Many relics and heritages are degraded due to lack of funding.

On the afternoon of October 23, during a discussion at the parliament, delegates expressed different opinions on the establishment of a Cultural Heritage Conservation Fund in the draft Law on Cultural Heritage (amended).

Supporting the establishment of the Cultural Heritage Conservation Fund, delegate, Venerable Thich Duc Thien - National Assembly Delegation (NAD) of Dien Bien province said that according to statistics, our country currently has more than 40,000 relics, more than 70,000 intangible cultural heritages, 15 cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO and 9 documentary heritages...

However, the reality shows that the funding source for conservation, restoration and embellishment of relics in our country is still very low compared to actual requirements.

Many relics and cultural heritages are being degraded and lost due to lack of funding for maintenance. For example, Dong Duong relic in Quang Nam is in a state of emergency and needs resources for restoration…

"The establishment of the Cultural Heritage Conservation Fund is very necessary to support funding for activities of preserving, repairing and restoring cultural heritage that the state budget cannot meet. The fund will contribute to protecting and promoting the values ​​of cultural heritage, which is an important resource to promote the country's socio-economic development," said Venerable Thich Duc Thien, National Assembly Delegation of Dien Bien province.

For the Cultural Heritage Conservation Fund to operate effectively, delegates said that there should be specific mechanisms and policies such as tax and fee exemptions for organizations and individuals contributing to the fund, in order to attract socialized resources for the fund's operations.

Besides, the process of management, operation and use of the fund must be clear, public and transparent to create trust for donors.

The Fund needs to closely coordinate with the National Cultural Heritage Council and experts in implementing the restoration and embellishment process, ensuring maximum protection of the original values ​​of the relic.

At the same time, delegates also proposed expanding the authority to establish a Fund for religious organizations recognized by the State, in order to create diverse and effective resources to meet practical needs for cultural heritage conservation.

Too many ineffective funds

Debating with delegate Thich Duc Thien about the necessity of establishing a Cultural Heritage Conservation Fund, delegate Pham Thuy Chinh, National Assembly Delegation of Ha Giang province, said that the establishment of a Cultural Heritage Conservation Fund was based on practical requirements.

However, this will also lead to many risks such as: dispersion of State budget resources; failure to ensure the principle of a single document on the State budget; difficulties in implementation.

"I think that when our resources are not clearly demonstrated, it will be very difficult to organize and implement, especially for localities, the establishment, maintenance and management of these funds will be extremely difficult," said delegate Chinh.

Therefore, Ms. Chinh suggested that this content should be carefully considered and the establishment of a fund should be considered.

According to delegate Pham Van Hoa, National Assembly Delegation of Dong Thap, we should consider establishing a Cultural Heritage Conservation Fund.

The Dong Thap delegation pointed out: "Currently, we have established many funds. Recently, the National Assembly committees have supervised a series of extra-budgetary funds and found that many funds are not operating effectively. Therefore, there are opinions that the funds need to be reduced."

But according to Mr. Hoa, from the 14th and 15th National Assembly until now, although there have been opinions like the above, most agencies submitting draft laws have included the establishment of funds and have been accepted by the National Assembly.

"Thus, we not only do not reduce but also increase the non-state budget fund. This is an important issue that needs to be considered. Although this is not the state budget, it is mobilizing the resources of the whole people, but it is also a social resource. I suggest that we should consider whether it is necessary to establish more funds or not," Mr. Hoa commented.

Giving comments at the parliament, delegate Mai Van Hai, National Assembly Delegation of Thanh Hoa province, Mr. It is recommended to carefully consider the regulations on the Cultural Heritage Conservation Fund at the local level because not every province can establish a local fund. Therefore, the regulations on the establishment of a central fund should be established and managed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Explaining, Mr. Nguyen Dac Vinh, Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Education, noted that there are still different opinions on the fund issue.

According to Mr. Vinh, after listening to the opinions of the delegates, the majority of the National Assembly delegates agreed with the plan to have a fund because this fund does not use state budget sources, in fact, it receives funding sources and donations.

The National Assembly is discussing to pass the National Target Program on Culture with a huge amount of funding but only meets a very small part of the need for cultural development.

Therefore, social participation is extremely important and this fund is the mechanism for us to receive support and contributions from society.

Explaining why this fund is needed, Mr. Vinh said: "Cultural heritage is a very special issue, it must be under the management of the state, all organization, protection and promotion of cultural heritage must be carried out very closely by state agencies to supervise and organize implementation.

Therefore, we think that this fund mechanism will help us mobilize more resources. The law stipulates that it is not necessary for every locality to establish a fund. Depending on the conditions, localities that have the conditions can establish a fund, and localities that do not see the need for it are also not necessary.