Is corruption in the public sector in Vietnam still serious?

Transparency International (TI) has just released its Perception Index.corruption(CPI) 2017, ranked 180 countries and territories. In 2017, Vietnam scored 35/100 points, ranked 107/180 globally, up 2 points compared to the 2016 survey.

Towards Transparency (TT) - TI's focal point in Vietnam has recognized positive signs in Vietnam's anti-corruption efforts. However,according to TT's assessment,The problem of corruption in the public sector in Vietnam is still considered very serious.

The CPI score for Vietnam is calculated by TI, using information from eight independent, reputable international survey data sources and reflecting the views of experts and business people on the issue of corruption in the public sector.

To understand the situation of corruption in the public sector, in addition to the CPI index, TI and TT also have other assessment tools on corruption, including the survey "Global Corruption Barometer (GCB 2017) - measuring the feelings and experiences of Vietnamese people.

The survey conducted face-to-face interviews with citizens in 18 provinces about their perceptions and experiences of public sector corruption. According to Ms. Vien, Vietnam’s CPI score this year is also similar to the results of the 2017 GCB survey.

In addition, Vietnam also continues to improve the legal framework on anti-corruption, such as amending the current Anti-Corruption Law in line with international standards.

72% of respondents are concerned about petty corruption

However, besides the trial of major cases, people are still very concerned about petty corruption in public services that they have close access to such as healthcare, education, etc.

Citing the results of interviews with people in 18 provinces and cities about their feelings and experiences with corruption in the public sector (GCB 2017), Ms. Vien said: 72% of respondents believe that corruption in the public sector is a serious or very serious problem (compared to 61% in the GCB report of 2013). However, very few people (only 3%) report corruption because they believe that reporting corruption will not change anything.

In addition, 65% of those who had contact with any of the six public services (public education, public health, identity card issuance, utility service providers, police, judges or court officials) surveyed said they had paid bribes. This is the highest rate among the ASEAN countries surveyed and the second highest among the countries surveyed in the Asia Pacific region, after India.

37% of respondents said that refusing to pay bribes is the most effective thing an ordinary citizen can do to fight corruption. However, 15% feel completely helpless in fighting corruption because they think that "ordinary people cannot do anything."

Ms. Kieu Vien said that Towards Transparency has shared the results of the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2017 as well as the GCB 2017 report with a number of authorities in Vietnam, including the Government Inspectorate and the Central Internal Affairs Commission.

Ms. Vien also said that, in addition to the results achieved in handling a number of major corruption cases, Towards Transparency supports the direction of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on focusing on handling and effectively preventing "petty corruption", harassment and trouble for people and businesses - one of the key tasks of 2018.

The 2017 GCB report also pointed out that the three groups that people consider most susceptible to corruption in Vietnam are police, tax officials and business leaders./.