HÀ NỘI – Permanent and standing boards of the Hậu Giang Province’s Party Committee have acknowledged mistakes in appointing disgraced high-ranking official Trịnh Xuân Thanh as vice-chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Vietnam News Agency reported.

According to a notification released yesterday by the Provincial Party Office (PPO), two key administrative bodies of the local party committee made “collective mistakes” in reviewing Thanh’s resumé, failing to track his performance in previous jobs.

Before becoming the People’s Committee vice-chairman in the Mekong Delta’s Hậu Giang Province in May 2015, 50-year-old Trịnh Xuân Thanh worked in leadership positions at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and as chairman of the PetroVietnam Construction Corporation (PVC) from 2007 to 2013.

The Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission in July this year accused Thanh of causing losses of more than VNĐ3.2 trillion (US$142 million) to the PVC during his leadership. Thanh’s fast rise in the trade ministry and the Hậu Giang People’s Committee were also found to be “incorrect”.

After two days of closed meetings that ended on Tuesday evening, the provincial permanent and standing party boards said they “hold responsibility for their mistakes and will seriously learn from those experiences.”

One of the two individuals who admitted mistakes at the party hearing was the former Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Huỳnh Minh Chắc, who has retired now.

Chắc was the secretary for five years since 2010, and directly proposed the local party to appoint Thanh as vice-chairman.

The incumbent Party Committee Secretary Trần Công Chánh, who was vice-secretary from 2010 to 2015, also saw himself not fulfilling his responsibility in giving consultation during the review of Thanh’s resumé.

The party hearing, however, denied issuing disciplinary action against Thanh over his responsibility in causing a huge loss to the PVC.

Hậu Giang Party Office Chief Lê Công Lý told the Pháp luật TP.HCM (HCM City Law) newspaper that the municipal party did not know about Thanh’s performance at the PVC in detail, and therefore was unable to decide on a proper disciplinary action against him.

The scandal involving Trịnh Xuân Thanh surfaced in the media in June, when he was reported to have allegedly put a State number plate on his private luxury Lexus car. Later investigation revealed his weak performance record in top executive positions as well as misconduct within the government in appointing officials.

The National Assembly on July 15 decided to take away Thanh’s deputy title, though he previously managed to win a seat in the general election.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is still looking into Thanh’s promotion processes and the parties responsible for the mistakes, and expects to report to the Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc by August 30. – VNS