The city stepped up the number of inspections
last year and several prominent people were punished with stiff jail terms, but
corruption remains a serious concern, a review meeting heard yesterday, Feb 15.

The
meeting was chaired by Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of the HCM City People’s
Committee and head of the city’s Corruption Prevention Committee.

Nguyen
The Thong, deputy head of the committee, said major corruption cases involved
land management and construction projects.

City
inspectors carried out 215 inspections, almost double that in 2009, and found
violations in 169 cases including wrongful use of 100,000sq.m of State land.
They suggested that assets worth VND155 billion (US$7.9 million) are confiscated
and returned to the State budget.

However
this has been done only with VND3.5 billion worth of assets so far.

Thong
said 43,000 regular inspections were carried out at the district level last year
and violators fined a total of VND60 billion (US$3 million).

The
inspections focused on land use and management, construction investments,
State-owned property, social welfare policy and social insurance budgets.

Last
year, investigators began criminal proceedings against 20 people in 17 new major
corruption cases involving abuse of power, bribery and speculating on public
property. Another 64 people are being investigated for involvement in 29
corruption cases.

The city
and district level People’s Courts last year passed judgement in 19 corruption
cases involving 47 people.

Most
prominent among the cases was the trial of Huynh Ngoc Sy, former deputy director
of the city Department of Transport, who was given a life sentence for accepting
US$262,000 in bribes from Japanese firm Pacific Consultants International in
return for awarding them consultancy contracts.

Other
major cases involved Nguyen Van Khoe, former head of the Hoc Mon District
People’s Committee, who was sentenced 26 years in jail for taking bribes; and Ha
Van Hoa, former director of the Thanh Phat Company, who received a life sentence
for giving bribes and extorting property.

Since
early this year, the city’s Corruption Prevention Committee has received 174
letters of complain and denouncement against organisations and officials for
corruption. All cases would be acted upon, Thong said.

Tran Nam
Trang, deputy director of the city’s Department of Finance, told the meeting
that inspectors from his department conducted 23 inspections on management of
transport projects last year and found wastage estimated at more than VND1
billion (US$51,000).

Thong
said the city conducted several courses on the nation’s anti-corruption law for
385 people including administration leaders and officials engaged in corruption
prevention tasks.

At the
district level, more than 1,000 such training courses were conducted, he added.

All
districts and wards as well as several departments in the city had furthered
administrative reforms, but not enough red tape had been cut. Residents and
enterprises were, therefore, still facing difficulties, Thong said.

Officials said at the meeting that communication work would be strengthened this
year towards limiting corruption, and inspections would focus in particular on
land management, basic constructions and operations of State-owned companies.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News