Corruption still rampant in Vietnam, says party official

VIETNAM - Corruption was still an acute problem throughout Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, Party General Secretary and Head of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption, told the first national conference on controlling the evil in the capital city yesterday.

Trong, who chaired the meeting, emphasised the significance of the conference. He said it followed the setting up of a Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption early last year.

"Since then, authorities nationwide have demonstrated their resolve to push back corruption, yet, achievements remain limited. As a result, corruption is still an acute and urgent problem in our society."

He asked participants to work harder to raise the fight against corruption to meet the expectations of the people.

A report delivered at the conference said anti-corruption activities last year were carried out simultaneously in all localities "and achieved notable progress in all domains, including the completion of policies on preventing and fighting corruption, raising awareness of the problem, administrative reforms - and the practice of transparency and accountability in Government agencies".

Troing said that during the year, several large corruption cases went to trial, helping win the confidence of the people in the justice system. The report said the establishment and consolidation of anti-corruption agencies had added strength to the fight.

"What has been achieved is a vivid demonstration of the determination of the whole political system and society to fight against corruption," the report said.

"However, raising awareness about the fight is the weakest point in the campaign. Meanwhile, the implementation of preventive measures in many Government offices and organisations have not been properly implemented or received due attention from their leaders. Some of the preventive measures have not been effective. So it is time to review and amend legal documents no longer appropriate, particularly those related to economic management."

Trong asked party committees at all levels to continue to promote the fight against corruption and to review and revise existing institutions on socio-economic management to bring them in line with the spirit of the conclusions of the fifth Party Central Committee Plenum.

"You should focus on positive and negative aspects of the fight and come up with measures to step up the fight," Trong said.