Eliminate parasitic habits.

(Baonghean) - In nature, there are animals that specialize in living off or completely or partially depending on other species. They take nutrients from other living organisms to survive and develop. These are called parasitic animals. One might think that only animals have such species. But in fact, human society also has similar elements.

These are people who are so used to relying on the system and the state budget that they don't want to leave. Even when it's time to retire, they are determined to find every way possible to stay, to avoid being completely cut off from that source of support.

This is why the situation described by National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan at the 3rd session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the morning of September 22nd, regarding the draft Law on Associations, has arisen: Many deputy ministers, upon retirement, form their own associations, then request houses, cars, budgets, and even staff positions.

In fact, not only many deputy ministers, but also many others, holding positions higher, equal to, or slightly lower, have used their influence to establish associations after retirement. If these associations were self-sustaining and didn't touch a single penny of taxpayers' money, there would be nothing to say.

But most of their associations are established and then, in one way or another, get money from the budget. If they can't get it directly, they get it indirectly through funding from state-owned corporations or some localities with abundant revenue.

Of course, all frogs are meat, and all money eventually flows from the state's coffers. Naturally, people know perfectly well what the purpose of such organizations is. But out of respect for familiarity, or even because the person is a former superior who recently left office, few dare to refuse.

As a result, quite a few retirees don't really retire. They still carry their briefcases to the association's headquarters every day, participating in all sorts of activities. Some are even more active than when they were still in office because they have more free time. Besides, staying at home is boring, and aging leads to illness, so they are very diligent in traveling and running around.

Some take advantage of opportunities, seizing the chance to gain favors while people still remember them and haven't forgotten them. Therefore, those "officials" who are skillful and adept at leveraging relationships can have offices, cars, meetings, travel, and expenses for meals and parties.

As a result, our associations are numerous, but their effectiveness is vague, ambiguous, and inconsistent, like a watercolor painting. Many of these associations serve as places where retired officials, unfamiliar with being ordinary citizens, can continue their official roles, albeit through association officials, enjoying themselves while also having the opportunity to gain some personal benefit. This shows just how difficult it is to abandon the habit of relying on and depending on the state budget.

Many small organizations combine to form a large one; the entire country has a total of 8,000 associations and organizations, both large and small. And according to a recently published survey by the Institute for Economic Policy Research, the State budget spends up to 14 trillion VND annually to support these organizations.

That's a huge amount of money. It's time to clean up these associations, decisively eliminating or withholding funding from the state budget in any form for unnecessary ones. Consider this a way to eliminate parasitic behavior.

Duy Huong