Confab reviews work on curbing corruption
BINH PHUOC (VNS)— More than 6,900 inspections on potential corruption activities in 10 southeastern provinces were conducted in the first nine months of the year, according to speakers at a conference held yesterday in southern Binh Phuoc Province.
Members of provincial-level agencies that deal with corruption met at the conference to review corruption-prevention tasks and create plans for the coming months.
Most of the inspections focused on fields that are prone to corruption, including financial management, construction and investment management, capital construction, land-use management, education and health.
The inspections succeeded in returning VND85.6 billion (US$4 million) to the State budget. Inspectors handed out penalties to 113 officers and 225 individuals, and sent seven cases for criminal investigation.
Inspections were conducted in HCM City as well as the provinces of Binh Duong, Tay Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, Long An, Tien Giang and others.
Thirty-eight cases of corruption, including bribery, were brought to court during the first nine months of the year. HCM City and Dong Nai Province had the highest number of cases brought to court and sent for further investigation.
Provincial-level agencies found 113 violations of transparency and publishing regulations.
Inspections were also conducted on communication principles and ethic codes of civil servants at 475 offices. Three violations were found.
Binh Thuan, Tay Ninh, Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc provinces had the highest number of penalties handed out to lower-level officials. In such cases, the leaders of those officials are charged as well.
To better inform the public, several agencies have worked together to print nearly 233,600 leaflets describing regulations on corruption prevention.
The steering board on corruption-prevention in the southeastern region said that a closer eye must be kept on the fields of land-use management, budget management, public assets, banking and civil-servant management.
It also called for tighter monitoring by all of the provinces' People's Councils and Fatherland Front Committees. —VNS