Anti-Corruption = Competition + Transparency + Accountability

December 9 was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as International Anti-Corruption Day. In Vietnam, the Law on Anti-Corruption has just been amended and supplemented with 20 articles, with many new provisions to enhance publicity, transparency and accountability.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong meets with voters to record their opinions on anti-corruption (Photo source: nld)

The actions of the entire political system show that corruption and waste seem to have become more serious than ever. Fighting corruption and waste has become an urgent task that cannot be delayed.

But from words to actions is always a process and fighting corruption really requires a correct method. And open dialogues, aiming to learn from the experiences of international friends, are one of the effective ways to seek knowledge.

In the recent 11th anti-corruption dialogue between the Vietnamese Government and international donors, many anti-corruption models in the world were introduced to Vietnamese politicians.

Mr. Jozef Petras, Communications Director, Department of External Affairs of the City of Martin, Slovakia, introduced the model of “Transparent City” with the criterion of making all activities of the public administration transparent to all citizens of the city. After only 1 year of applying specific and resolute measures, nearly 800,000 Euros in public procurement costs were saved, which is a significant number for a city with only over 57,000 inhabitants. The model of “Transparent City of Martin” in 2011 won two prestigious awards: the United Nations Public Service Award and the EPSA European Public Service Award.

“We have attended many such workshops, and many authorities have taken this model as a lesson and implemented it,” said Jozef Petras, Communications Director, Department of External Affairs of the City of Martin, Slovakia. “Not only in Slovakia, the Martin transparent city model has also been replicated in other countries in the European Union. We have introduced this model to the Middle East, and some African countries are also following suit.

Anti-Corruption = Competition + Transparency + Accountability

This is the formula that Ronald MacLean Abaroa used to fight corruption in the public administration during his time as Mayor of La Paz, Bolivia, from 1985.

Although it still takes time to study the suitability, it is clear that Vietnam can learn from the models and useful conclusions mentioned above. There are many studies and experiences of advanced countries in the world and they can be provided to us completely free of charge.

Mr. Huynh Phong Tranh, Government Inspector General, said that the Vietnamese Government has also made a commitment to the United Nations to build a national strategy until 2020. It can be said that based on the law, policies of the Government, the Party, conventions, strategies... we see a very high determination in building institutions.

Mr. Jairo Acuna Alfaro, Policy Advisor on Anti-Corruption - United Nations Development Program UNDP also expressed: "The way Vietnam builds and operates an anti-corruption mechanism is even more drastic than many other countries, that is a factor that needs to be emphasized. The question, after 6 years of studying Vietnam, is whether public agencies are willing to reduce their authoritarianism or not."

The Law on Anti-Corruption has just been amended and supplemented with 20 articles, with many new provisions to enhance publicity, transparency and accountability. The resolution on taking a vote of confidence and a vote of no confidence for positions elected and approved by the National Assembly and People's Councils is considered a strong solution of Vietnam, aiming to more fully implement the people's right to mastery and improve the effectiveness of the National Assembly's and local elected bodies' supervisory activities.

Vietnam, like many developing countries, will still need more time to solve the problem of corruption. International organizations can introduce many solutions, initiatives or models of anti-corruption that are effective in the world, but how and to what extent they are applied still depends entirely on the political will of Vietnam.

According to (vtv.vn) - LT