Appointing officials: General criteria make it difficult to select the right officials

Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Dinh Phong said that the criteria for cadres at different levels need to be specific, not general, in order to select the "right" cadres.

Recently, public opinion has been indignant and has raised many questions about the "lightning-fast" and unusual appointment of Ms. Tran Vu Quynh Anh in Thanh Hoa, the case of "the whole family becoming officials" in Hai Duong, in Thua Thien-Hue... Regarding this issue, the reporter interviewed Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Dinh Phong - senior lecturer - Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Bui Dinh Phong

PV:How do you view the phenomenon of "the whole family being officials" in some localities recently?

Mr. Bui Dinh Phong:“The whole family is an official” is a phenomenon that needs to be condemned and criticized. In localities like ours, we see that the way of doing things is wrong. The people who are holding positions, but in a family of 6-7 people in the same agency, are not intellectually and morally worthy of that job position. The process of promoting these officials to positions also does not ensure compliance with the general regulations of the Party and the State, so public opinion criticizes it.

On the contrary, in some cases, there are people in the family who have intelligence, qualities, and ethics who are promoted according to the correct principles and procedures, not in the current style of "the whole family becomes an official", then this must also be considered. In history, there have been fathers who held high positions and their children were also very worthy and trusted by the people. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between these two issues.

PV:The same process for cadres, but the place that made the appointment decision explained correctly, while the inspection agency concluded that it was wrong. Is there a loophole in the process, sir?

Mr. Bui Dinh Phong:There are two problems here, one is: in terms of the process, what the organization is currently putting out also has loopholes; two is: at the grassroots, local or sectoral levels, when public opinion discovers, those responsible for explaining that the process is correct, that is what they say, but when examining and researching each issue and each aspect, it is not correct. I think that the assertion that the process is not correct is completely reasonable and accurate.

PV: Some people say that it is necessary to control the manipulation of those in power when they deliberately misuse the process in appointing officials. What is your opinion?

Mr. Bui Dinh Phong:Controlling power is a very big issue that the Party has mentioned in the Central Resolutions, especially in the Central Resolution 4 of the 12th tenure. This issue needs to be understood from many aspects, first: on the Party and State side, there needs to be regulations on controlling power; second, there is currently an important thing that we have not been able to do, which is the people controlling power, especially the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations.

Even the introduction of cadres is currently only done within the Party, which is necessary but not enough, because as President Ho Chi Minh pointed out, a very important issue is to have the people's opinions. That step currently still has limitations. Therefore, to control power, it is not only the Party and State agencies but there must be a way for the people to have the conditions and ability to control together.

PV:The appointment of Ms. Tran Vu Quynh Anh in Thanh Hoa also caused public outrage. What is your view on this case?

Mr. Bui Dinh Phong: Through public opinion and the press, I think that Thanh Hoa's way of doing things is problematic. Regarding this issue, Party and State agencies need to carefully consider each step, from the appointment stage, lost records, especially the head - the person responsible for this issue.

This can be said to be one of the things that if not done clearly, thoroughly, and thoroughly to regain people's trust, will be very dangerous in the following issues of personnel work.

PV: How can the person with the highest power not have the opportunity to make mistakes in personnel work, sir?

Mr. Bui Dinh Phong:Currently, some places are piloting the unification of leadership titles in terms of the Party and the State. Talking about the will of the leader is just a way of speaking, because we have a very important principle in the Party which is democratic centralism, the principle of collective leadership and individual responsibility. This issue is not new and has existed for decades. However, in practice, there are places here and there with different levels that are not strictly implemented. Therefore, it is very important that other agencies check this issue. We must check to see how far those places have gone and now we must do it thoroughly.

PV:To choose talented people as the Prime Minister requested "choose talented people, not relatives", what do you think needs to be done?

Mr. Bui Dinh Phong: Currently we have many regulations on this issue, but in my opinion, there are a few steps that cannot be avoided strictly: we must comply with the latest regulations on cadre work of the Party and State today. In that regulation, we discuss criteria for cadres at different levels, these criteria need to be specific, they cannot be general.

A very important factor is to have the trust and opinions of the people. For a long time, regarding personnel work, we have only done it within the Party. In my opinion, that is necessary but not enough. We need to get broader opinions in the locality where the cadre lives and where he works.

PV:Thank you sir./.

According to VOV