Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng chairs the first meeting of the sub-committee on personnel affairs of the 14th National Party Congress on March 13, 2024. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Officials, Party members, and people are concerned about how the Party will select the leadership capable of shouldering the immense revolutionary tasks entrusted by the history, General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng has said at the first meeting of the sub-committee on personnel affairs of the 14th National Party Congress on March 13.

In his book titled Resolutely, persistently fighting corruption and other negative phenomena to contribute to building more transparent and stronger Party and State, the party leader also stressed that disciplining officials is something very painful and heartbreaking, which no one desires.

“However, for the common cause, the seriousness of the Party's disciplines and the State’s laws, the pureness, strength, and reputation of the Party, and the will and aspiration of the people, we must act even more resolutely and drastically in the time ahead.”

Between the beginning of the 13th tenure (2021-2026) and March 16, 2024, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission had disciplined nearly 100 high-ranking officials under the Committee's management, of them some facing criminal prosecution.

Since the second quarter of this year, the fight against corruption and other negative phenomena has been intensified.

During its 39th session on April 2-3, the Inspection Commission proposed the Politburo and the Secretariat consider and take disciplinary measures against the Party delegation to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs for the 2011-2016 and 2016-2021 terms, along with Minister Đào Ngọc Dung and former Minister Phạm Thị Hải Chuyền, and Deputy Minister Huỳnh Văn Tị, who is also former Party Central Committee member, and member of the Party delegation. Some officials of the ministry were also removed from their Party positions.

On April 9, the Secretariat expelled Lê Duy Thành, Chairman of the People's Committee of Vĩnh Phúc Province, from the Party. In March, Thành and Hoàng Thị Thuý Lan, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, were put under temporary detention to help make clear their roles in the case related to Chairman of Phúc Sơn Group Nguyễn Văn Hậu.

Also on April 9, the Secretariat removed seven individuals from the Party, including Đặng Văn Minh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quảng Ngãi Province; Cao Khoa, former Chairman of the provincial People's Committee; and Phạm Đình Cự, former Chairman of the People's Committee of Phú yên Province.

The Party’s and the State’s drastic actions against corruption and other negative phenomena, with disciplinary measures imposed against leaders of quite a few agencies and localities, have won the widespread support from the public. However, there remain major concerns.

Responding to the question that who will work when many officials are disciplined, General Secretary Trọng said at a meeting with voters in Hà Nội’s Ba Đình, Đống Đa, and Hai Bà Trưng districts in 2022 that: “There is no worry about not having enough officials. It is impossible to not handle those who not only violate the law but also deviate from morality.”

So how to avoid making wrong personnel choices and appointments?

Regulation No 105-QD/TW dated December 19, 2017, by the Politburo on the delegation of the personnel management and appointment provides very specific guidelines regarding the responsibility and power of advisory bodies of the Party Central Committee in the work, as well as principles, responsibility, power, procedures, and conditions for personnel appointment.

This is considered the "pre-check" stage in the personnel appointment.

However, from early 2021 to 2024, nearly 100 high-ranking officials under management of the Party Central Committee had been disciplined.

The reality raises the need for more attention to the "post-check" and answer the question why the right process still yields wrong results in many cases and how to fix shortcomings in personnel appointments?

It also shows that no matter how stringent the process is, it still depends on whether individuals implementing it are ethical and impartial, and whether officials will continue to improve their revolutionary ethics, capabilities, and knowledge after their appointment to important positions.

Assuming leading positions, officials bear the responsibility before the Party, their agencies, and localities, but behind that, there are interests, power, and material and spiritual influence over many people. Therefore, without a clear conscience, those responsible for nominating and electing may "implant" individuals or group interests into personnel arrangements. This is referred to as "corruption in personnel work”.

To avoid repeating wrongdoings and limitations in the work, the General Secretary requested that the introduction of personnel to the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and key leading positions of the Party and the State in the upcoming term must be based on planning.

He also emphasised the need to maintain principles and regulations, and to raise responsibility, democracy, transparency, and objectivity in personnel evaluation, nomination, and selection.

It is essential to truly promote democracy in finding and nominating personnel alongside clearly defining the authority and responsibility of relevant collectives and individuals, strictly adhering to the principle of democratic centralism, promoting the role and responsibility of Party committees and organisations, and leaders, while combating "group interests" and avoiding simplistic, arbitrary, and unprincipled approaches.

The personnel work of the 14th Party Congress must be conducted according to a strict, scientific, and consistent process, ensuring genuine impartiality and transparency, especially by having a "keen eye" in the personnel evaluation, nomination, and selection. — VNS