Formosa Incident: One Deputy Director General Demoted

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has imposed administrative disciplinary action in the form of demotion and reassignment to another unit against one Deputy Director General.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has taken various forms of disciplinary action against officials involved in the state management of natural resources and the environment regarding Formosa Ha Tinh company, which caused a serious environmental incident resulting in the unusual death of marine life in four central provinces (Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien Hue) in early April 2016.

In accordance with the Party and State regulations on disciplinary action against Party members and civil servants, the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has disciplined a Deputy Director General of the General Department of Environment by dismissing him from his position as a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the General Department of Environment for the 2015-2020 term.

At the same time, the Ministry imposed administrative disciplinary measures in the form of demotion and reassignment to another unit for this Deputy Director General.

The Party Committee and the Director General of the General Department of Environment, acting within their authority, also disciplined two heads of departments and one deputy head of department with reprimands and warnings, and reassigned them to other units.

These are the officials responsible for state management of resources and environment regarding Formosa Ha Tinh company, which caused a serious environmental incident resulting in the unusual death of marine life in four central provinces (Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien Hue) in early April 2016.

Immediately after the aforementioned incident occurred, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment proactively coordinated with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to determine the cause and perpetrators of the incident and implement measures to remedy the consequences.

Thanks to the resolute and direct efforts of the Vietnamese side, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation (Formosa Ha Tinh Company) has admitted to being the direct cause of the incident, accepted responsibility, apologized to the Vietnamese Government and people, compensated for the damages, and implemented measures to remedy the situation.

As the agency assisting the Government in unifying state management of resources and the environment, the Party Committee of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has seriously organized a review and self-criticism, accepting political responsibility before the Party, the State, and the people, and reporting to the competent authorities.

On the other hand, the Party Committee of the Ministry is requested to direct the inspection and disciplinary action against the Party members, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is requested to review and handle administratively the organizations and individuals involved.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has also been seriously organizing the review of lessons learned, rectifying shortcomings, and implementing many measures to overcome existing limitations and weaknesses, and to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of environmental protection management in the future.

According to VGP