Chairwoman of the NA justice Committee Lê Thị Nga at the third working session of the NA Standing Committee in Hà Nội yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI – The abuse of appointment procedures to promote officials who lack practical experience needs to be resolved, the National Assembly Standing Committee said yesterday.

At the third working session of the NA Standing Committee held in Hà Nội yesterday, the committee listened to and gave feedback on reports on the fight against corruption last year.

The NA Committee of Justice said that the Government, ministries and sectors gained some success in fighting corruption last year, however the problem had yet to be solved.

It said the public and media reported that official appointments were not effective. Abuses of procedures to transfer and appoint officials who were not qualified and cases of nepotism were reported.

Some officials who had caused the loss of State-owned assets were even given new positions.

This has disconcerted the public and caused a lack of confidence from Party members and people in Party and State polices, the report said.

The NA Committee of Justice recommended the Government carefully consider the NA deputies and the voters’ opinions and direct those responsible for the issue to inspect and explain specific cases.

Regarding the responsibilities of leaders of authorised agencies, chairwoman of the committee Lê Thị Nga said that penalties for leaders of authorised units remained light and were not commensurate with the number of corruption cases.

This year, only 18 leaders who could not fulfill their responsibilities, causing corruption at lower levels, were penalised. Of which, only five were given legal penalties.

Some leaders of authorised agencies and organisations still thought that the corruption of their subordinates was not their fault, Nga said.

Many acts of corruption detected and handled were at the commune level or particularly serious cases which drew public attention while there were fewer cases of corruption at district and ministry levels were discovered although corruption at these areas was reportedly serious, she added.

Nga said the Government’s report did not specify the responsibilities of competent persons.

At the meeting, the committee said there must be changes in evaluating corruption and pointing out limitations and personal responsibilities of those involved.

Legal violations

On the same day, the NA Standing Committee also gave feedback on reports on crime prevention and law enforcement. The government reported that from October 1, 2015 to July 31, 2016, crime reduced generally, but murder and drug trafficking cases increased and cyber security and safety faced threats.

New violations were recorded in publishing, printing, network security and organised crime, especially in gambling.

The reason for this, the report said, was loose management of government leaderships and ineffective dissemination of laws.  It also blamed some officials and civil servants failing to be responsible and the moral degradation of adolescents.

At the meeting, the NA Committee of Justice pointed out that the violations on environment laws were further complicated. Notably, the Formosa scandal was revealed five months ago, causing mass fish deaths along four central coastal provinces.

Violations in the fields of food safety and counterfeit goods were also alarming.

The committee agreed with the Government’s report saying that the handling of violations and criminal cases fell short of requirements.

It recommended that the Government examine and revise economic projects likely to cause environmental pollution, especially projects along rivers and beaches.

It asked the Government to carefully consider the approval of projects potentially causing environmental pollution in the future.

Disturbingly, the number of massacres of family members had increased, causing public panic.

The Government, in co-ordination with the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, should evaluate the cause of recent massacres to prevent them, it said. — VNS