"Cadres who do not restrain themselves will sooner or later be corrupted"

It is easy to see that since the 4th Central Conference of the 11th and 12th tenures, the campaign to prevent corruption and negativity launched by the Party has had positive changes. The policy of the Party's highest leader "not bathing from the shoulders down" demonstrates the determination to deal with corrupt and negative officials regardless of their level, which has spread throughout the political system, from the central to local levels. Public opinion feels those changes.

In early 2018, the Central Organizing Committee for the first time released a draft on controlling power and preventing “buying positions and power” in the work of organizing cadres. Public opinion considers this a very new approach towards building an institution on controlling power. This approach will certainly be another proof to convince public opinion that controlling power is no longer just a slogan.

Faced with the risk of declining people's trust in the Party, threatening the survival of the regime due to the consequences of moral degradation and lifestyle of a significant number of cadres, Party members, and the highest leaders of the Party - General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has declared that power must be "locked" in a "cage" of regulations. The General Secretary's statement is seen as a signal for the entire political system to join in.

Agreeing with the Party's policy and determination, Mr. Vu Mao, former Head of the National Assembly Office, emphasized that the General Secretary's "command" must be strictly implemented. Because the reason why we have not been able to control power well is because we do not have a complete mechanism, do not clearly define the functions and tasks of each organization and each individual with power and force them to properly perform those functions and tasks.

“We talk about leadership, but the regulations for people to control power and supervise leadership agencies are not clear, so it is easy to lead to arbitrariness, thinking that we can do that, but in reality, it is beyond our authority. The reason for not being able to control power is because we cannot control such organizations and individuals,” said Mr. Vu Mao. Therefore, the Party's regulations also need to clarify tasks, powers and responsibilities.

With high expectations when the Draft is approved and promulgated as a Party regulation to control power and “block” the path to position and power, Mr. Vu Mao suggested that the consultation should be organized widely instead of focusing on just one part, so that the draft can cover all aspects. “Because this is new content, there also needs to be a new approach to perfect the draft content,” said Mr. Vu Mao.

In fact, in recent times, there have been many corrupt and degenerate cadres, but very few have been discovered through inspection and examination. The evidence is that some serious violations occurred many years ago, but can only be handled now. According to Mr. Vu Mao, this proves that there are still limitations in inspection, supervision and examination. "To answer the question of why it was not discovered, what is the cause, in my opinion, it is not really based on the people, and democracy among the people has not been promoted well," Mr. Vu Mao emphasized.

"If officials do not train and remind themselves, sooner or later they will be corrupted and "bound" by corruption."

The former Head of the National Assembly Office recommended that this content should be given special attention when developing specific regulations on the role of the collective and the people in how they are entitled to discover, raise issues, and even denounce. Similarly, there must be a mechanism to facilitate the press to discover, but at the same time, strict regulations must be put in place so that the press cannot report arbitrarily.

Along with controlling power through mechanisms, Mr. Vu Mao emphasized the need to focus on the issue of integrity education among cadres. Each individual in each position and position must have training and self-cultivation. As a public servant, one cannot use one's power to take advantage of or exploit material things. Each cadre and party member, in fact, a cadre with authority, must always be humble and keep in mind that they work to contribute to and serve the people. The moral training of cadres and party members, especially cadres with authority from the central to local levels, can be considered the most important factor.

Referring back to the period when the country went through resistance wars against French colonialism and American imperialism, Mr. Vu Mao said that at that time, the dedication of blood and bones for the peace of the nation by many generations of cadres was clearly seen. His fathers went to revolutionary activities not thinking about themselves but thinking about the common good, even sacrificing their lives.

In peacetime, faced with the benefits and temptations of the market mechanism, people do everything to get positions and benefits. If officials do not train and remind themselves, sooner or later they will be corrupted and "bound" by corruption.

In our country, “buying positions”, “buying power”, and corruption are still complicated, occurring at all levels and in all sectors, causing public outrage. The requirement is to end this situation. The Party has the responsibility to direct the handling of this situation to regain the people’s trust, establish a stable, civilized society, and unite people to build the country.

“A society that sees many people being corrupt, abusing their power to get rich in an unfair way, and the people are upset, cannot be united. Unity can only be achieved on the basis of individuals joining hands, joining hearts, and having the same will. Along with that is the mechanism, there cannot be loopholes that people can exploit to plunder and impoverish the country,” said former Head of the National Assembly Office Vu Mao./.