Party General Secretary Tô Lâm chairs a meeting of Central Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of Corruption and Negative Phenomena (Steering Committee) on March 25 in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Party General Secretary Tô Lâm aked for more significant progress in combating wastefulness, particularly by addressing delayed, stagnant, and inefficient projects that cause substantial losses, aiming to mobilise and effectively utilise resources to achieve economic growth of over 8 per cent in 2025 and double-digit growth in the following years.

Addressing a meeting of standing members of the Central Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of Corruption and Negative Phenomena (Steering Committee) in Hà Nội on Tuesday, he urged the Government, ministries, and local authorities to conduct thorough reviews, identify the causes of prolonged delays, propose solutions, and clearly define the authority responsible for each project, stating that responsibilities must not be shifted, and and more efforts must be exerted to put projects into operation as soon as possible.

A resolution plan must be completed by June 30, he said.

He underlined the need to strengthen the fight against corruption, wastefulness, and misconduct while completing the streamlining and restructuring of all-level administrative units. He stressed a firm stance against corruption and negative phenomena, urging Party committees and leaders at all levels to exercise strict oversight and prevent lobbying, group interests, corruption, waste, and negativity in personnel work and in the arrangement and use of headquarters and public assets of agencies, units, and localities during the restructuring process. He also called for an end to delays in decision-making that could lead to inefficiencies and unnecessary costs for the State, citizens, and businesses.

The Government's Party Committee must direct an urgent review of public assets across agencies, units, and localities nationwide to develop management and allocation plans following the streamlining of administrative apparatus at all levels to ensure efficiency and proper use, and prevent losses, waste, corruption, or wrongdoings, he said, noting that all unused, inefficiently used, or misused public properties must be addressed in 2025.

The Party chief ordered a strong focus on inspecting, investigating, and conclusively handling corruption, wastefulness, and misconduct cases, striving to complete investigations, prosecutions, and trials of 21 cases and conclude verification and handling of five cases by the end of 2025, as per the directive of the Steering Committee.

Lâm required concerned agencies to fully institutionalise the Party’s policies on fighting corruption, wastefulness, and negative phenomena, as outlined in the 13th Party Congress, within 2025.

Attention should be paid to synchronously implementing corruption, wastefulness, and negative phenomena prevention measures, focusing on promoting comprehensive digital transformation in line with the Politburo's Resolution 57, he said, calling for strong administrative reforms leveraging digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance governance, transparency, and accountability while minimising unnecessary hurdles for citizens and businesses.

He stressed the importance of expanding cashless payments to effectively monitor assets and income; widely and substantially implementing tasks and solutions on ethical education on integrity, thrift, and public service; and forming a culture of honesty and responsibility as an intrinsic part of daily life for officials, Party members, and the public.

The Party chief also asked for effective communication efforts to build societal consensus on combating corruption, wastefulness, and negative phenomena, aligning these efforts with the country’s development goals. — VNS