel extraction activities. Accordingly, in the period of 2016-2020, the People’s Committee organized auctions for mining rights for 74 mine areas (16 mines for construction stones, 39 sand mines, 8 filling soil mines, 9 clay mines, and 2 peat mines). There are still 206 mines in the province that have been planned but not yet licensed. However, in this period, the People’s Committee approved the addition of exploration and mining plans for 53 mines without obtaining the opinions of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and related ministries and branches, which is a violation of regulations. The compliance with the information reporting regime on mineral activity results of the People’s Committee (in 2019 and 2020) to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is still not in accordance with the regulations, violating the Government’s Decree No. 158/2016.

As of June 30, 2021 (according to the report of the Provincial Tax Department), there were seven units in the province that owed more than VND 15 billion in mining license fees, but the competent authorities had not yet taken measures to urge and collect them into the state budget.

Notably, after being licensed, a sand mine project did not sell sand to serve the construction of the Ho Chi Minh Highway, the section of the road bypassing Pleiku city as prescribed in the approved policy, but sold it to other construction projects, which was not in line with the approved policy and license, causing a waste of mineral resources.

At a land plot (in Ia Sao commune, Ayun Pa town) adjacent to a clay mine of Phu Bon Joint Stock Company, there was an area of about 3.3 hectares of clay (not yet licensed by the provincial People’s Committee for exploitation) that had been illegally exploited. Of which, an area of 9,167 square meters had been exploited by Hoang Khanh One-Member Limited Liability Company, and about 2.4 hectares had been exploited for many years to serve the construction of works in the area.

Through a series of violations, the Government Inspectorate proposed that the Prime Minister direct the pointing out and handling of the responsibilities of the collective and individuals who are leaders of the People’s Committee of Gia Lai province in the 2016-2020 term and related periods for the shortcomings, shortcomings, and violations related to the management and direction responsibilities mentioned in the Conclusion. The Inspectorate also requested that the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee promptly direct the implementation of remedies and handle the existing violations in accordance with regulations, and report the results to the Government Inspectorate.