Bearing the threat in mind, the Party and the State have placed special importance on the fight against the scourge, consistently defining it as a key task for 2010, Mr Sang emphasized.
The fight against corruption in 2010 will continue with campaigns and education programmes in conjunction with the movement of “studying and following the moral example of late President Ho Chi Minh”, according to a report of the Anti-corruption Central Steering Committee.

The committee has mandated that relevant agencies quickly perfect institutions serving the fight against corruption to create a legal foundation for the fight in both the short and long terms.

The institutions will be focusing on the fields of the management and use of land, construction, natural resource management, the settlement of long-standing petitions and complaints, and the handling of corruption cases.

In 2009, the government ministries and centrally-run branches conducted more than 3,000 internal inspections, uncovering 202 violations resulting in the misuse of VND 16.5 billion. They took disciplinary measures on 187 officials and brought criminal charges against 13 others.

Meanwhile, the centrally-run cities and provinces carried out 7,066 inspections, finding 379 violations adding up to more than VND50.5 billion and handled 442 officials in violation.

During the year, the agencies brought to trial 6 of the 17 cases tracked by the Anti-Corruption Central Steering Committee and they closed investigations on the remaining 11  cases.

Mr Sang noted that cases of corruption were found to be fewer in the areas of management and use of land and ODA, State budget expenditure, and the implementation of national development programmes.

However, the menace still remains serious and complex, Mr Sang said.