The Central Steering Board for Combating Corruption on December 15 met with individuals who have made outstanding achievements in fighting corruption.

Twenty-nine people from 21 provinces and cities were invited to attend this meeting. Among them were 16 farmers, eight government employees, two journalists and a businessman.

The chief of the Central Steering Board for Combating Corruption’s office, Vu Tien Chien, said that denouncements are one significant channel of information about corruption. This is the third time the board has honoured individuals who are enthusiastic in combating corruption in Vietnam.

According to the board, fighting corruption in Vietnam has achieved satisfactory results in the last three years. Corruption has been curbed and reduced. However, Vietnam still lacks regulations to ensure safety for citizens who denounce corruptors.

The International Transparency organisation’s reports show that from 2007 to 2009 Vietnam’s ranking for combating corruption improved year by year.

The Statistics Department of the People’s Supreme Procuracy said that in the January-August period of 2009, 200 corruption cases were prosecuted, with 432 defendants, up by 11.1 percent in the number of cases and 8.5 percent in the number of defendants.

PV