We cannot let petty corruption continue to prevail.

In many meetings and conferences, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong always mentioned "petty corruption" and considered it as "scabies". Not only now, but a few years ago, during a meeting with voters in Tay Ho district (Hanoi), the General Secretary pointed out that not only big corruption, but "petty corruption" is like "scabies", very itchy and uncomfortable, and at the same time directed and resolutely removed from the Party and State apparatus corrupt and corrupt officials.

General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong

Recently, with the determination of the Party, the State and the consensus of the whole society, we have brought many major corruption cases to trial, creating trust among the people. In particular, many serious and complicated economic corruption cases have been brought to trial.

However, “petty corruption” is rampant, like “scabies” that cause itching and discomfort, making people lose confidence. “Petty corruption” occurs in many places, especially in public agencies, and takes many forms, so it is not easy to detect and handle.

It is a situation where wherever you go, whatever you do, you have to give envelopes and bribes. The writer of this article once gave birth in a public hospital. After the mother and child were safe and sound, everyone felt secure thinking that they would be taken care of before being discharged. But in reality, that was not the case. Almost everything, even the smallest things like cleaning the mother, bathing the baby, changing the surgical wound dressing, etc., required a “bribe” for the staff and nurses, otherwise the attitude and actions of the “servant of the people” would be completely different.

"Petty corruption" is also a common phenomenon that the press has recently reported as "running for schools and classes" for children, especially those who are starting to enter the first grade, and when there is "supply", there will be "demand".

Then there is the situation of causing trouble for people and businesses in handling administrative procedures. If you want to do things quickly and get things done, you need envelopes, bribes, and grease...

Why is "petty corruption" becoming so widespread and gradually becoming normal and obvious in society?

The main reason is the distorted thinking of many people as well as the “servants of the people” in public agencies. The “beggars” have the mentality of wanting to do things quickly, wanting to get their work done, and finding every way to achieve their goals, including giving envelopes and gifts to those performing public duties.

Along with that is the fear of conflict of many people. When seeing injustice in public agencies, they often consider it a small matter, a trivial matter or a matter that has little impact on themselves, so they let it go. Or if they are upset, they rarely have enough courage to speak up or fight, because "small matters are not likely to be resolved by anyone. If you wait until you are in trouble, your cheeks will swell up".

If someone dares to speak up and fight against "petty corruption", they will be considered by the majority to be unusual and different, because small and trivial matters should not be "scrutinized".

As for many people who are assigned the task of “servants of the people”, they are too familiar with the mentality of the “beggars” and gradually accept that giving envelopes, giving gifts, cutting back… is a normal thing, and after a while it becomes the obligation of the “beggars”. If anyone wants to be quick and not have to wait in line, then giving bribes and giving envelopes is a matter of course.

Illustration photo

The cumbersome administrative procedures are also a favorable environment for the development of "petty corruption". Often, when completing a procedure, people have to go through many steps, many levels, many levels and along with that are bribes and "greasing" actions to make the work be processed quickly and smoothly.

It is not natural that people have the mentality of paying envelopes and giving bribes if there is no harassment, arrogance, and power abuse from those working in the government apparatus. And it is difficult to limit "petty corruption" when the "ask-give" mechanism still exists.

After all, all actions are guided by human consciousness. Therefore, to solve this situation, above all, we still need to solve the problem of human resources in public agencies. If we only care about professional expertise and ignore public ethics, it will be difficult to move towards a clean public administration that serves the people.

In 2018, a positive sign was that along with the determination of the Central Inspection Committee in handling violating officials, the Inspection Committees of districts/counties, provinces/cities also began to have strong movements, taking strong measures against violating officials. Many corruption cases from the Central level down to the commune and district levels were brought to trial. Most of the violations at the local level were related to "petty corruption", such as intentionally violating land policies, "supporting" relatives, children or embezzling compensation money, donations from the people...

In recent times, most corruption cases, big or small, when brought to justice, are linked to the responsibility of the leader. And reality has proven that where the leader is exemplary and closely follows the staff, harassment and corruption rarely occur and vice versa.

And it is not by chance that the example of the leader is talked about so much now. At the Central Party Committee Standing Conference, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized: "The general must act like a general, the soldier must act like a soldier. "If the superiors are not righteous, the subordinates will be rude." Only when the superiors are strict can the subordinates speak, the subordinates are afraid and do not dare to act."

Our Party has just issued a Regulation on exemplary leadership and also has regulations on handling officials and Party members who violate...

In meetings and meetings with voters, the leader of our Party has also clearly recognized the variations of petty corruption and has repeatedly affirmed his determination to eradicate "petty corruption". In the recent meeting of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong resolutely directed "selecting a few typical points and handling a few cases of "petty corruption". It is like a very annoying "mole", making people lose confidence".

The time has come when we cannot allow “petty corruption” to continue to run rampant. Its transformations are disrupting many values ​​in society, causing people to lose faith in public authorities. And “petty corruption” is the seed that can develop into grand corruption when given the opportunity.

Therefore, together with the legal regulations that have been and are being perfected to prevent "petty corruption", the high determination of the Party, the State and the entire political system, together with the people's support in "declaring war" on this evil, we have the right to hope that: The "scabies" disease will certainly subside in the coming time./.