HÀ NỘI — The Politburo yesterday held a meeting to review reports by its internal inspection bodies on the selection and appointment of cadres and manager-level officials looking towards 2020.

The meeting was chaired by Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, who is at the forefront of the corruption crackdown. The important process of selecting and appointing officials is generally thought to be susceptible to corruption.

Inspections at 10 localities and five central-level agencies showed that, in general, the authorities have been following the Party and central government’s guidelines on cadre planning, making the process both “dynamic” and “open.” The training and education of cadres have been paid due attention. It is becoming more common for officials to be appointed to lead areas other than those in which they were raised; this is regarded as a positive step towards ensuring a meritocratic appointment process.

At the meeting, General Secretary Trọng stressed that cadre appointment and selection is a critical process, considering it “the cause of all causes, the root of all roots.” He cited President Hồ Chí Minh’s saying that “every success and failure can be attributed to the official appointed to oversee that affair, appropriate appointment and inappropriate appointments will lead to different outcomes.”

He also stressed that the transferring of cadres not only means promoting someone to a higher position or to “a favourable and profitable seat.” It is also necessary for officials to grow and obtain experience.

The Party General Secretary also noted that "the assessment of officials is a difficult matter and requires analysing information coming from multiple fair and objective sources and parties".

He also urged a change of mindset to render obsolete the currently popular criticism that officials are selected according to a hierarchy of criteria that ranks “relationship first, followed by money, progeny, and at the bottom, merits.”

General Secretary Trọng said that through the inspections, the strengths in the process need to be promoted while violations must be addressed immediately, in preparation for next year’s central conference on cadre planning. — VNS