It is difficult to stop "petty corruption" when officials' salaries are not enough to live on?

“Bribery”, “grab”, or “greasing” are all too familiar phrases that are an inevitable part of life today. More sadly, petty corruption is becoming more widespread and sophisticated, corrupting and degenerating many officials and civil servants, eroding people’s trust in the government apparatus. VOV reporter interviewed Mr. Le Thanh Van - Member of the National Assembly’s Finance Committee on this issue.

Mr. Le Thanh Van: Petty corruption is now quite common, at many levels, in many sectors and in many localities, making people angry. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong once said: Petty corruption is as annoying as scratching an itch. The ancients used this image as a story of a termite nest breaking a dike. This image shows that the legal defense system can be broken if petty corruption continues to destroy it.

PV:There are many reasons for petty corruption. However, according to many experts, even in his meeting with voters, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also stated that salary is a major factor and also a premise for petty corruption. What is your opinion?

Mr. Le Thanh Van: Petty corruption originates from the concern for personal economic benefits, first of all they see that income is salary. Besides that issue, there are many other causes such as virtue, morality, exemplary character of cadres and party members in the system, economic conditions, income comparison... Saying so to see that salary is only one of the conditions leading to petty corruption.

PV:If looking from the current salary factor, what do you think about the income level from salaries of officials and civil servants in the State sector?

Mr. Le Thanh Van: Compared to the state sector, the current minimum wage of 1,390,000 VND is too low compared to the current living standards of civil servants. But looking at it from the perspective of other people in society, this wage is not the lowest. If compared to the poor in society, the income of civil servants is not at the bottom. But as civil servants, in addition to living expenses, they need clothes and means of transportation, so this income is too low compared to their living standards.

PV: With such a salary, the question is whether civil servants can live cleanly with such a salary, sir?

Mr. Le Thanh Van: With the current salary level, most civil servants cannot survive, they have many ways to earn money. Some people earn money by working extra, increasing production, selling online; others "embezzle" the budget, also known as petty corruption, harassing people when doing administrative procedures.... These are ways to find extra income, satisfying not only spending needs but also bottomless greed when their living standards and needs are getting higher in society.

Mr. Le Thanh Van:In the private sector, their control is tighter because they are tied to their direct interests. Meanwhile, in the public sector, the situation of “no one cares about public property” is fertile ground for petty corruption to develop. And also because of good management and high labor productivity, income in private enterprises and economic establishments is always higher, so the salary payment for officials and employees is higher than in the state sector.

PV:Some people say that there should be a mechanism to prevent people from wanting to be corrupt and not daring to be corrupt. What do you think about this proposal?

Mr. Le Thanh Van: It is a fact that salaries are low but many people want to enter the government apparatus. There are two basic reasons here, one is that whether the salary is low or not, their life is still guaranteed for life, that is a misconception; the second is that the loopholes in financial management and power control lead to them taking advantage of petty corruption, to have a better life than others. Therefore, they enter the apparatus in many ways such as children of high-ranking officials, using negative forms and fraud to enter the government apparatus.

Mr. Le Thanh Van: Using the image of blocking means having a fence with enough tools and strength to stop it, which is very difficult in the current context. Because petty corruption is quite common, it is necessary to identify the root cause to push it back step by step, until there are enough conditions to stop it.

First of all, it is necessary to recognize the cause of petty corruption, which is due to the policy mechanism, from the stage of selecting, appointing, and using officials, which has overlooked important steps such as checking and supervising compliance with the law, checking and evaluating the qualities and ethics of officials. In the process of performing public duties, loopholes in regulations have not been promptly filled in to prevent legal loopholes that give petty corruption the opportunity to develop.

In addition, we have not promptly reformed wages and streamlined the payroll to improve labor productivity. Resolution 39 of the Politburo for many years has not been seriously and effectively implemented at all levels, causing the apparatus to become increasingly cumbersome, the quality of human resources is not high, and the expenditure on the apparatus is increasing.

PV: According to you, the proposal to reform the salary policy for civil servants was discussed and approved at the 7th Central Conference. Do you believe we will solve this problem?

Mr. Le Thanh Van:The 7th Central Conference has put forward a fairly systematic strategy to gradually reform the salary policy, but the prerequisite is still to streamline the apparatus, improve the quality of cadres, and importantly, the productivity, quality and efficiency of the apparatus and individual civil servants. To do that, a revolution is needed in rectifying the quality of human resources, thereby streamlining the apparatus so that the budget can meet the salary payments for civil servants.

When wages become the main income of workers, it will prevent or limit petty corruption. The remaining factor is the quality of public officials. During the revolution, many people faced material benefits but they were not defeated because of their moral character. Nowadays, the training of ethics and qualities of officials is highly valued, so there are still examples to replicate and control greed. If wages are not linked to productivity and quality, there will be no budget to pay for a sluggish apparatus that cannot create added value.

In developed countries, the public sector is not where the highest income is, typically Singapore. In many places, the public sector is not where the highest income is, but it is a place to cultivate, train, and contribute to those who serve the common good.

In the public sector, we need to try to ensure the most basic needs at an average level so that they can have enough to live on and feel secure in their contributions. Competition is important to create superior value among civil servants, thereby screening the staff, and giving them the opportunity to strive for higher achievements.

PV: Thank you sir./.