'Most corruption cases discovered are reported by citizens and the press'

(Baonghean.vn) - Chief Inspector of the province Vi Van Suu said that the number of corruption cases discovered by authorities last year was still too small, mainly due to denunciations by people and the press.

On the afternoon of January 18, the Provincial People's Committee held a conference to review the work of receiving people, handling complaints and denunciations, inspection, and anti-corruption in 2016 and deploy tasks for 2017.

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

Overview of the conference. Photo: Tien Hung.

According to Mr. Vi Van Suu - Chief Inspector of the province, last year the entire inspection sector carried out 267 planned and unscheduled administrative inspections at more than 1,100 units. Through the inspection, 768 units were found to have committed violations with a total amount of more than 73 billion VND.

Regarding specialized inspections, more than 1,400 inspections were conducted against nearly 12,000 individuals and organizations. Thereby, 4,534 decisions on administrative sanctions were issued against nearly 3,000 individuals and 1,550 organizations with a total fine of nearly 15 billion VND...

Mr. Vi Van Suu said that the authorities discovered too few corruption cases. Photo: Tien Hung

Regarding the work of receiving citizens and resolving complaints, Mr. Suu said that in 2016, the whole province had 12 cases of mass complaints and denunciations, complicated and prolonged, which have been and are being resolved. Administrative agencies at all levels received nearly 6,000 citizens coming to complain, denounce and make recommendations. A decrease of 8.2% compared to 2015. The total number of complaints and denunciations was more than 8,000, an increase of 5.3% compared to 2015.

Through the settlement of complaints and denunciations, violations were discovered and recommendations were made to recover more than 426 million VND to the budget, return more than 10 billion VND and thousands of square meters of land to citizens. Propose that competent authorities discipline 40 individuals and protect the rights of 44 people. In addition, one case was transferred to the investigation agency.

Regarding anti-corruption work, in the past year, sectors and levels organized 340 training courses, conferences to propagate and disseminate anti-corruption laws with the participation of more than 25,000 officials and people. 100% of agencies and units have issued regulations on office culture, codes of conduct, and professional ethics for officials and civil servants...

The Nghe An Provincial Party Committee's Internal Affairs Committee inspects signs of violations in timber exploitation in the Pu Hoat special-use forest area (Hanh Dich commune, Que Phong district). Photo courtesy.

However, according to Mr. Vi Van Suu - Chief Inspector of the province, besides the positive aspects, the work of inspection, receiving people, handling complaints and denunciations as well as preventing corruption still has many limitations that need to be resolved such as: the amount of money left after inspection is still large; the handling of individuals and organizations that violate the law at the units is not consistent; the inspection, verification and conclusion of some cases are not of high quality and must be inspected, reviewed and resolved many times. In the process of resolving the case, the lower levels are slow to accept the case, the handling viewpoints of the levels and sectors are inconsistent, causing people to have to go to many places and submit petitions many times.

“Corruption still has complex elements, occurring in a number of sensitive areas with increasingly sophisticated methods. The number of corruption cases discovered by authorities last year was still too small, mainly due to denunciations by the people and the press,” Mr. Suu emphasized.

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

Speaking at the conclusion of the conference, comrade Le Xuan Dai said that at the end of 2016, Nghe An province achieved many socio-economic achievements, partly thanks to the efforts in focusing on directing citizen reception, resolving complaints and denunciations as well as preventing corruption.

“However, there are still many shortcomings that need to be resolved, such as many lawsuits that are still lingering, corruption prevention has only achieved certain results, and handling complaints has shifted responsibility. I suggest that local and sector leaders review and clarify the causes of these shortcomings in order to find timely solutions in the coming year,” emphasized comrade Le Xuan Dai.

Tien Hung