NA demands termination of unapproved projects

 National Assembly (NA) members debated a proposed law on state investment projects on Friday, demanding an end to projects that deviate from the assembly’s approved plans.Most members agreed government funded projects that did not get state approval had been an unnecessary drain on the national budget and had undermined the role of the NA in approving such projects. NA  member  for Savannakhet  province  Dr khampheui  Chanthachone said unapproved projects involving roads, water supply, irrigation and other infrastructure had been implemented in many provinces simply because people in positions of power had ordered them. “The new law needs to have measures to prohibit this,” he said. NA member for Vientiane Somvandy Nathavong said the new law should stipulate increased responsibility on the part of local authorities “People who carry out unapproved projects should assume the responsibility for them and cover any costs personally. Money for these projects should not come from the government,” he said. National Assembly Vice President Dr Xaysomphone Phomvihane said any projects that did not have the assembly’s approval was considered illegal. “In the past, we have just warned those who violated the law. At this point, we have ordered the closure of unapproved projects, but have not yet taken any legal action,” he said. Dr Xaysomphone said the new law aimed to stop people from implementing projects without the assembly’s approval. NA members would decide on whether to bring violators of the law to trial at the completion of the debate. He said the role of the NA mostly involved approving government and state socio-economic   development projects, but the methods used to monitor the implementation of these projects were insufficient. Most assembly members agreed the government had invested large amounts of money in infrastructure development to alleviate poverty, but the effectiveness of these projects had not met expectations. Problems with the system of companies bidding for projects were also highlighted. Some projects could not attract bidders to complete them. Some passed the bidding process but lacked the necessary transparency, said assembly members. Some winning bidders had also sold their projects to other companies at a profit and members said the new law needed to remove these loopholes. Assembly members also said the allocation of government funds was not sufficiently balanced between urban and rural areas and there was no centralized management system for government-owned projects, making project monitoring difficult. Minister of Planning and Investment Dr Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune said the state investment law should better manage government run projects. The law comprises eight parts and 82 articles. He said one problem was that a certain amount of money was invested in a project but often the actual cost of the project turned out to be higher due to a lack of legislation to control and monitor projects.