Vietnam presses ahead with corruption fight as the drive is on right track
VOV.VN - Vietnam will continue with its anti-corruption drive which has so far proved to be on the right track, said Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the forerunner of the ongoing corruption fight in the country.
Addressing the 24th meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption and Negative Phenomena Prevention and Control held in Hanoi on August 16, Trong affirmed that the anti-corruption drive launched and led by the Communist Party of Vietnam has brought about encouraging results over recent times.
Statistics highlight that over the past two and a half years relevant agencies have prosecuted and investigated 1,304 cases involving 3,523 individuals on corrupt charges, more than twice as many as the number of cases, and more than triple as many as the number of defendants, compared to the previous two and a half years.
Among the notorious cases are the test kit scandal at Viet A Technologies JSC, the bribery scandal regarding repatriation flights for Vietnamese people at the Consular Department, and the share manipulation scandal at FLC Group. Two other cases which are currently under close scrutiny include the property fraud case at Tan Hoang Minh Group and the case involving medical supply procurement violations at AIC – Vietnam Valuation and Investment JSC.
Throughout the reviewed period, a total of 31 high ranking officials under the management of the Party Central Committee have been disciplined criminally, including two incumbent/former ministers, four incumbent/former provincial Party secretaries, five incumbent/former deputy ministers, seven incumbent/former heads of provincial administrations, two Deputy Prime Minister assistants, and nine army generals.
However, he pointed out the various shortcomings in the fight caused by reverence or ties of kinship within organisations which have dampened the spirit to fight corruption. Indeed, some cases have not been handled strictly enough and are not a big enough deterrent to strengthen the crackdown on corruption, he said.
Admitting that corruption prevention is a very complex and sensitive task, the Party leader outlined the need to press ahead with the drive, with more timely and decisive actions to be taken, as well as resolute persistence, regardless of any reverence or pressure.
It can therefore be viewed as necessary to perfect an anti-corruption mechanism to nip in the bud any corrupt actions, he stressed, reminding that prevention is better than the cure.
During the meeting, members of the Central Steering Committee also requested putting under the microscope areas prone to corruption and duly handling other notorious cases over the coming months.
