Clarification of donated money remains out of the question
Saturday, June 22, 2013, 14:26 GMT+7
Concerned agencies and experts alike remain baffled by how much donated money the management boards of religious institutions collect every year and how it is used, with some even concluding that it’s impossible to clarify the issue.
With no actual bookkeeping of the donated money, both in small denominations and generous sums, and the murky management by the religious institutions’ heads, local governments and experts remain befuddled over many years.
According to Prof. Ngo Duc Thinh, from the National Heritage Council, as donated money is communal contributions, not the State budget, it’s immensely difficult or even impossible to work out the precise amounts.
“There’re several ways to donate money to pagodas and temples now. Many visitors somehow write small amounts in the pagodas’ books, but in reality donate larger sums. The obscurity has resulted in conflicts between the pagodas’ or temples’ management, local government officials and communities,” he elaborated.
Except a few institutions where the counting of donated money is on camera surveillance and the bookkeeping is relatively apparent, others keep their collection and use of donated money exclusive to outsiders.
Thinh cited the collection of donated money at the Ba Chua Kho temple as an example. Over the past 20 years, both head of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the district and commune heads have been kept in the dark about the temple management’s incomings and expenditure.
“However, no one has resorted to court action in all these years, which proves that the division of the money has gone smoothly so far. Villagers in the neighborhood of the temple fare materially better than those from other villages as a result, but no one is willing to talk about how much their shares are,” he noted.
“All we can do is to ensure that the institution managements’ incomings and expenditure are recorded more specifically, and a large portion of it is used for maintenance and renovation fees,” Thinh stressed.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Danh Nga, a former official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, admitted the rampant embezzlement of donated money among institution management members.
He also strongly objects to the management boards’ hiring companies to run the institutions and offering services to earn big profits.
To tackle the persisting problem, the ministry is garnering opinions for its joint circular on promoting civilized lifestyles among local religious institutions, which devotes one chapter to providing guidance on the management and use of donated money.
However, the circular draft has aroused concern and debate regarding who’re eligible to keep and use the donated money.
Though the circular is meant to be approved by the culture ministry and Ministries of Internal Affairs and Finance, the Ministry of Finance had earlier withdrawn.
|
A rare, shining example Unlike a good number of pagodas and temples whose management of collected money remains murky, the management board of the Ba Chua Xu Chau Doc shrine in Mekong Delta An Giang province has used 70% of its visitors’ donated money, estimated at VND70 bil each year in recent years, to constructing public facilities including schools, clinics, roads, improving electricity and water supply systems along with helping needy, physically-challenged people. “We’ve spent VND300 bil on public facilities and over VND30 bil on charitable activities within six recent years alone. We’ll also donate money to the local government’s VND340 bil project on buildings roads around mountains and resettling residents,” said Phan Van Trang, head of the shrine’s management. He added that good management has cemented trust among visitors and pilgrims, which results in soaring donated money amounts, from VND30 bil each year previously to VND70 bil each year in recent years and an expected VND80 bil this year. |
