THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 86/2003/ND-CP of July 18, 2003 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 17/2001/ND-CP of May 4, 2001 promulgating the Regulation on management and use of official development assistance sources; the Prime Minister's Decision No. 64/2001/QD-TTg of April 26, 2001 promulgating the Regulation on management and use of foreign non-governmental aid and Decision No. 112/2001/QD-TTg of August 21, 2001 on organization and management of international conferences and seminars in Vietnam;

At the proposals of the director of the Office, the director of the International Cooperation Department and the director of the Organization and Personnel Department,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To promulgate together with this Decision the Regulation on management and use of foreign assistance sources in the agriculture and rural development branch, consisting of 7 chapters, 29 articles.

Article 2.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and replaces Decision No. 132/1999/QD-BNN-HTQT of September 22, 1999 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development promulgating the Regulation on management of programs and projects using foreign assistance sources, which fall under the responsibilities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 3.- The director of the Office, the director of the International Cooperation Department, and the heads of the concerned units shall have to implement this Decision.

Acting Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
CAO DUC PHAT

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Scope of regulation

1. This Regulation applies to activities of attracting, managing and using foreign official development assistance (referred to as ODA for short), non-governmental aid (referred to as NGO aid for short) and non-project aid forms (of a non-commercial nature) under the management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. Foreign direct investment projects (referred to as FDI projects for short), shall not subject to the application of this Regulation.

Article 2.- Subjects of application

All units attached to the Ministry (Departments, Inspectorate and Office) and units under the Ministry (Departments, Institutes, Schools, Gardens, Centers), hereinafter collectively referred to as units, and localities which manage and use foreign ODA, NGO aid and non-project aid forms managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 3.- Interpretation of terms

In this Regulation, some terms are construed as follows:

1. "Program" means a combination of activities, projects which are organically interrelated and may relate to many different economic, technical branches, many territorial areas and subjects, are implemented through inter-disciplinary approaches, have a relatively long implementation period or many implementation stages and may possibly mobilize resources for their implementation from different sources by different modes.

2. "Project" means a combination of interrelated activities which aim to achieve one or a number of specified objectives, are carried out within a specified period and on the basis of specified resources. Projects include investment projects, technical assistance projects and bilateral scientific and technical research cooperation projects.

3. "Investment project" means a project on creation, expansion (upgrading) or renovation of certain material foundations aiming to achieve a quantitative growth or to maintain, improve or raise the quality of products or services within a specified period.

4. "Technical assistance project" means a project focussing mainly on the provision of soft technical elements. Technical assistance projects include projects on development of institutional capacity, development of human resources, technology transfer or knowledge, experience transfer, supply of input technical elements in preparation for, and implementation of, investment programs or projects.

5. "ODA program or project" means a program or project using official development assistance sources.

6. "ODA international agreement" means a written agreement signed between a representative authorized by the State or a competent agency of the Vietnamese Government and a representative of a donor on ODA-related matters. ODA international agreements include agreements, protocols, program or project documents, and documents of equivalent validity exchanged between the involved parties.

7. "Investment manager" (also called program- or project-managing agency) means the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with regard to programs, projects which are directly implemented by the units attached to or under the Ministry and projects which belong to the branch and are assigned by the Government to the Ministry for management and implementation.

8. "Project owner" (also called program or project owner) means a unit attached to or under the Ministry or a locality assigned by the Ministry to directly manage and use the capital sources of donors and reciprocal capital source for the implementation of programs and/or projects according to the approved contents.

9. "Program or project management board" (called "project management board" for short) or "project office" means an agency representing the project owner, having full powers to perform on the project owner's behalf the assigned powers and tasks from the project commencement to completion, including also the financial settlement, pre-acceptance examination, hand-over and commission of the project.

10. "Head of the project management board" (called "project director" for short) means the person who heads the project management board, represents the project owner (and project manager) in managing and administering the program's or project's activities; being accountable to the project owner for all activities and results of implementation of the program or project; and answerable to the project owner and before law for their acts.

11. "Program or project executive board" or also called "program or project steering committee" (called the project executive board for short), consists of representatives of the concerned agencies of different branches, is established to assist the managing agency in steering project implementation activities, considering and proposing competent authorities to approve the project's adjustments.

12. "Reciprocal capital" means the value of resources (cash, kind, labor) domestically mobilized for preparing and implementing ODA programs or projects according to their requirements.

13. "Agreement on foreign non-governmental aid" means a document recorded with the initial intention (not legally bound) on foreign non-governmental aid amounts between the representatives of the Vietnamese side and the donor.

14. "Foreign non-governmental aid project (program, project) document" means an official document expressing the commitment between the representatives of the Vietnamese side and the donor on a specific program or project, clearly stating the objectives, activities and results to be achieved, resources to be used, implementation period and plan, and the involved parties' obligations, interests and responsibilities.

15. "Non-project aid" means aid not belonging to any program or project, which is provided in the forms of direct assistance for the branch budget, package aid, aid through entrusted funds, in kind (goods, supplies, equipment), cash or specialists (including voluntary specialists); non-project aid amounts for researches, conferences, seminars, training workshops, experience learning and for humanitarian and charity purposes (called collectively humanitarian aid).

16. "Emergency relief" means an aid belonging to non-project aid, urgently donated immediately after the occurrence of emergency circumstances (natural calamities or other disasters) and lasting for no more than 2 months from the end of emergency circumstances. Past this time limit, if this aid is still continued, it shall be regarded as aid for overcoming consequences following emergency circumstances.

17. "Investment Management Regulation" means the Investment and Construction Management Regulation promulgated together with the Government's Decree No. 52/1999/ND-CP of July 8, 1999, which have a number or articles amended and supplemented in the Government's Decree No. 12/2000/ND-CP of May 5, 2000 and Decree No. 07/2003/ND-CP of January 30, 2003.

18. "Bidding Regulation" means the Bidding Regulation promulgated together with the Government's Decree No. 88/1999/ND-CP of September 1, 1999, which have a number or articles amended and supplemented in the Government's Decree No. 14/2000/ND-CP of May 5, 2000 and Decree No. 66/2003/ND-CP of June 12, 2003.

19. "ODA Management Regulation" means the Official Development Assistance Management and Use Regulation promulgated together with the Government's Decree No. 17/2001/ND-CP of May 4, 2001.

20. "NGO Aid Management Regulation" means the Foreign Non-Governmental Aid Management and Use Regulation promulgated together with the Prime Minister's Decision No. 64/2001/QD-TTg of April 25, 2001.

Article 4.- Foreign assistance sources

1. Official development assistance and other sources supported by foreign organizations and individuals for the agriculture and rural development branch in the form of programs and projects include:

a/ Non-refundable aid;

b/ Concessional loans such as loans which bear no interests but only service and commitment charges, have low interest rates or are a combination of loans with low interest rates and average interests rates, a grace period and a long maturity.

2. Foreign non-project aid sources take the form of financial support (in foreign currencies or Vietnam dong), supply of equipment and technology (machinery, operation know-how), supplies (goods, plant seeds, animal seeds, and living things), research & development, technical assistance, specialists, training, and emergency relief.

Article 5.- Principles for attraction, management and use of foreign assistance sources

1. Foreign assistance sources constitute an important capital source of the State budget, used to support the achievement of priority objectives of building and developing the agriculture and rural development branch.

2. The mobilization, attraction and use of foreign assistance sources for the agriculture and rural development branch shall be uniformly managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development from the central to local levels nationwide.

3. The process of mobilizing, attracting and using foreign assistance sources must be participated by the concerned units, local administrations and people benefiting from the projects, ensure publicity and transparency of the powers and responsibilities of the concerned parties, and secure the harmony between the assistance principles and procedures of the Vietnamese side and the donors.

4. The attraction, management and use of foreign assistance sources must comply with the State Budget Law, the Official Assistance Development Management and Use Regulation (ODA Management Regulation), Foreign Non- Governmental Management and Use Regulation, (NGO Aid Management Regulation), the Foreign Debt Borrowing and Repayment Management Regulation, and the State's current financial management regimes. Where international agreements already signed between the Vietnamese Government and the donors contain provisions different from those of this Regulation, the provisions of such international agreements shall apply.

Chapter II

IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITY PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS FOR WHICH FOREIGN ASSISTANCE SOURCES NEED TO BE MOBILIZED AND ATTRACTED

Article 6.- Proposition of programs and projects for which foreign assistance sources need to be attracted and mobilized

In the fourth week of June every year, on the basis of the branch's socio-economic development plannings and plans (annual, five-year and 10-year) as well as their respective tasks, units and localities shall take initiatives in proposing the lists of priority programs and projects for which foreign assistance sources need to be mobilized and attracted and prepare project registration cards (outlines), send them to the International Cooperation Department and the Planning Department for synthesis and submission to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 7.- Selection of priority programs and projects for attraction and mobilization of foreign assistance sources

1. Priority fields for mobilization of financial sources:

On the basis of the branch development strategy and planning, annually the Planning Department shall submit to the Minister for determination the branch's priority fields for mobilization of foreign assistance sources, and publicize them as a basis for the consideration and selection of programs and projects.

2. Steps of selection of priority programs and projects:

a/ Before August 10 every year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall set up a council for consideration and selection of the branch's priority programs and projects for mobilization of foreign assistance sources.

A consideration and selection council shall be composed of representatives of the leaders of the functional departments and specialized management departments, have a vice minister as its head and the International Cooperation Department as its standing body.

The tasks, powers and operating duration of the council are inscribed in its establishment decision.

b/ In the third week of September every year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall have a meeting of its leadership to discuss and approve the branch's list of priority programs and projects and send to the Ministry of Planning and Investment the registration documents (enclosed with the outlines of all programs and projects as prescribed in Appendix 2 to Circular No. 06/2001/TT-BKH of September 20, 2001 of the Ministry of Planning and Investment).

c/ Meetings on coordination of foreign donors for programs and projects of the agriculture and rural development branch shall be organized once every year.

3. For emergency aid amounts donated for overcoming the consequences of natural calamities, floods or aid amounts not on the priority list already approved by the Government, units and localities shall submit reports thereon to the Minister for further reporting to the Government for consideration and approval.

4. For aid sources negotiated between units themselves and foreign counterparts for the units' scientific researches and experiments, their heads shall select and decide them on their own and take personal responsibility therefor. The results of negotiations on programs and projects must be reported in writing to the Ministry according to the provisions of the Government's ODA Management Regulation, the Prime Minister's NGO Aid Management Regulation, and guiding documents of the Ministry of Finance and concerned ministries and branches.

Article 8.- Issuance of codes of programs and projects belonging to the branch

Programs and projects, after being included in the list of the branch's priority programs and projects must register project codes with the Ministry for archival at the International Cooperation Department according to the regulations of Decision No. 95/2001/QD-BNN of September 21, 2001 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 9.- Notification of the list of programs and projects enjoying financial supports

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall have to notify in writing the list of the branch’s priority programs and projects which the Prime Minister has approved and the donors have committed to support to the units and localities which have registered such programs and projects.

Chapter III

PREPARATION, FORMULATION, EVALUATION OF PROGRAM AND PROJECT CONTENTS

Article 10.- Preparation of programs and projects

1. Establishment of program or project preparation boards or assignment of the project preparation to focal units (hereinafter called project preparation boards for short):

a/ When there are official written notices on the list of priority programs and projects which the Government has approved and donors have agreed to consider, the Minister shall issue decisions to establish project preparation boards, each composed of a head, some professional officials, representatives of the concerned units and unit assigned by the Ministry to manage the project implementation.

b/ The tasks of project preparation boards shall comply with Clause 2, Article 13 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation and the provisions of this Regulation.

c/ Project preparation boards shall draw up program or project preparation plans according to the provisions of Article 14 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation and the provisions of this Regulation.

2. The determination of foreign capital and reciprocal capital for program or project preparation shall comply with the provisions of Article 12 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation and the Prime Minister's NGO Aid Management Regulation.

Article 11.- Contents of investment programs or projects

1. The contents of pre-feasibility and feasibility study reports shall comply with the provisions of Articles 15 and 16 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation and the donors' regulations.

2. Program or project reports must clearly state the domestic capital sources, foreign assistance sources, conditions agreed upon with the donors and whether the funds for program or project supervision and evaluation activities come from the financial support source or reciprocal capital source strictly according to the Government's Investment Management Regulation and the donors' regulations.

3. Investment and construction programs and projects must hold biddings to select their design consultants and contractors for construction, procurement of equipment and supplies, installation and provision of services according to the Government's Bidding Regulation, guiding documents of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the donors' regulations.

Article 12.- Contents or technical assistance program or project documents

1. Technical assistance programs or projects in the agriculture and rural development branch include those on: a/ institution, policy and law; b/ training of human resources for the branch; c/ technology-technique transfer, cooperation on scientific research; d/ exchange and transfer of knowledge and experience on program or project implementation.

2. The contents or technical assistance program or project documents shall comply with Article 17 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation and Appendix 3 to Circular No. 06/2001/TT-BKH of September 20, 2001 of the Minister of Planning and Investment and the donors' requirements.

Program or project documents must clearly state whether the funds for supervision, evaluation and pre-acceptance examination activities come from the foreign assistance development source or Vietnam's reciprocal capital source.

Article 13.- Regarding non-project aid, humanitarian aid, and international conferences and seminars

1. Regarding non-project aid

Units which have non-project foreign aid sources in the form of direct supports for the branch's budget, package aid or through entrusted funds, non-project aid for research, exchange of information, experience, professional training (excluding those prescribed in Article 11 and Article 12) must send reports to the Ministry through the International Cooperation Department, clearly stating the donating modes, aid contents, donors and donees, implementation time and total aid. If aid is donated in kind (goods, supplies, equipment) or in cash, the quantities and list of donated goods and estimated total value of aid in kind or in cash should be clearly stated.

2. Regarding humanitarian aid

Units and localities, when they are hit by natural calamities or disasters and need to call for emergency relief from the international community, should send reports on their specific losses in terms of human life, property and works in the agriculture and rural development field to the Ministry; the International Cooperation Department shall sum them up and submit them to the Minister for reporting to the Government for permission to mobilize relief from the international community.

3. Regarding international conferences and seminars

The organization of international conferences and seminars financed with foreign aid sources for units must comply with the articles of the Prime Minister's Decision No. 112/2001/QD-TTg of August 21, 2001 on organization and management of international conferences and seminars in Vietnam.

Article 14.- Evaluation of programs and projects

1. Evaluation conditions

a/ Projects which are on the priority list already approved by the Minister, granted codes under Article 8 of this Regulation and which the donors have agreed to finance. Projects not included in such list shall be evaluated only after there are written consents of the Prime Minister.

b/ There are valid program or project dossiers, each consisting of:

(i) The written request (official dispatch) for receipt of the project, made by the unit or locality which has proposed and registered to receive the project.

(ii) The project document or pre-feasibility study report, feasibility study report, 8 sets (at least 1 original) for programs and projects falling under the approving competence of the Prime Minister; 5 sets (at least 1 original) for programs and projects falling under the approving competence of the Minister. The document contents are presented in Vietnamese in consistency with the program or project outline already approved by the Prime Minister.

(iii) The draft agreement or written agreement on the project to be signed between the representatives of Vietnam and the donor. The document to be signed must be made in at least 5 copies in Vietnamese and another language proposed by the donor.

2. Evaluated contents:

a/ The evaluated contents of construction investment projects shall comply with the provisions of Article 27 of the Government's Investment and Construction Management Regulation and Circular No. 04/2003/TT-BKH of June 17, 2003 of the Minister of Planning and Investment.

b/ Other contents of the project, which should clearly state the necessity of the project, its feasibility, objectives, financial mechanism, organization of implementation, socio-economic benefits, security, environment, compensation and re-settlement.

3. Evaluation time limit (from the date of receipt of complete, valid dossiers)

a/ For group-A investment projects, the evaluation time limit shall not exceed 60 working days.

b/ For group-B investment projects, the evaluation time limit shall not exceed 30 working days.

c/ For group-C and other projects, the evaluation time limit shall not exceed 15 working days.

4. Organization of evaluation

a/ The Minister shall set up a council for evaluation of programs and projects having foreign assistance sources.

b/ Evaluators shall be answerable before law and the Minister for their opinions on the programs and projects having foreign assistance sources.

c/ The evaluation results shall be expressed in evaluation reports enclosed with the dossiers prescribed at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article for submission to the Minister for approval.

Article 15.- Program and project preparation, formulation and evaluation funds

1. Capital for preparation of ODA programs and projects shall comply with the provisions of Article 12 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation. Specifically as follows:

a/ Capital for preparation of ODA programs and projects which enjoy allocations from the State budget shall be planned and incorporated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the branch's annual general plan. For programs and projects which are prepared at a time not coinciding with the planning period, the Ministry shall send written requests to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for capital advances from the central budget reserve source.

b/ Capital for preparation of ODA programs and projects which enjoy loans re-lent or partially allocated from the State budget shall be balanced and arranged by the project owners themselves according to the Finance Ministry's regulations; if the project owners are units attached to the Ministry, the Planning Department shall arrange capital.

c/ With regard to capital for preparation of technical assistance projects (wholly or partially covering the funds for preparation of ODA program or project), the project-benefiting units shall prepare capital by themselves and the Ministry shall have to incorporate it into the annual preparation capital plans and send reports thereon to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance for synthesis and supervision.

2. Funds for evaluation of investment projects shall comply with Article 32 of the Government's Investment Management Regulation and Decision No. 15/2001/QD-BXD of July 20, 2001 of the Minister of Construction, promulgating investment and construction consultancy norms; Circular No. 109/2000/TT-BTC of November 13, 2000 of the Minister of Finance, guiding the regime of collection, remittance and use of investment evaluation fees.

For other projects, formulation and evaluation funds shall come from the source of foreign assistance or State budget capital already arranged for the projects or lawful budgets of the project-preparing units or project owners.

3. Depending on each program or project, reciprocal capital may cover all or some of components and expenses prescribed below:

a/ Capital for preparation of programs and projects having foreign development assistance sources prescribed at Point a, Clause 12, Article 5 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation.

b/ Capital for preparation and implementation of programs and projects having foreign development assistance sources prescribed at Point b, Clause 12, Article 5 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation.

c/ Reciprocal capital of non-governmental programs and projects shall comply with the provisions of the State Budget Law and the Government's decree on decentralization of management, elaboration, execution and settlement of the State budget.

4. The program or project preparation boards shall manage the funds for evaluation and feasibility study of programs, projects and big components; units which formulate the contents of their programs or projects by themselves shall manage the evaluation funds.

Chapter IV

PROGRAM OR PROJECT NEGOTIATION, CONCLUSION AND APPROVAL

Article 16.- Order of negotiation, conclusion and approval of program or project documents

1. Initial contacts for determination of programs or projects and identification of assistance sources for formulation and conclusion of project documents.

2. Units and localities shall formulate program or project documents; complete procedures to submit them to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, propose the Government to give permission on negotiations with the donors.

3. The International Cooperation Department shall coordinate with units and localities in putting forward projects to the Minister for establishment of negotiation delegations and preparing documents for submission to the Minister or the Prime Minister for approval and conclusion with the donors.

4. Dossiers submitted for approval and conclusion should consist of one of the following documents: the agreement, protocol, memorandum of understanding, minutes or letter of undertaking of the donor, contract together with the feasibility study report or project dossier, letter of authorization (where the signee is authorized by the superior authority).

5. After the end of negotiations, the heads of the negotiation delegations must send reports to the competent agencies and persons on the negotiation results, the contents agreed with and documents signed with the foreign counterparts.

6. For programs and projects for which negotiation delegations have officials from other agencies as their leaders and the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry's representatives as their members, the program or project preparation boards shall coordinate with the International Cooperation Department in preparing document contents related to the branch, submit them to the Ministry's leadership for approval, serving as a basis for negotiation participation, and after the negotiations terminate, make copies of the documents and send them to the concerned units for implementation.

Article 17.- Competence and levels to sign program or project documents

1. The negotiation and conclusion of international agreements on foreign development assistance sources must be authorized in writing by the State President (for international agreements concluded in the name of the State) or by the Government (for international agreements concluded in the name of the Government).

2. The negotiation and conclusion of international agreements on foreign development assistance sources in the name of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development must be authorized in writing by the Minister.

3. For cooperation programs and projects implemented with the participation of many countries (or regional projects participated by many branches and localities), with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as a participant, the Minister may authorize the heads of the units directly participating in such programs or projects to reach agreements on the contents related to the branch.

Article 18.- Management of concluded documents, exchange of documents

1. Documents concluded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development under the authorization of the Government shall be archived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while their originals shall be archived at the Ministry's Office.

a. Other concluded documents are managed as follows:

a/ The originals are archived at the Ministry's Office;

b/ The copies are archived at the International Cooperation Department and concerned units.

3. The archival, contact and exchange with, and supply of information, dossiers, documents and specimen objects to, the foreign parties shall comply with current law provisions of the State and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

4. After the programs or projects are concluded and approved, the project preparation boards shall have to hand over all documents and papers related to the project or program implementation to the project directors. When the projects are completed or commissioned, the project directors must submit to the Ministry for archival the projects' concluded documents and dossiers according to law provisions.

Article 19.- Competence to approve programs, projects

1. Group-A programs and projects, technical assistance programs and projects capitalized at USD one million or more shall be approved by the Prime Minister according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 20 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation and Clause 1, Article 6 of the Prime Minister's NGO Aid Management Regulation.

2. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall approve Group-B and Group-C projects as well as Group-A projects authorized by the Prime Minister and technical assistance projects capitalized at under USD one million according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 20 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation and Clause 2, Article 6 of the Prime Minister's NGO Aid Management Regulation.

3. The Minister shall authorize the heads of the units to approve projects capitalized at VND 500 million or less, who, after signing and approving such projects, must report in writing thereon to the Ministry.

Chapter V

MANAGEMENT OF PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

Article 20.- Assignment of responsibility

1. The International Cooperation Department

a/ The International Cooperation Department is the key agency assisting the Minister in mobilizing and attracting foreign assistance sources for priority programs and projects.

b/ To coordinate with the Organization and Personnel Department in putting forward proposals on the establishment of the project preparation boards, project executive boards, project management boards (project offices) and project directors and submit them to the Minister for decision.

c/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and synthesizing the branch's programs and projects on international cooperation, international economic integration and foreign relation work and submit them to the Minister.

d/ To participate in, or assume the prime responsibility for, formulating the branch's legal documents, project management regulations, international agreements related to international cooperation or international economic integration, then submit them to the Minister.

e/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the concerned units in, formulating the documents of projects having foreign capital sources according to the assignment by the Ministry's leadership; formulating international economic integration programs and select counterparts for the implementation thereof.

f/ To participate in councils for evaluation and pre-acceptance examination of foreign-invested basic survey schemes, programs and projects, planning projects, projects on investment in development of agriculture, forestry, salt making, irrigation, rural development and other domains related to the agriculture branch.

g/ To manage project dossiers and grant project codes according to Decision No. 95/2001/QD-BNN of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

h/ To guide, monitor and supervise the preparation of international cooperation programs and projects and the implementation of this Regulation.

2. The Planning Department

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for determining strategies, plannings and plans on the priority domains and lists of priority projects for which foreign assistance sources need to be mobilized.

b/ To be responsible for assisting the Minister in assessing the conformity of the project objectives and contents with the branch's development strategies and plans; capital plans related to the preparation and implementation of programs and projects.

c/ To sum up plans on reciprocal capital and foreign capital according to the implementation progress of projects of the Ministry as well as the branch for managing and balancing annual investment plans and guiding the project owners to implement them.

3. The Finance Department

a/ To guide the project owners to formulate financial management regulations, expenditure norms for projects using foreign assistance sources, which are implemented by the units.

b/ To guide the project management boards (project offices) on the elaboration of financial plans, disbursement, accounting regime and making of financial statements for submission to the Ministry as well as the Ministry of Finance according to the approved implementation contents and progress.

c/ To be responsible for assisting the Ministry in evaluating estimates and settlements of expenditures related to the preparation of programs and projects.

d/ To submit to the Ministry for approval annual budget estimates of programs and projects. To approve detailed budget estimates for the projects' activities when so authorized by the Minister.

e/ To conduct regular and irregular accounting examinations of the project management units or project offices under the direction of the Ministry's leadership; evaluate and submit to the Ministry for approval the annual settlements of the projects and the settlements of the completed projects.

f/ When the projects are completed, to guide the hand-over of assets and project outcomes to the units for management and use according to law provisions.

4. The Organization and Personnel Department

a/ To submit to the Minister for establishment the project preparation boards, project executive boards or project steering boards, the project management boards (project offices) and prepare personnel for the preparation boards, executive boards and management boards of the projects having foreign assistance sources.

b/ To guide and support the performance of procedures related to organization and personnel of the program or project preparation boards, the project executive boards or project steering boards and project management boards (project offices).

c/ To guide the project management boards to formulate organization and operation regulations and monitor the implementation thereof.

5. The Science and Technology Department

a/ To guide the project formulation, organize the evaluation of scientific, technological and environmental contents of the programs and projects having foreign assistance sources before submitting them to competent authorities for approval.

b/ To participate in supervising and examining the implementation of projects on scientific, technological and rural environment research and development cooperation falling under the management of the Ministry.

c/ To consider and carry out procedures to exchange with foreign countries specimens (of plants, animals, microorganisms…), technologies and documents on science and rural environment in agricultural and rural development activities.

6. The Legal Department

a/ To coordinate with the International Cooperation Department in formulating cooperation and international integration documents, regulations on management of the branch's programs and projects having foreign assistance sources.

b/ To coordinate with the International Cooperation Department in formulating and evaluating legal documents on preparation, negotiation and conclusion of programs and projects.

7. The Ministry's Inspectorate

To inspect the implementation of programs and projects which show signs of law violation at the request of the Ministry's leadership.

8. The Work Construction Management Department

a/ To perform the tasks and powers of managing the investment and construction of works having foreign assistance sources strictly according to the provisions of Clause 5, Article 2 of Decision No. 95/2003/QD-BNN of September 4, 2003 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational apparatus of the Work Construction Management Department.

b/ To approve the construction drawing designs and cost estimates of construction items suitable to the approved technical designs (or construction designs) and the total cost estimates within the scope assigned by the Ministry.

9. The specialized State management departments shall, according to their respective functions, tasks and powers, have to assume the prime responsibility for, or coordinate with the International Cooperation Department and concerned units in, performing the following tasks:

a/ Guiding the project owners to formulate and implement the projects according to the provisions of Vietnamese laws, agreements and Vietnam's commitments to the foreign countries and international organizations, which fall under the scope of the specialized branches under their management.

b/ Evaluating the projects' technical contents related to the specialized branches under their management.

c/ Monitoring and coordinating activities of foreign programs and projects with domestic activities in order to perform the specialized tasks under their management.

Article 21.- Organizational apparatus and personnel for program and project implementation

1. Project owners

After the programs or projects are concluded and before the written agreements take effect, the Minister shall decide to assign units attached to or under the Ministry to act as project owners for implementation management.

2. Project executive boards (also called project steering boards)

a/ On the basis of the requirements, contents and size of each project, the project executive board may be established. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall decide on the establishment of the project executive boards, each having a vice minister or the head of a unit as its chairman.

b/ Members of the project executive boards are representatives of the ministries, branches, localities and units related to the projects according to the Government's regulations and, possibly of the donors.

c/ The project executive boards shall be tasked to assist the managing agencies in:

- Orienting the mechanisms, policies and plans for coordinating program and project implementation activities.

- Approving the annual budgets of the projects.

- Deciding on basic measures to ensure the project implementation; examining, supervising, preliminarily and finally reviewing the projects.

- Considering project adjustments when necessary.

3. Project management boards (project offices)

a/ The project management boards (ODA projects) or focal units (NGO Aid projects) are agencies representing the project owners and established under decisions of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. The project management boards shall have their own seals, bank and State treasury accounts according to the project owners' regulations (unless otherwise agreed upon with the donors in the project documents).

Depending on the practical situation and specific conditions, the Minister may assign the newly approved programs and projects to the central projects offices (CPO Agriculture, CPO Forestry, CPO Water Irrigation) for management and implementation. In this case, the CPO directors shall set up sections in charge of program or project implementation management and responsible to the Minister for all matters related to the implementation of the newly approved programs and projects.

b/ The functions, tasks, organization, personnel and operation regulations of the project management boards shall comply with the provisions of Clause 1, Part V of Circular No. 06/2001/TT-BKH of September 20, 2001 of the Minister of Planning and Investment and Article 25 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation.

c/ A project management board is composed of a director (or project management board chairman), a deputy director (for ODA loan projects), coordinator and a chief accountant, who shall be considered and decided by the Minister. Officials and employees of a project management board shall be selected and decided by the project director according to the provisions of the ODA Management Regulation, the NGO Aid Management Regulation and guiding documents of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

4. The project directors are heads of the project management boards, authorized by the project owners (and project-managing agencies) to act as owners of the accounts of the programs or projects; administer on behalf of the project owners all activities of the programs or projects; be responsible for managing the project management boards' staff to implement the programs' or projects' contents; be accountable to the project owners and before law for their acts.

Tasks of the project directors:

a/ To formulate the projects' operation plans and budgets (monthly, quarterly, biannual and annual), submit them to competent authorities for approval according to law provisions.

b/ To make plans and prepare procedures for withdrawing reciprocal capital from the State budget, withdrawing foreign capital according to the timetables set in the project documents.

c/ To observe the current financial regulations, statistical and accounting regimes as well as examination and inspection regimes prescribed by the State.

d/ To send regular reports (as required in the approved project documents) and irregular reports (when so requested) to the Ministry (the Planning Department, the Work Construction Management Department, the Finance Department, the International Cooperation Department) according to the forms guided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the concerned ministries, and according to the foreign parties' requirements on financial statements and audit reports.

e/ To assume the prime responsibility for recruiting Vietnamese and foreign specialists according to the outlined functions and tasks, provide material conditions and staff to work with them in performing the jobs according to the set schedules.

f/ To hold biddings to select design consultants, contractors for construction, procurement of construction and installation equipment and supplies and provision of services for the projects according to the current regulations of the State and the donors.

g/ To organize resources, means and books for monitoring and urging the implementation of the projects' activities and items.

h/ To manage activities of the projects' specialists.

i/ To monitor and evaluate the project implementation progress, preliminarily and finally review the project implementation progress periodically and upon the project completion, report the results to the Ministry and the donors.

j/ To perform other tasks assigned by the Minister.

Article 22.- Adjustment and revision of the programs' and projects' contents

If there arise needs to change or adjust the approved programs and projects being implemented, the following shall be performed:

1. The project management boards shall send written explanations on the to be-adjusted contents and plans, which have been approved (adopted) by the project executive boards, to the Ministry (the Planning Department and the International Cooperation Department) for consideration or evaluation.

2. The evaluation forms shall comply with the provisions of Clause 2, Article 31 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation and Clause 3, Part V of guiding Circular No. 06/2001/TT-BKH of September 20, 2001 of the Minister of Planning and Investment.

3. The issuance of decisions to adjust programs or projects shall comply with the provisions of Article 31 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation and Clause 3, Part V of guiding Circular No. 06/2001/TT-BKH of September 20, 2001 of the Minister of Planning and Investment. The amendment and supplementation of the signed ODA international agreements shall comply with the provisions of the Ordinance on Conclusion and Implementation of International Agreements.

Chapter VI

MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND RESULTS OR PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

Article 23.- Monitoring and evaluation of program and project implementation

1. The project executive boards shall be responsible for directing the project management boards to strictly implement the contents of the approved programs and projects; monitor and examine activities of the programs and projects having foreign assistance sources regarding the implementation progress, disbursement results and efficiency, periodically report to the Minister and the agencies performing the State management over ODA and non-governmental aid, and propose solutions in necessary cases.

2. The International Cooperation Department shall act the key agency in monitoring and guiding the investors to supervise and evaluate, or, when necessary, propose the Ministry’s leadership to decide on the hire of consultants for the evaluation of, the implementation of the branch's programs and projects having foreign assistance sources.

3. The project management boards shall be responsible for directly managing the project implementation, conduct annual, mid-term and final evaluations, monitor the implementation progress, disbursement results and efficiency, and periodically report to the Minister (the International Cooperation Department, the Finance Department and the Planning Department) and the concerned State management agencies according to law provisions and the Ministry's regulations.

4. Where the Central Projects Offices (CPO) are assigned by the Minister to manage programs and projects having foreign assistance sources, their chairmen must conduct annual, mid-term and final evaluations; monitor and supervise the implementation progress and disbursement results according to law provisions.

Article 24.- Regime of reporting on program and project implementation

1, Quarterly, biannually, annually and upon the project completion, the project owners must make reports according to the forms prescribed in Appendix 4, Appendix 5, Appendix 7, Appendix 8 and Appendix 9 to Circular No. 06/2001/TT-BKH of September 20, 2001 of the Minister of Planning and Investment, and send them to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs (for administrative reform projects).

Monthly, for Group-A programs and projects, the project owners must make reports according to the form prescribed in Appendix 6 and send them to the project executive boards, the Planning Department and the International Cooperation Department and concurrently to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

2. The project management boards shall have to send reports on the program and project implementation according to the provisions of the ODA Management Regulation, the NGO Aid Management Regulation and guiding documents of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to the general management agencies of the Government, and concurrently to the Planning Department and the Finance Department of the Ministry.

3. The Planning Department shall be responsible for making quarterly, bi-annual, annual and project completion reports according to the forms prescribed in the ODA Management Regulation, the NGO Aid Management Regulation and guiding documents of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, then sending them to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Article 25.- Pre-acceptance examination, exploitation and use of program and project outcomes

1. For construction investment programs and projects:

The project owners must strictly observe the State's regulations on the pre-acceptance examination, partial or whole hand-over, property registration, and settlement of assistance sources according to the law provisions on capital construction investment.

2. For technical assistance programs and projects:

The project owners must organize the pre-acceptance examination, exploitation and use of works according to law provisions; must take measures to maintain and promote the efficiency of their programs and projects.

3. All programs and projects, before being completed and commissioned (construction investment projects) or after being completed (technical assistance projects) must be pre-acceptance examined and commissioned according to the provisions of this Article and law provisions on the use of foreign investment sources.

4. Funds for the program and project pre-acceptance examination must be stated in the project documents according to the expenditure provisions of Clause 12, Article 5 and Article 11 of the Government's ODA Management Regulation, except for NGO aid sources.

Article 26.- Examination, inspection of the receipt, management and use of foreign aid sources

1. The project owners, project management boards and central projects offices (assigned to manage projects) must regularly and periodically examine the receipt, management and use of foreign assistance sources for the programs and projects within the agriculture and rural development branch according to law provisions and the Ministry's regulations.

2. When necessary, the Minister shall decide to set up teams to examine or inspect the implemen-tation of programs and projects having foreign assistance sources according to law provisions.

3. If units and individuals assigned to mobilize, attract and use foreign aid sources let negative problems occur, violate the regulations on ODA management, NGO aid management and management of non-project activities, they shall, depending on the seriousness of their violations, be disciplined, administratively handled or examined for penal liability according to law provisions.

Chapter VII

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 27.- Projects existing before the effective date of this Regulation

For programs and projects having foreign assistance sources and being executed by organizations, units and localities before the effective date of this Regulation, if they have not yet registered their project codes with the Ministry, they shall carry out procedures to register their project codes according to the provisions of Decision No. 95/2001/QD-BNN of September 21, 2001 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 28.- Projects to be formulated after the effective date of this Regulation

As from the effective date of this Regulation, agencies, units and localities shall formulate programs and projects having foreign assistance sources within the agriculture and rural development branch strictly according to the order and procedures prescribed in this Regulation and the Government's ODA Management Regulation and NGO Aid Management Regulation.

Article 29.- Amendment of the Regulation

If facing any problems in the course of implementation, units and localities should promptly report them to the International Cooperation Department for synthesis and submission to the Minister for consideration and decision to amend and supplement the Regulation to be suitable to reality.

Acting Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
CAO DUC PHAT