Lou Jiwei: vigorously support the construction of major water conservancy projects

"the Ministry of Finance will conscientiously implement the national water control strategy and the requirements of the relevant resolutions of the National people's Congress, earnestly change its functions, comprehensively deepen reform, strive to remove institutional and institutional obstacles to water conservancy construction and development, and strive to build a long-term mechanism for financial guarantee for water conservancy development." Finance Minister Lou Jiwei pointed out yesterday when he delivered a report by the State Council on the input and use of state financial water conservancy funds at the 12th meeting of the standing Committee of the 12th National people's Congress.

Lou Jiwei said: in recent years, the use and management of financial water conservancy funds is generally good, but there are still the following major problems: first, the system and mechanism of water conservancy investment and financing is not perfect. Public water conservancy facilities still rely mainly on financial input, and the market-oriented investment and financing mechanism of water conservancy has not been fully established. Second, the multi-head management of funds in some areas. Especially in the rural water conservancy construction, there are many capital channels and management departments involved, and the cross-duplication and dispersion of funds make the use of funds coexist, which affects the overall efficiency of the use of funds. Third, the investment control of some large and medium-sized water conservancy projects is lax. The construction period of large and medium-sized water conservancy projects is long, and there are many unforeseeable factors. due to the rising prices and policy adjustment during the construction period, the actual (financial) international investment of some large and medium-sized water conservancy projects exceeds the budget estimate. Fourth, the phenomenon of "rebuilding light tube" still exists. Some water conservancy projects, especially the rural water conservancy projects with a wide range of areas, are not in place for management and maintenance after construction, and some facilities have the phenomena of silting and damage, functional decline and so on. Fifth, some funds are used in violation of rules and regulations. Some cadres have interfered in the construction of engineering projects in violation of discipline, and some project funds have been squeezed, misappropriated, and expropriated.

The main reasons for the above problems are that the relationship between the government and the market is not completely straightened out, the central and local water conservancy expenditure responsibilities are not clear, the overall planning and management coordination is not enough, the performance management system needs to be improved, and the reform in some water conservancy fields lags behind.

Lou Jiwei said that the Ministry of Finance has six main work plans for the next step:

The first is to straighten out the relationship between the government and the market. While continuing to adhere to the government-led management of water conservancy, we should speed up the establishment of a mechanism for the organic combination of the government and the market, and give full play to the role of the market mechanism.

The second is to study and define the expenditure responsibility of the central and local governments. On the basis of studying and clarifying the power of the central government, the local government, and the common power of the central and local governments, we should further clarify the respective responsibilities of the central and local governments, as well as the shared responsibility for expenditure.

The third is to improve the budget management mechanism of financial water conservancy funds. Including optimizing the transfer payment system; improving budget management and control; strengthening the performance management of financial water conservancy funds. Strengthen the awareness of expenditure responsibility and efficiency, improve the budget performance management system and mechanism, and comprehensively promote budget performance management.

The fourth is to optimize the expenditure structure of financial water conservancy funds. Including vigorously supporting the construction of major water conservancy projects; vigorously supporting the construction of water conservancy projects for people's livelihood; vigorously supporting the construction of ecological civilization; and steadily promoting the comprehensive management of groundwater overexploitation.

Fifth, support to speed up the reform of key areas of water conservancy. Including speeding up the improvement of irrigation and water conservancy construction and management and protection mechanism; accelerating the reform of agricultural water price; speeding up the establishment of ecological compensation mechanism; supporting and promoting the establishment of water rights system.

Sixth, improve and strengthen the supervision of financial water conservancy funds. Including further improving the system; further improving the allocation of funds and project management; vigorously promoting information disclosure; strengthening supervision and inspection. We will establish and improve the risk prevention and control mechanism for the allocation and use of water conservancy funds, and strengthen the monitoring of key risk links and areas. Strengthen audit supervision, financial supervision and water conservancy inspection, and give further play to the role of social supervision. We will step up inspection of key areas and key projects, strengthen supervision over the use of funds at the grass-roots level, and prominently solve the problems of misappropriation, misappropriation and expropriation of funds.

(Securities Times Network Express Center)