"Gather the information"

(Baonghean) - After a long time apart, seeing how much older my friend had become, I immediately asked:

- I heard he was recently appointed chief of staff. Perhaps he's been working too hard serving the leaders, or something, that's why he's looking so worn out?

As if touching upon a long-held resentment, my friend immediately said:

- As the chief of staff, I don't have to worry about the technical aspects; my biggest worry is receiving guests. And the worst part is when the guests aren't really guests at all!

Hearing you say that, I was surprised and asked: What do you mean by "a guest who isn't really a guest"?

My friend pondered for a moment before replying: "Let me give you an example to make it easier to understand! Last Sunday, I was resting after a stressful week of work when I received a call from a higher-ranking official. They said a delegation was coming to 'assess the situation,' and requested that the office prepare lunch for four people, arrange accommodation, and perhaps even bring a gift. When the delegation arrived, besides the official from the higher-ranking agency, the rest were complete strangers. Upon inquiry, I learned that one was a freelancer, another owned a private business, and the third was a driving instructor at a driving school."

- You said the delegation was coming to "assess the situation," but it turns out they were just some guys who went to learn to drive and then came by to ask your unit to arrange accommodation and meals, right?

- That's what you call a real customer. The worst part is, when you call them, they say they're out "gathering information."

Once you know the truth, you have to "swallow your pride and accept it," because you can't possibly deny it!

- Yeah, you're right!

- That's not all. It's just learning to drive, but after finishing the course, he rents a car every day off to drive around, and then calls ahead to request arrangements for receiving delegations who come to "assess the situation." It's exhausting!

- Are there any other types of "gathering information" trips besides this one?

- There was a recently reported incident that was both funny and sad. A news agency discovered that a group of local officials spent their days off "gathering information" to understand and help the people, so they sent a reporter to write an article about this exemplary model of grassroots mobilization. However, the reporter returned without being able to write anything.

- What's wrong?

- When the reporters arrived, they discovered it was a group of people whose families lived far away. Feeling bored on their day off, they called some second-tier units to arrange for them to come down and "assess the situation," but in reality, they came to carouse, drink, and perhaps even gamble with playing cards. How could they possibly write a commendable article? If they did, it would be deceiving the public and aiding in wrongdoing. Whether to speak out or not is up to something, but who would like that kind of "assessment"? Personally, I'm both horrified and disgusted by it!

It turns out my friend's hardship and aging are due to these kinds of "assessing the situation." Sharing with him, I also learned that some officials, while in office, were bureaucratic, distant from the people, unwilling to go to the grassroots, and reluctant to interact with the people. After retirement, almost every year they request special arrangements to go down to the grassroots to "assess the situation" several times, each time for a few days, sometimes even a week. They even bring along friends, wives, and children.

I believe that officials should always go to the grassroots, understand the local situation, be close to the people, understand their needs, and then advise on mechanisms and policies that are appropriate to their legitimate needs and aspirations. At the same time, they must be close to the people to find solutions to pressing issues and long-standing weaknesses that concern the people. This is also one of the solutions to innovate and strengthen mass mobilization work in the new situation.

However, exploiting the so-called "on-site visits" or "assessment" to harass, incur costs, and waste resources for local organizations is completely unacceptable. If the visits are not directed at the correct individuals, at the correct times, or for the wrong purposes as defined by the assigned functions, duties, and authority, it will only hinder the organization's ability to ensure proper financial management and force them to falsify or fabricate documents to justify payment transactions. Frankly, this is difficult to explain to the visitors, since they are there to "assess the situation"!

Ngo Kien