'The majority of corruption cases are uncovered thanks to denunciations from citizens and the press.'

(Baonghean.vn) - Provincial Chief Inspector Vi Van Suu stated that the number of corruption cases discovered by authorities last year was still too low, mainly due to denunciations from citizens and the press.

On the afternoon of January 18th, the Provincial People's Committee held a conference to summarize the work of receiving citizens, resolving complaints and denunciations, conducting inspections, and preventing and combating corruption in 2016, and to implement tasks for 2017.

The conference was chaired by Comrade Le Xuan Dai - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. Also attending were Comrade Cao Thi Hien - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, and leaders of departments, agencies, and localities.

Overview of the conference. Photo: Tien Hung.

According to Mr. Vi Van Suu, Chief Inspector of the province, over the past year, the entire inspection sector conducted 267 planned and unscheduled administrative inspections at more than 1,100 units. These inspections uncovered violations in 768 units totaling over 73 billion VND.

Regarding specialized inspections, more than 1,400 inspections were conducted involving nearly 12,000 individuals and organizations. As a result, 4,534 administrative violation penalties were issued against nearly 3,000 individuals and 1,550 organizations, with total fines amounting to nearly 15 billion VND…

Mr. Vi Van Suu believes that authorities have uncovered too few cases of corruption. Photo: Tien Hung

Regarding citizen reception and complaint resolution, Mr. Suu stated that in 2016, the province had 12 cases of mass complaints and denunciations that were complex and protracted, which have been and are being resolved. Administrative agencies at all levels received nearly 6,000 visits from citizens filing complaints, denunciations, and petitions, a decrease of 8.2% compared to 2015. The total number of complaint and denunciation letters was over 8,000, an increase of 5.3% compared to 2015.

Through the resolution of complaints and denunciations, violations were discovered, and recommendations were made to recover over 426 million VND for the state budget, return over 10 billion VND and thousands of square meters of land to citizens. It was also recommended that competent authorities take disciplinary action against 40 individuals and protect the rights of 44 people. In addition, one case was transferred to the investigative agency.

Regarding anti-corruption efforts, over the past year, various sectors and levels have organized 340 training courses and conferences to disseminate laws on anti-corruption, with more than 25,000 officials and citizens participating. 100% of agencies and units have issued regulations on workplace culture, codes of conduct, and professional ethics for officials and civil servants…

The Internal Affairs Department of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee inspects signs of violations in logging in the Pu Hoat special-use forest area (Hanh Dich commune, Que Phong district). (Photo: Archival image)

However, according to Mr. Vi Van Suu, Chief Inspector of the province, besides the positive aspects, the work of inspection, handling of citizen complaints and denunciations, as well as anti-corruption efforts, still has many limitations that need to be addressed, such as: the amount of outstanding funds after inspection remains large; the handling of individuals and organizations that committed violations in various units is inconsistent; the quality of inspection, verification, and conclusion in some cases is not high, requiring multiple inspections, reviews, and resolutions. During the process of resolving cases, subordinates are slow to process them, and the handling views of different levels and sectors lack uniformity, causing people to travel to many places and submit petitions multiple times.

"The corruption situation remains complex, occurring in several sensitive areas with increasingly sophisticated methods. The number of corruption cases detected by authorities last year was still too low, mainly due to denunciations from citizens and the press," Mr. Suu emphasized.

Comrade Le Xuan Dai speaks at the conference. Photo: Tien Hung

In his concluding remarks at the conference, Comrade Le Xuan Dai stated that, at the end of 2016, Nghe An province achieved many socio-economic accomplishments, partly thanks to the efforts in focusing on directing the handling of citizen complaints, resolving grievances and denunciations, as well as preventing and combating corruption.

"However, there are still many shortcomings that need to be addressed, such as many protracted lawsuits, limited results in the fight against corruption, and the shifting of responsibility in resolving complaints. I propose that leaders of localities and sectors jointly examine and clarify the causes of these shortcomings in order to find timely solutions in the coming year," Comrade Le Xuan Dai emphasized.

Tien Hung