National Assembly delegates talk about the psychology of avoiding, pushing away, and fearing responsibility of officials and civil servants

National Assembly Delegate Tran Quoc Tuan speaks at the discussion session.

On May 31, the National Assembly discussed in the Hall the socio-economic development situation and budget in the last months of 2022 and the first 4 months of 2023.

Speaking at the Hall, National Assembly delegate Tran Quoc Tuan (Tra Vinh province) expressed his joy and excitement at the results achieved in the fields of economy, culture, society, security and national defense of the country in 2022 and the first months of 2023, especially in the context that many countries in the region and the world are facing many difficulties, challenges and the risk of falling into economic recession.

However, in addition to the achieved results, the delegate also pointed out certain limitations that need to be overcome soon. "I am particularly concerned about a group of cadres and civil servants who are not yet resolute, have a mentality of avoidance, fear of responsibility, shirking responsibility, fear of making mistakes, causing congestion, hindering the country's economic development," the delegate said.

The delegate also raised the issue that it is necessary to determine the cause of this disease in order to treat it effectively.

Analyzing this phenomenon, delegate Tran Quoc Tuan said that there are two groups of cadres: the group of cadres who have degraded political ideology, cadres who avoid, are afraid of responsibility, push things away, are afraid of making mistakes, cadres who do not want to do it because there is no personal benefit, and the group of cadres who are afraid of violating the law so they do not dare to do it.

Expressing his opinion, the delegate said that the group of cadres who avoid and fear responsibility are those who have degraded political ideology, show signs of avoiding and fearing responsibility, shirking responsibility, fearing mistakes, and not wanting to do things because they have no personal interests. The problem is whether the unit can identify them or not, and when they do, how to handle them. The delegate said that, right at this "boiling oil, burning fire" moment, the urgent solution that needs to be done right away is to prioritize replacing those cadres with good cadres, cadres with enough enthusiasm and responsibility because we do not lack good cadres.

But in the long term, National Assembly deputies proposed that the National Assembly and the Government should direct the review and improvement of the legal system, especially legal regulations related to civil servants and public employees, to ensure consistency, no overlap, and no contradictions, as a basis for encouraging and protecting dynamic, creative, daring-to-think, daring-to-act officials for the common good.

From another perspective, the delegate expressed his opinion about the group of cadres who are afraid of violating the law and therefore do not dare to do anything. This group of cadres accounts for the majority of cadres who are afraid of responsibility. They are the ones who have created the above limitations and are the biggest obstacle causing work congestion in the entire system.

"They are worried because sub-law documents lack consistency and are difficult to implement. Typically, the same regulation content can have two different interpretations, or the same work content can have two sub-law documents with inconsistent implementation instructions," said the delegate.

In addition, the number of officials who fear violating the law is due to the fact that inspection and examination work is becoming more and more substantial, along with the work of preventing and combating corruption and negativity being implemented drastically and increasingly effectively. In particular, there are cases of law violations from many years ago that have been discovered and due to the seriousness of the violations, they have been criminally prosecuted.

From the above situation, delegates suggested that the National Assembly and the Government should pay attention to, focus on researching, reviewing, amending and supplementing the full contents of legal regulations, especially sub-law documents, to ensure strictness, consistency and ease of application so that localities, units, organizations and individuals can immediately implement them based on them.

At the same time, further decentralization and delegation of power will be promoted. If this work is done well, it will reduce the pressure and burden on superior agencies, while increasing the responsibility of localities and subordinate agencies. To do so, it is necessary to determine which tasks are the responsibility of the locality, then boldly delegate power to the locality to perform and be responsible before the law. Strengthen inspection and supervision to guide, remind, and urge effective implementation of public duties.

Delegate Le Huu Tri (Khanh Hoa province) said that it is necessary to take immediate measures to rectify the working style of the state apparatus at all levels, especially the situation where state officials, civil servants, and public employees in general and officials and civil servants holding leadership and management positions in particular show signs of fear of responsibility, avoidance, failure to resolve work, or causing prolonged congestion when resolving work for people and businesses.

According to the delegate, the stagnation in the operation of the state apparatus in many places has contributed to difficulties and congestion in handling administrative procedures for people and businesses, making it even more difficult for businesses and people who are already facing difficulties, wasting time, increasing unofficial costs, losing opportunities for people and businesses, and in many cases causing damage to the legitimate and legal rights and interests of citizens as stipulated in the Constitution.

At the same time, urgently review, adjust and supplement legal provisions that are unclear, difficult to implement in practice, lack consistency, and conflict with laws, in order to promptly remove shortcomings in mechanisms, policies, and laws that have caused current bottlenecks and bottlenecks in many areas. This is a very important requirement, not only in the short term but also in the long term, to improve the investment environment, promote production and business, and promptly resolve emerging social issues.