VietNamNet Bridge – Tuoi tre Cuoi tuan (Youth Weekend) spoke to Le Van Lan, who made a study for the Party Central Committee's Commission on Internal Affairs, about the new anti-corruption steering committee and an initiative to make major cases more public.

The Central Steering Committee made its debut in early October 2006. What are your thoughts about the committee's work in the past three months?

The Law Against Corruption has taken effect but guiding regulations are still in the pipeline.

Three months is too short a period to say whether the committee is doing well enough.

But I do hope that when the committee's support office is properly commissioned, corruption prevention efforts will be accelerated with active participation from all of the board's ten members, not only its head or deputy head as at present [Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong, respectively].

Do you mean that other members of the committee are not yet getting involved in the fight?

No, I don't mean that. As far as I know, both the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister are very active. The other eight members have also shown their determination to combat corruption. But they are overloaded with the daily work of their own agencies in their capacities as office heads.

The Law Against Corruption has taken effect but guiding regulations are still in the pipeline.

What will the Central Steering Committee do in the meantime?

The most important document, the essential tool for the committee to do its job, is the Law Against Corruption.

The Party has also issued a Resolution on strengthening the Party's leadership in the fight against corruption and in combating waste.

The National Assembly has assigned the Central Steering Committee the task of ensuring the anti-corruption law is strictly enforced, including the building of guiding documents to implement the law and other anti-corruption measures.

Most recently, the Government Inspectorate and the Ministry of Home Affairs have worked closely with concerned agencies to craft two decrees, one detailing some articles in the anti-corruption law and the other defining the responsibility of office heads when cases of corruption are reported in their agencies.

It is hoped that the two documents will soon be submitted to the Government for approval in the first quarter of 2007.

Lacking regulations and with most of its members distracted by other full-time duties, does the steering committee have sufficient strength to win the war against corruption?

I fully believe that the committee has the power to "deploy forces" in the fight to make sure victory will be on its side.

For example, when a corruption case is reported in an agency or office, the committee can report the information to an investigative agency immediately and ask it to conduct the investigation and report the results to the Inspectorate for consideration before bringing the case to court.

That's the absolute power of the Central Steering Committee, and it will not otherwise take the duties of other agencies.

Based on your experience in many corruption investigations in the past, what areas do you suggest the steering committee focus on?

In my opinion, the committee should focus on areas that have potential for corruption like construction investment, land management, tax collection and public spending, personnel and hiring, and the equitisation of State-owned enterprises.

It is imperative to conduct regular inspection and auditing visits to these agencies to detect as early as possible any sign of corruption.

(Source: Viet Nam News)