Sunday, July 30, 2006
Thanh Nien News
Reviewing the success of the ‘Is Vietnam small country or not?’ Forum, Thanh Nien’s Editor-in-Chief Nguyen Cong Khe shared some of his insights on corruption fight, the prerequisite for a “not small Vietnam.”
Speaking to local VietnamNet online news, Khe said “There are good signs indicating that a stronger fight against corruption has commenced since the tenth Party Congress”, citing Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh’s speech considering anti-corruption the most important task of the party.
The following are excerpts of an interview with Khe after the forum, which in the last three months has heard thousands of comments from all corners of the society: from elite scholars and senior officials to ordinary laymen.
Reporter: The bulky bureaucratic system leads to the non-transparency which allows for corruption. Some also say that officials’ low salaries force them into corruption scams. Can we solve the matter?
Nguyen Cong Khe: I believe that we have capacity to renew the salary system. If Cambodia, albeit having to receive financial aid from international donors, can still pay its parliament members US$500-1,000 a month, then why a nation such as Vietnam with a GDP of $50 billion cannot? As far as I know, if we measure the underground economy, the nation’s GDP may reach $95 billion. Why don’t we pay officials a more satisfactory salary so that they can cover their daily needs?
We should also drop incompetent officials to make way for a more capable system. A simplified system with diligent officials can surely operate more smoothly while at the same time ensuring a higher salary.
On the other hand, we should also speed up the socialization of education and health care. We should create favorable conditions for all individuals and organizations, both inside and outside the nation, to join these activities so and develop better model private schools and hospitals for the nation to improve upon.
Many families in Vietnam can afford their children’s study overseas for tens of thousands US dollars a year. Thus, they can surely accept more costly but better quality health care.
As well, a lay-off of incompetent government officials may trigger more private enterprise activity as many currently working in the state-owned sector will move to the private sector.
Reporter: There are many complaints of overloaded administrative agencies. What is to be done?
Nguyen Cong Khe: Even in my newspaper, we lack competent staff though we have many average quality employees.
I once spent 1-2 hours watching the working of several wards’ administrative bureaus. The officials spent hours smoking and drinking coffee rather than working while the citizens who came there for administrative procedures still encountered annoying delays and interference.
I even know a Deputy Minister of Public Security Ministry who had troubles acquiring his birth certificate as he deliberately did not reveal his position.
I believe that a competent officer could handle the works of 5-7 of the incompetent ones.
Reporter: The slow deployment of informatics technology in administrative management often adds to bureaucratic red-tape. What do you think?
Nguyen Cong Khe: The advanced technologies are necessary, but we can only exploit these devices if we have competent people.
Reporter: How will Thanh Nien materialize ideas on corruption fighting that were contributed to the forum?
Nguyen Cong Khe: We are going to publish a book gathering the ideas contributed to the forum and send them to agencies and libraries as present.
Solving corruption problems is a math puzzle for the whole party and the people as the epidemic threatens the state’s existence.
Source: VietnamNet – Translated by Thanh Tuan
Speaking to local VietnamNet online news, Khe said “There are good signs indicating that a stronger fight against corruption has commenced since the tenth Party Congress”, citing Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh’s speech considering anti-corruption the most important task of the party.
The following are excerpts of an interview with Khe after the forum, which in the last three months has heard thousands of comments from all corners of the society: from elite scholars and senior officials to ordinary laymen.
Reporter: The bulky bureaucratic system leads to the non-transparency which allows for corruption. Some also say that officials’ low salaries force them into corruption scams. Can we solve the matter?
Nguyen Cong Khe: I believe that we have capacity to renew the salary system. If Cambodia, albeit having to receive financial aid from international donors, can still pay its parliament members US$500-1,000 a month, then why a nation such as Vietnam with a GDP of $50 billion cannot? As far as I know, if we measure the underground economy, the nation’s GDP may reach $95 billion. Why don’t we pay officials a more satisfactory salary so that they can cover their daily needs?
We should also drop incompetent officials to make way for a more capable system. A simplified system with diligent officials can surely operate more smoothly while at the same time ensuring a higher salary.
On the other hand, we should also speed up the socialization of education and health care. We should create favorable conditions for all individuals and organizations, both inside and outside the nation, to join these activities so and develop better model private schools and hospitals for the nation to improve upon.
Many families in Vietnam can afford their children’s study overseas for tens of thousands US dollars a year. Thus, they can surely accept more costly but better quality health care.
As well, a lay-off of incompetent government officials may trigger more private enterprise activity as many currently working in the state-owned sector will move to the private sector.
Reporter: There are many complaints of overloaded administrative agencies. What is to be done?
Nguyen Cong Khe: Even in my newspaper, we lack competent staff though we have many average quality employees.
I once spent 1-2 hours watching the working of several wards’ administrative bureaus. The officials spent hours smoking and drinking coffee rather than working while the citizens who came there for administrative procedures still encountered annoying delays and interference.
I even know a Deputy Minister of Public Security Ministry who had troubles acquiring his birth certificate as he deliberately did not reveal his position.
I believe that a competent officer could handle the works of 5-7 of the incompetent ones.
Reporter: The slow deployment of informatics technology in administrative management often adds to bureaucratic red-tape. What do you think?
Nguyen Cong Khe: The advanced technologies are necessary, but we can only exploit these devices if we have competent people.
Reporter: How will Thanh Nien materialize ideas on corruption fighting that were contributed to the forum?
Nguyen Cong Khe: We are going to publish a book gathering the ideas contributed to the forum and send them to agencies and libraries as present.
Solving corruption problems is a math puzzle for the whole party and the people as the epidemic threatens the state’s existence.
Source: VietnamNet – Translated by Thanh Tuan
1 comment:
Dear All, Please try to use the intenational criminal court to crush all land grabbings animal. Register all victims names and file on their behalve to international criminal court to bring all landgrabbing animals to justice in international level. Cambodia was a signatory of this court. According to the law of this court, any victims from any serious crimes which cannot solve in their own country because of their court system is not neutral, these victims can refer their concern to international court. You ask this court to freeze all assets of culprit in all countries in the world for preparing for reparation to their victims. Please write as high as possible for compensation to make sure that all landgrabbings animals will be bankcrupt. If you would like to know if this could be work or not, consult this problem with human right international or to amnesty international.
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