If the concept of thrift and waste prevention in digital transformation and innovation is not clearly defined, it will be impossible to quantify the responsibility of state management in preventing waste in national digitalization programs and innovation promotion, Dr Phan Trung Ly, professor and former Chair of the National Assembly’s Committee for Legal Affairs, has said.

Commenting on the draft Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Prevention, he said the draft should clarify the meaning of thrift and waste prevention in digital transformation and innovation.

In digital transformation, it is necessary to avoid scattered investment, duplication of information systems and digital platforms, and avoid digitalization in form only. In innovation, it is important to save on experimental costs, promote rapid application, and avoid excessive "seminar" and "report" innovation, meaning organizing too many seminars and releasing many reports.

"These are new, dynamic fields, requiring a cost-benefit mindset different from traditional management,” Ly said.

Emphasizing the role of science and technology in all public sector activities to achieve visible results in thrift and waste prevention, Dr Dinh Van Minh, former Director of the Legal Department under the Government Inspectorate, recommended carefully evaluating the need to build a national database on thrift and waste prevention.

"Currently, we are building several national databases. We need to assess whether the information systems in those databases include data for waste prevention or not, what additional information is needed, and whether it is necessary to build a separate national database dedicated to this task. This itself is a form of thrift and waste prevention in building, exploiting, and using national databases, a task that requires significant budget resources," Minh said.

Tran Huu Huynh, member of the Advisory Council on Democracy and Law, further noted: “Building a national database on thrift and waste prevention is important, but it is more important to have regulations on how agencies, organizations, and citizens can access and use the database, from which we can evaluate the success or failure, progress or regression in waste prevention; and have data for oversight, commendation, complaints, or denunciation.”

Invisible policy waste causes major harm

According to Ly, the coverage of the draft Law on Thrift and Waste Prevention still follows a traditional approach. He recommended expanding the coverage to include waste in institutional building and operation (overlapping or impractical laws and policies, enacted but not implemented or quickly revised); and policy waste (policies that are unrealistic, lack impact assessment, or hinder production and business).

"These types of waste, though 'invisible', cause serious, long-term damage that is difficult to remedy, affecting national competitiveness and the effectiveness of state governance. In reality, many institutions and policies do not meet the needs of innovation and development, leading to silent waste of social resources," Ly said.

Associate Prof Dr Dinh Dung Sy, former Director of the Legal Department of the Government Office, identified six groups of behaviors related to the development and enactment of institutions and laws in the field of thrift and waste prevention:

First, delays in developing and enacting legal documents on waste prevention, unintentionally creating barriers or the loss of business opportunities and national development potential.

Second, developing financial, economic, and technical standards and norms that are incorrect, insufficient, or inconsistent with real-life social and economic activities, negatively affecting or distorting the behavior of stakeholders in managing and using public finances and assets.

Third, proposing waste prevention measures that are inaccurate, inappropriate, or ineffective, leading to wasted resources and inefficiency in the waste prevention process itself.

Fourth, developing unclear or incomplete regulations on the responsibilities and obligations of agencies, organizations, and individuals in financial and asset management.

Fifth, issuing reward and punishment mechanisms or sanctions that are inappropriate, ineffective, or lack deterrence, resulting in poor performance in waste prevention.

Sixth, violating laws in the process of formulating policies and legal documents on thrift and waste prevention.

Ly stressed that there must be a mechanism to reward and protect those who detect wasteful behavior, similar to anti-corruption mechanisms.

One of the reasons why waste persists is the lack of effective detection channels and incentives for individuals and organizations to report or denounce violations.

The draft law has initially reflected a spirit of encouraging public participation in this effort. However, it is necessary to add regulations assigning the Government to detail reward and protection mechanisms for whistleblowers, similar to those in anti-corruption.

Binh Minh