Agencies needed to speed up the legal
procedure for handling corruption cases, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged in
the Central Steering Committee for Anti-corruption meeting yesterday, April 6.

Photo: Vietnam+

Speaking to review
the Committee’s operations in the first quarter and build plans for the second
quarter, Dung appreciated the achievements in fighting corruption, which helped
consolidate people’s confidence in the Party and State’s policies.

However, Dung, who is
also the Committee’s head, pointed out shortcomings, such as delayed detection
and handling of corruption cases.

He asked committee
members, judicial authorities, and supervisors at all levels to strengthen their
co-ordination and figure out how to overcome the committee’s deficiencies.

Ministries, central
agencies and localities must continue implementing anti-corruption measures
drastically and effectively. They should focus on more efficient information
dissemination and preventing corruption in land use and management, investment
and construction projects, State asset management, and State budget use.

Committee members
agreed that investigations in key cases were often too slow. Some cases even
dragged on for three or four years.

Vu Tien Chien, office
chief of the committee said there were 28 corruption cases total, with 55
defendants prosecuted and 18 cases that went to a first trial in January and
February alone.

Five serious and
complicated cases were still under investigation. The courts are now handling 11
cases, including those related to misuse of power, property appropriation, and
bribing at Viet Nam Air Petrol Co Ltd, the Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development of Viet Nam, the Bank for Investment of Development of Viet Nam,
Viet Nam Forest Corporation and the Viet Nam National Sericulture Corporation.

The Ministry of
Public Security is completing draft regulations to protect denunciators in
corruption cases, Chien said.

For second quarter,
the committee planned to complete legal procedures to be taken against
individuals of four serious cases involving Song Hau farm, Da Nang-based
Vinaconex 10 Company, the Viet Nam Air Petrol Co Ltd and the Corporation of
Agriculture Materials.

Minister of Public
Security Le Hong Anh suggested that there should be clearly defined
responsibilities for agency heads, local authorities and companies in which
corruption cases have occurred.

Prime Minister Dung
highlighted the need to strengthen anti-corruption activities through
administrative procedure reform.

Also in the meeting,
deputy head of the committee Truong Vinh Trong announced the Prime Minister’s
decision to appoint Nguyen Dinh Phach, deputy chairman of the Party Central
Committee’s Inspection Commission, to committee office chief, replacing Vu Tien
Chien who will retire on May 1.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News