Director of the Department of Internal Affairs makes special appointment to son: A violation of the law!

In recent days, the story of "a department full of leaders" in Hai Duong has resurfaced following information that the Director of the Department of Internal Affairs made a special appointment to his son.

The Ministry of Interior's inspection report on the appointment and recruitment of officials at the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Hai Duong province clearly indicated that two civil servants were appointed to the position of deputy head of department without fully meeting the standards for administrative civil servant positions. As of October 15, 2016, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Hai Duong had 6 out of 9 specialized departments exceeding the permitted number of deputy heads by 8 people.

Notably, the Director of the Hai Duong Department of Internal Affairs, Pham Van To, signed a decision appointing his son, Pham Van Khang (born in 1980), to a department-level position without a civil service examination. When the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted an inspection, Mr. To's son voluntarily submitted a resignation letter.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Pham Van To said, "The oversight was due to subordinates submitting the report, so I didn't review it carefully... I have requested to accept disciplinary action from the leaders of Hai Duong province."

Former Deputy Minister of the Interior Thang Van Phuc.

Former Deputy Minister of the Interior Thang Van Phuc stated that the Law on Civil Servants stipulates specifically: "You must take an examination to become a civil servant before being promoted or appointed based on the established procedures. Failure to comply constitutes a violation, and once an inspection report is concluded, disciplinary action will be taken based on that report."

Regarding the recent inspection report by the Ministry of Interior which revealed an excess of officials in many localities, the former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Interior affirmed that the law clearly stipulates that each level should have one head and two or three deputies, so appointing too many officials shows a failure to comply with the law and indicates personal or local interests.

Following the recent inspection conclusions of the Ministry of Interior, National Assembly representative Pham Tat Thang – Vice Chairman of the Committee on Culture, Education, Youth, and Children – stated that two issues can be observed in the inspected localities and units: a lack of respect for the rule of law; lax discipline and order in public service; and favoritism, personal connections, and acquaintances in the placement and promotion of officials in those areas.

"It's noteworthy that this phenomenon, as reflected in recent press reports and inspection results, is no longer an isolated incident but is appearing in quite a few places, which is a worrying situation. We might also question whether, within our public service discipline system, there's a case of 'orders from above being ignored below,' or whether these orders are not being implemented?!" – Representative Pham Tat Thang raised the question.

This member of parliament also affirmed that appointments made without compelling reasons regarding job requirements, coupled with a lack of qualifications and conditions, cannot be considered to have followed the correct procedures.

Also related to personnel work, when evaluating the 2016 report on anti-corruption work, the National Assembly's Judicial Committee frankly stated that National Assembly deputies, public opinion, and the press reflected on some cases of abuse of regulations in the transfer and appointment of officials who did not meet the necessary conditions, standards, qualities, and capabilities; who were not truly exemplary; lacked practical experience; and were relatives or family members...

Furthermore, current law does not prohibit heads of agencies, organizations, or units from appointing relatives to leadership positions, leading to the phenomenon of "entire families holding official positions" that still seem to be within the proper procedures.

Therefore, the Judicial Committee suggests that attention and research are needed to ensure that talent is both valued and that abuse of power for personal gain is avoided in personnel management.

According to VOV