On September 6, the National Assembly's Committee for Judicial Affairs held its 14th plenary session to review reports from the Government, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuracy, including a report on anti-corruption work in 2024.

Deputy chair of the committee Nguyen Manh Cuong said the committee's research team had certified the continued implementation of anti-corruption measures in 2024 by the Government, ministries, branches and localities. The implementation methods have been adjusted to ensure optimal efficiency.

The control of assets and incomes of cadres and officials holding high positions and power has been strengthened, which has helped to promptly detect and strictly handle cases of dishonest declaration of assets and incomes.

As many as 16,351 individuals have had their 2023 assets and incomes verified and 19 individuals have been found submitting dishonest asset declarations. They have been disciplined at different levels (warning, dismissal, delisting from lists of candidates)

The research team found that attention continues to be paid to holding heads of agencies and organizations responsible for embezzlement and wrongdoings in their units.

As many as 38 heads and deputy heads of agencies have been disciplined for a lack of responsibility in cases which led to embezzlement (14 officials have been reprimanded, 13 have been warned and 11 have been dismissed).

Though have been more inspections and checks on anti-corruption measures this year compared to the same period in 2023, the number of detected violations rose insignificantly.

Inspections about transparency were carried out at 90,793 agencies and organizations which discovered 395 violating agencies and organizations. 

Meanwhile, 15,948 examinations on the implementation of regulations on norms and standards were conducted, of which 373 cases and 692 violators were discovered.

Appropriate agencies also carried out examinations on implementation of codes of conduct at 86,417 agencies and organizations, and discovered 1,087 violators.

According to Cuong, these figures show positive changes in complying with legal regulations on corruption prevention and control. The figures, however, also show that violations still occur at many agencies and organizations.

The survey by the National Assembly’s Committee for Judicial Affairs found that inspection and examination of measures to prevent and control corruption in localities has still not received appropriate attention, with few inspection tours and violations discovered. 

Dishonest declaration of assets, incomes

The research team noted that the discovery of cases of dishonest declarations about assets and income is not yet commensurate with the real situation.

In many embezzlement cases, only after the police searched defendants’ homes did they find huge assets which had not been declared and assets of unknown origin. In addition, there were a high number of wrong declarations.

The research team of the Committee for Judicial Affairs recorded a significant increase in the number of people changing their positions compared to the same period last year. At agencies and organizations, 86,211 cadres, civil servants and public employees changed positions (96.16 percent). The figure was 37,474 in the same period in 2023.

However, according to the committee, the changes of cadres’ positions were not implemented well and there were no specific statistics about the number of positions that need replacements in localities. Many problems arose when rotating job positions, such as with accountants and land registry officers.

The research team pointed out that cadres, civil servants and public employees at some agencies and organizations still are not strictly complying with administrative discipline.

Corruption and harassment of people and businesses has not been completely eliminated. Many public officers have been found ignoring duties and blaming each other when performing tasks. 

Meanwhile, corruption and wrongdoings still occur in some fields. Violations have been found in the fields of land use and management, construction, bidding, banking, and natural resources and mineral management, causing serious consequences. 

There is also collusion between corrupt officials and businesses and organizations for personal gain. Phuc Son Group, Thuan An, and related units are typical examples.

These incidents show that implementation of anti-corruption measures in recent years has not been very effective, and many measures are applied just for formality's sake. Corruption continues to occur at law enforcement agencies, the agencies that are tasked with preventing corruption and negative acts. 

Thu Hang