Declaring assets but no one controls: Still too formal

There are still many loopholes in the declaration and control of assets of officials. There are too many forms of declaration; declarants keep declaring but no one checks...

According to the Government Inspectorate, as of May 31, 2015, 995,383 out of 999,416 people declared their assets, reaching a rate of 99.6%. Through verification of 1,225 people required to declare their assets and income, only 4 people were found to be dishonest.

According to the Government Inspectorate’s report on anti-corruption work in 2016, the rate of asset and income declaration in the year reached 99.1%; the number of people who completed asset and income declaration was over 1 million. The number of asset declarations made public was over 993,000 copies, reaching a rate of nearly 99%. 414 people who were required to declare had their assets verified, and no cases of dishonest declarations were detected.

Declare assets that no one controls

According to the data presented at the National Conference on Summarizing 10 Years of Implementing the Law on Anti-Corruption, in the past 10 years, the number of leaders who have been prosecuted is still small compared to the number of corruption cases discovered and prosecuted. Some major cases have not yet assigned responsibility and handled the responsibility of leaders. In 10 years, 118 cases were criminally prosecuted; 800 cases were disciplined. Only 17 people who declared their assets dishonestly were disciplined.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Ha.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Ha, former Head of the Central Organization Department, said that it is clear that we have carried out many rounds of asset declarations for officials and civil servants, but there is a lack of measures to ensure effective implementation. “Through more than 1 million declarations, only 4 people were found to have made false declarations. This is an extremely offensive number, demonstrating the dishonesty of officials.”

Mr. Nguyen Tuc, member of the Presidium, Chairman of the Advisory Council on Cultural and Social Issues of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, also said that there are still many loopholes in the work of declaring assets and controlling assets of officials. Currently, there are too many forms of asset declaration; people just declare but no one checks, only when there is an incident will they look into it.

“Should everyone have to declare or only those involved in financial matters or at certain levels need to declare, and should all civil servants declare? Is it necessary to declare without anyone controlling it?” Mr. Tuc asked.

It should be considered normal to declare assets honestly.

For many years, the relevant agencies have been studying the asset declaration from a legal perspective to make the declaration more transparent and effective. However, it is time to have specific regulations to make the asset declaration more practical.

Dr. Nguyen Viet Chuc, former Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children, said that "it is necessary to conduct research so that asset declaration is a very normal thing. If officials are transparent, asset declaration is a matter of course. If we do it the way it has been done for a long time, it will not be effective and will lead to many consequences for the people, the State and the individuals involved in asset declaration. Because if the declaration is not truthful, when something happens, it cannot be changed."

Dr. Nguyen Viet Chu.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tuc, the declaration of assets by civil servants must be known and monitored by the people. “If civil servants declare themselves, many will declare incorrectly. The residential area is the best place to detect whether the declaration is honest or not. Based on that, we have the conditions to assess and evaluate the honesty of the declarant more accurately. If we can do that, the declaration and control of income of civil servants will be more effective and the people will have more confidence.”

The 4th Central Resolution has raised the issue of assigning the agency appointing officials to be responsible for determining the authenticity of declared assets. This Resolution also emphasizes and promotes the role of the people. There is a mechanism to motivate, encourage and protect those who expose. The Resolution also promotes the role of the press and public opinion, correcting errors, both strengthening management and providing orientation information, and promoting the role of the press and public opinion. Therefore, regularly and suddenly inspect and publicize asset declarations. The nominating and appointing agency is responsible for verifying the truthfulness of the declaration.

To fight corruption in a timely and effective manner, it is necessary to control the income of all people, including the assets of officials and civil servants. The declaration and disclosure of assets and income of officials and civil servants must be linked to the verification of their assets and income. Therefore, it is necessary to soon complete regulations and mechanisms on declaration, disclosure and control of income of officials and civil servants in a practical manner, avoiding formalities./.

According to VOV