Infringements and defects committed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Party Civil Affairs Committee and individuals involved in the Formosa fish deaths were serious and must be punished, announced the Central Inspection Commission. — VNA/VNS Photo Võ Dung

HÀ NỘI – Infringements and defects committed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Party Civil Affairs Committee and individuals involved in the Formosa fish deaths were serious and must be punished, announced the Central Inspection Commission.

In an announcement yesterday of the results of the commission’s 11^th meeting from February 15-17, the commission concluded that from 2008-16 the ministry’s Party Civil Affairs Committee was irresponsible in exercising their leadership, carried out insufficient inspections and supervision and let infringements occur in assessment of environmental impacts, and adjustment of waste water discharge location and State management of the Formosa Hà Tĩnh project.

Hưng Nghiệp Formosa Hà Tĩnh Steel Company was responsible for mass fish deaths in the four central provinces of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Trị, Quảng Bình and Thừa Thiên-Huế Provinces in April last year.

The environmental disaster left hundreds of fish dead and affected the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of locals.

Responsibility for the offences belongs to former Party Central Committee member, former secretary of the Party Civil Affairs Committee and former environment minister Nguyễn Minh Quang; former Party Civil Affairs Committee member, former deputy minister and former head of Vietnam Environment Administration Bùi Cách Tuyến, and former Party Civil Affairs Commission member and former deputy minister Nguyễn Thái Lai who was directly responsible for violations in the fields he was in charge of, according to the document.

The document indicated that during the 2004-11, and 2011-16 terms the Party Civil Affairs Committee of Hà Tĩnh Province was irresponsible in exercising leadership, instruction, management, carried out insufficient inspections and supervision in project implementation, which gave rise to violations in appraising, approving, licensing and performing State management of the project.

Võ Kim Cự who served as Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the Party Civil Affairs Committee and People’s Committee chairman in the 2011-16 period; and as Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee cum Head of Economic Zone Management Board from 2008-10 must take responsibility for the infringements.

Others also held responsible include Head of the Vũng Áng Economic Zone Management Board (2010-16) Hồ Anh Tuấn, and former Party Civil Affairs Committee members Đặng Quốc Khánh, Dương Tất Thắng and Nguyễn Nhật.

The provincial Party Standing Committee was said to be irresponsible in leading, instructing, examining, and supervising activities of the provincial Party Civil Affairs Committee during the implementation of the Formosa Hà Tĩnh project.

The wrongdoings of the provincial Party Civil Affairs Committee and Võ Kim Cự, and Hồ Anh Tuấn were serious, the document said.

Wrong recruitment, promotion

The Central Inspection Commission also announced that Party Central Committee member and former Secretary of Bình Định Province’s Party Committee Nguyễn Văn Thiện, and former Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and head of the province’s National Assembly deputies Lê Kim Toàn must take responsibility for defects and infringements committed by the provincial Party Standing Committee in recruiting, planning, promoting and accrediting several officials contrary to State regulations.

The inspection commission requested the Government’s Party Civil Affairs Committee instruct an overall inspection of Bình Định Province’s Quy Nhơn Port privatisation. — VNS