Brian Jeffrey
Plenary Session on Anti-Corruption Efforts
On September 6, the Committee for Judicial Affairs of the National Assembly convened its 14th plenary session to evaluate reports regarding anti-corruption initiatives for 2024, submitted by the Government, the Supreme People’s Court, and the Supreme People’s Procuracy.
Nguyen Manh Cuong, the committee’s deputy chair, highlighted that their research squad confirmed effective ongoing anti-corruption strategies across the Government, various ministries, and local agencies, with methods refined for better outcomes.
Monitoring of the assets and earnings of high-ranking officials has intensified, allowing swift identification and disciplinary action against those who falsify asset disclosures. In total, 16,351 individuals had their 2023 financial declarations scrutinized, uncovering dishonest reports from 19 individuals, who faced varying disciplinary measures such as warnings, dismissals, or removal from candidate lists.
Accountability and Disciplinary Actions
Attention continues to focus on making heads of agencies answerable for corruption within their jurisdictions. Disciplinary actions were taken against 38 senior officials for negligence that facilitated embezzlement, with categorizations including 14 reprimands, 13 warnings, and 11 dismissals.
Despite an increase in anti-corruption inspections over the previous year, the incidences of breaches only saw a slight rise. During audits for transparency, 90,793 organizations were examined, leading to the discovery of 395 cases of violations. Additionally, 15,948 inspections regarding regulatory compliance were conducted, revealing 373 cases of non-compliance along with 692 violators.
Moreover, compliance checks concerning codes of conduct at 86,417 entities uncovered 1,087 violations. Cuong remarked that while these numbers reflect improvements in legal adherence for corruption prevention, they also indicate ongoing issues with violations in many organizations.
Ongoing Challenges in Corruption Control
However, the committee’s research suggested that the scrutiny and assessment of anti-corruption measures in various localities lack the necessary focus, resulting in limited inspections and few breaches reported.
Instances of dishonest asset declarations have not accurately represented the broader circumstances. Notably, significant undeclared assets were often discovered only after police searches in embezzlement cases, along with numerous inaccuracies in declarations.
There was also a notable rise in personnel changes within agencies, with 86,211 officials altering their roles— a 96.16% increase from the previous year. However, these transitions were poorly executed with no data on required replacements in localities, leading to complications particularly for roles like accountants and land registry officers.
Furthermore, the committee identified persistent issues with adherence to administrative protocols among public servants, along with ongoing corruption and misconduct affecting both citizens and businesses. Numerous public officials have shown a tendency to evade responsibilities, often passing the blame to colleagues.
Corruption remains entrenched across multiple domains, including land management, construction, procurement, banking, and resource management, leading to severe repercussions. There seems to be collusion between corrupt officials and businesses aiming for personal advantage, with the Phuc Son Group and Thuan An being notable cases.
Overall, these findings suggest that the application of anti-corruption strategies over recent years has been far from effective, with many measures being executed merely as formalities. Corruption persists even within agencies designated to counteract such negative behaviors.
