Former member of the Party Central Party Polibureau Phan Diễn. Photo chinhphu.vn

Phan Diễn, former member of the Party Central Party Polibureau, talks to Chinhphu.vn on successes gained in the current term of the XII Congress of the Communist Party of Việt Nam in the fight against corruption

Do you have any comments on the country’s fight against corruption in the last few years?

The fight against corruption and embezzlement is an issue of all countries worldwide, including Việt Nam.

In such a fight we have to do it continuously or else it will lead to failure.

Sometimes in the past, our fight against corruption was just an ebb tide and corruption had a chance to rear its head.

In the 12th Legislature, the Party Central Committee considered the fight against corruption and Party rectification campaign as the most important activities of the Party and Government. And it was a decisive factor making a drastic change in the country and help overcome the socio-economic crisis and restore the general public’s confidence in the Party and the Government and society.

I highly appreciate achievements that Việt Nam has gained in the fight against corruption and negative activities in the current tenure of the 12th Party Legislature. However, our fight must be continued as corruption is still happening. For example, in the year 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused a lot of damage to the country and the general public, some bad people have taken the occasion to raise the prices of medical equipment for their own benefits.

In addition, some people have lamented that the Government’s support money for them to fight pandemic has been misused.

What should we do to make sure our fight against corruption and embezzlement will gain its set objectives?

The fight against corruption and embezzlement is a long fight. The Party and the Government should conduct regular reviews and if any wrongdoing is detected it must be corrected immediately.

People engaged in the fight against corruption and embezzlement should uphold their responsibility and carry out their assigned duties accordingly.

That’s why the role of senior leaders in an office is very important. The current Party Central Committee of the Communist Party of Việt Nam has adopted a number of policies on the personnel work and launched a fight against “bribery to get higher position and others”. Of course, the Party has adopted several supervision measures to control power, yet we still need good coordination from other concerned agencies and the supervision from the general public, and the wide spread of democratic practice in the society.

Do you have any comments on the Cabinet and the Prime Minister’s efforts in the current fight against corruption and embezzlements?

The Government has done quite a lot in the fight against corruption and embezzlements. So far Việt Nam has gained a certain positive success.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, all executive government officials in the legislative system have actively participated in the fight against corruption and embezzlement. They have played an important role in the course of Party and Government’s program of building and rectification – a driving force for the Vietnamese nation to advance forward.­_VNS