Many officials avoid meeting people

Many leaders of ministries, branches and localities do not strictly implement legal regulations, avoid meeting citizens and many questions are raised about the Trinh Xuan Thanh escape case.

Head of the People's Aspiration Committee Nguyen Thanh Hai said that through monitoring, he saw that many chairmen at all levels from the province, district, and commune avoided the responsibility of receiving citizens and did not comply with the law - Photo: VNA

These are two notable points at the discussion of the National Assembly Standing Committee regarding the Government's report on the settlement of complaints and denunciations in 2016 and the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front discussing the draft report synthesizing opinions and recommendations of voters and people on October 4.

People who avoid meeting with citizens need to be severely punished.

Government Inspector General Phan Van Sau said that in 2016, the number of complaints and denunciations from citizens tended to decrease compared to 2015. Nationwide, there were more than 63,000 complaints and more than 17,000 denunciations.

However, the situation remains complicated in the Central Highlands and some Central and Southern provinces, especially after the environmental incident in four Central provinces.

The situation of citizens filing complaints at the central citizen reception office with extreme attitudes and frustration is increasing and becoming more and more serious.

One of the reasons pointed out by the Government is: "State management in a number of areas still has many shortcomings and weaknesses, especially the management and use of land, resources, environment, food safety, management of basic construction investment, social policies in forestry farms, resettlement areas...".

Meanwhile, members of the National Assembly Standing Committee pointed out that one of the reasons for the complicated and pressing situation of complaints is that leaders at all levels of government have not fulfilled their responsibilities.

Chairman of the Law Committee Nguyen Khac Dinh said that the committee proposed that in the report, the Government should clearly state the names of the heads of sectors and levels who do not directly receive citizens and take strict measures to handle those who do not receive citizens according to the provisions of the law.

Head of the People's Aspiration Committee Nguyen Thanh Hai said that through monitoring, he saw that many chairmen at all levels from the province, district, and commune avoided their responsibility to receive citizens, did not comply with the law, and some even only received citizens once every three months.

“There are places that only receive people for formality, but do not directly resolve the issue. I went to some places and thought, can’t the provincial chairman arrange to receive people once a month?

The chairman has the functions and duties to be able to resolve the issue, to have a clear understanding of this project and that policy, and to have the right to decide and have the right to dialogue. If we send a few office guys down to receive the application, what can we do?" - Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Do Ba Ty spoke up.

People are skeptical about Trinh Xuan Thanh's escape.

Some members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front raised this issue when discussing the draft report synthesizing opinions and recommendations of voters and people yesterday (October 4).

“Why was Trinh Xuan Thanh able to escape?” - Professor Tran Ngoc Duong asked. Then he raised the issue: “People now want the authorities to consider and clarify the responsibilities of those involved.”

Mr. Vu Trong Kim, Chairman of the Youth Volunteers Association, also raised the question of why necessary preventive measures were not taken, allowing Trinh Xuan Thanh to escape, causing consequences that made people lose trust.

“This is a case that the General Secretary has directed many agencies to investigate, but up to now, we do not know how to report it specifically. This needs to be included in the report to the National Assembly,” Mr. Kim suggested.

According to Professor Dr. Tran Ngoc Duong, through the promotions and appointments of relatives and clans taking place in localities, people believe that now in ministries and branches, localities seem to be the private kingdom of the leader.

"People are very worried because there have been many problems that have occurred in recent times," said Nguyen Tuc, head of the Vietnam Fatherland Front's Advisory Council on Culture and Society, after mentioning incidents such as the murder of officials in Yen Bai, the appointment of relatives, the lifestyle of officials, environmental pollution, etc. "People are also worried about internal solidarity within the Party," Mr. Tuc added.

According to Tuoi Tre