Vietnam to press on with anti-corruption drive
VOV.VN - Never before has Vietnam’s fight against corruption been accelerated as it has over the past year, with the targeting of such actions now being an irreversible trend without ‘no-go zones’.
Several days ahead of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, two stories on the battle against corruption and negativity were published by the national media, capturing the attention of the wider public.
The Central Steering Committee for Corruption and Negativity Prevention and Control during its 23rd session requested that relevant agencies accelerate the process and seek to end its investigation, prosecution, and first-instance trials of 10 key graft cases this year.
Some notorious cases related to violations in implementing COVID-19 prevention and control policies, in which hundreds of officials working in a number of sectors ranging from diplomacy to health care, as well as the army, have since been arrested, along with those involved in the real estate and securities sectors.
Most notably, the graft scandal at the Vietnam Registry is being aggressively expanded by the police and has been duly put under the microscope by the Steering Committee for Corruption and Negativity Prevention and Control.
Simultaneously, the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission at its 25th session decided to take disciplinary action and has therefore requested that competent authorities impose discipline on several figures of the Government’s Office, the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security, the Hanoi administration, and many other high ranking officials.
As corruption has always existed and does not exclude any country, Vietnam is no exception to this. Immediately after the country declared independence in 1945 President Ho Chi Minh warned of bad habits and social vices that can easily erode ethics and morality. Corruption may impact anyone like a virus and often lurks to rise up and attack, including senior officials, whenever an opportunity arises.
For a long time, the Party and State had clearly seen the severe damages of corruption and have therefore moved to introduce solutions, although it has yet to halt it. Only when the Central Steering Committee for Corruption and Negativity Prevention and Control under the Politburo was established on February 1, 2013, with the General Secretary at its head did the anti-corruption drive become more drastic, aggressive, and thorough.
Undoubtedly, efforts to combat corruption must look into wrongdoings and offences committed by ranking officials. The Party General Secretary has shared many times that this is not an easy task, but it must be done for the sake of the people, the country, and for the prestige and honour of the Party.
He said that it is better to cut off a damaged branch than to have the entire tree infected, therefore the fight must be done without ‘no-go zones’, and there are ‘no exceptions’.
The Party leader recently showed the Party’s resolve to identify the root cause and combat corruption by saying that those who don’t have the stomach for the fight against corruption must stand aside.
Efforts against corruption are ongoing and will bring about positive results when the entire political system is involved. Through the General Secretary’s strong determination, steps to fight corruption look likely to reap greater successes in the year ahead.
