Mai Van Dau and his accomplices in court.

The PM made the statement at the 9^th meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption Prevention and Control held in Hanoi on February 8 to review the results of work against corruption in 2008 and set tasks for this year.

He noted that localities and agencies at all levels should take comprehensive measures to crack down on corruption, establish institutions and detect and deal with violations to affirm the resolve of the political system and the entire society to combat corruption.

He stressed the need to promote the movement “Studying and following the late President Ho Chi Minh’s moral examples”, with the aim of preventing wastefulness and changing their working styles.

He called for the efficient use of land and transparent management in tax collection and investment disbursement in State-owned enterprises. He asked people to provide accurate information on cases of corruption in a timely manner.

The PM also urged members of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption Prevention and Control to cooperate with relevant agencies and organise a conference soon to review anti-corruption work in 2008 and implement tasks set for 2009 in line with the Party Central Committee’s Resolutions No. 2 and 3 regarding the missions and solutions for anti-corruption work.

According to the Committee’s report, seven out of eight serious cases were strictly dealt with, such as the land scandal in Do Son, Mai Van Dau’s trade fraud and the PMU 18 gambling scandal. Eight out of 15 other serious corruption cases will be brought to court.

In the past year, there were 70 cases, in which heads and deputy heads of localities were brought to trial for their lack of responsibility that led to corruption.

Members of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption Prevention and Control emphasised that it is necessary to boost cooperation among functional agencies in preventing corruption, identifying serious cases, increasing the quality of investigations and effectively enforcing property declaration.

VietNamNet/VOV