At recent meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-corruption, Deputy Prime Minister and Vice Chairman of the committee Truong Vinh Trong spoke with Vietnam News Agency.

Could you give an assessment of last year’s anti-corruption work?

In 2009, anti-corruption work saw remarkable achievements due to the efforts of the Party, the State, the entire political system and the people.

Corruption cases fell in the fields of management, misuse of public property, budget collection and spending.

Moreover, anti-corruption work also showed positive change. Popularisation work and education have been bolstered with the “studying and implementing the moral example of President Ho Chi Minh”.

The understanding of anti-corruption policies, creation of solutions as well as the appreciation of the seriousness of the problem have improved among people.

More documents have been issued, such as the ‘National anti-corruption strategy until 2020’ in May, 2009. The President also signed the United Nations anti-corruption Convention in June, 2009.

Many international organisations have highly appreciated the country’s effort and determination in the fight against corruption.

The examination, investigation, auditing, prosecution and judgement of corruption cases have improved. As a result, eight key cases were judged, and of 17 serious cases, six were successfully prosecuted, with 11 still under investigation.

Between December, 2008 and November, 2009, 289 cases were prosecuted, an increase of 2.48 per cent over a year earlier.

More cases were uncovered due to improved inspections, not due to an increase in corruption cases.

The procedures and structures in anti-corruption work have been strengthened. The Central Steering Committee, its office and provincial steering committees have successfully guided the anti-corruption work nationwide.

The Prime Minister issued the decision on “Defining the role and duties of the provincial and municipal anti-corruption steering committees”. The decision is vital for the improved effectiveness of anti-corruption work.

The collective strength of the whole political system and society to campaign against corruption has been mobilised. Many good examples in the corruption fight were praised in Ha Noi, HCM City and Da Nang.

According to a public survey, corruption is considered the most urgent problem. However, compared to 2008, this concern did not increase in 2009. The Transparency International ranking saw Viet Nam rise due to its dedicated fight against corruption.

What are the weaknesses of the corruption fight?

Despite some progress, anti-corruption work has not met the targets of the Resolution of the Third Plenum of the Party Central Committee (10th tenure).

Corruption is still a serious problem and isn’t helped by excessive red tape among State officials, and a failure to deal with corruption cases on time, nor by the weaknesses of provincial and municipal steering committees.

The main reasons for these weaknesses are the insufficient capacity of relevant organisations in discovering corruption cases. Some leaders and Party members are failing to set a bright example.

Mechanisms and policies in a number of sectors still have loopholes, especially in sensitive fields like land management and use, construction investment, and public property trading.

Could you mention proposed solutions in 2010?

The last effort has created positive a movement in the fight against corruption. However, it yet match the great determination of the Party, the State and people. Fighting corruption cannot be completed in a day. This requires more effort, and more co-operation from the whole society.

In 2010, the target is to contain and gradually roll back corruption and fulness, making clear changes in all fields, especially weak ones like land management and use, capital construction, tax and customs.

Anti-corruption work has to be pushed forward to improve economic development and strengthen the trust of the people in the Party and Government.

Popularisation and education about corruption need to be sped up. Authorities of all levels must focus on cultivating key staff knowledge of anti-corruption measures. The project of introducing anti-corruption content into the syllabus must be carried out soon. We need leaders to be role models.

State policies must be clear and accessible, especially in sensitive fields like land management and use, construction investment, tax and customs. The project of simplifying administrative procedure aims to create favourable condition for business activities, society management and anti corruption.

Authorities of all levels must implement National Anti-corruption Strategy until 2020, supplement regulations, define awards to individuals and organisations against corruption and strictly punish violators.

Examination, auditing, inspection, prosecution and co-operation among relevant agencies should be improved. Mistakes during the management also need to be identified to contain corruption.

It is compulsory to improve the capacity of steering committees at all levels. Three-year assessment on anti corruption works of these organisations needs to be supplemented and adjusted so that their operation and policies can be changed to meet the requirement.

In order to prepare for the 11th National Party Congress, the Viet Nam Fatherland Front and its members have to increase their supervision role. All the unresolved corruption cases also need to be judged.

Based on all results, lessons learnt from anti corruption works in 2009, we do have belief that we can gain the target “Containing and gradually rolling back corruption and wastefulness” set by the resolution.

VietNamNet/VNS