Bottlenecks need to be removed for development of cultural, sports institutions

The seminar was co-organized by the National Assembly (NA) Committee for Culture and Education, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the Central Propaganda and Education Committee, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the People’s Committee of Quang Ninh Province.

Nguyen Xuan Thang, Politburo member, President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA), and Chairman of the Central Theory Council said that the system of cultural and sports institutions at all levels has been implemented fundamentally. However, the planning and the operation of the system of cultural and sports institutions still have several limitations. The surpluses and shortages in cultural and sports institutions occur in many localities.

According to Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung, after nearly 20 years of implementing the master plan for the system of Vietnam's museums until 2020, only Vietnam Museum of Ethnology was invested in 2006 while other construction projects of national-level museums have not been carried out yet in accordance with the proposed schedule because investment capital had not been allocated for projects.

Performing arts facilities have not been systematically invested, including the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet (VNOB), Vietnam Cai Luong Theater, Vietnam National Drama Theater and Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO).

Regarding sports, the National Sports Complex in Hanoi meets 50 percent of the training needs of athletes, and the National Sports Complex in HCMC is even lower, at only 30 percent.

Vice Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee, Duong Anh Duc said that HCMC leads the country in mobilizing social resources for cultural and sports facilities with the most developed system of cultural and sports institutions. However, the development of cultural and sports institutions still does not correspond to the socio-economic development, goals and expectations of the city.

Resolution 98/2023/QH15 on the pilot implementation of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of HCMC was approved by the National Assembly (NA) on June 24. The resolution allows HCMC to apply PPP investment in the fields of sports and culture. However, the competent ministries and units have not issued legal frameworks for some provisions of Resolution 98 yet. Therefore, the city does not have a basis for the implementation.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc noted that the PPP model has not been widely applied in the fields of culture and sports. It has only been piloted in HCMC and Hanoi. HCMC needs to carefully study to select the most suitable projects with high-profit potential to attract investment.

The representative of the Ministry of Planning and Investment committed to accompanying HCMC in the implementation of policies and suggested the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to clarify the criteria for selecting suitable PPP methods for each specific project.

In his conclusion, Standing Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man requested relevant agencies to study and complete investment policies for the development and operation of cultural and sports institutions system, complete the planning, and prioritize centralized budget allocation.

To remove policy bottlenecks and problems in the mobilization of social resources for the development of cultural and sports institutions, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyen Van Hung proposed creating the Performing Arts Law, a comprehensive amendment to the Cultural Heritage Law, revision of related laws to ensure coherence with cultural and sports laws to create a driving force for building and promoting the cultural and sports institutions system.

He also talked about the consideration of an approval of the National Target Program on Cultural Development for the 2025 - 2035 period, the state budget allocation for culture and sports according to the target outlined in the Cultural Development Strategy until 2030.