Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong presides over a meeting of The standing board of the Central Steering Committee on Prevention and Control of Corruption and Negative Phenomena in May 2023 (Photo: VNA) Sydney (VNA) – Thanks to strong political determinationdemonstrated by the Communist Party of Vietnam and its General SecretaryNguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam has recorded significant results in fighting corruption,said Dr. Nguyen Hong Hai, a researcher at the Centre for Policy Futures underthe University of Queensland in Australia.
In a recent interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Hai stressed that this determination ismanifested through the commitment to handle corruption without “any forbidden zone and exceptions”, and mechanismsto achieve the goals of "not wanting to, not daring to, not being ableto, and not needing to commit corruption".
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has also repeatedly emphasisedthat the fight against corruption and other negative phenomena has now become an irreversible trend, Hai said, adding that the resolve to combat corruption has its origin in three points, first of all is to safeguard the regime.
Second, the fight against corruption is closely linked to the goal of a strong country, wealthy people, and ademocratic, fair and civilised society, therefore it will be hard togenuinely achieve these objectives without effectively combating corruption,Hai stressed.
And third, the fight is for the prestige and honour of the Party. The expert expressed the belief that if there were an index toassess public confidence in the anti-corruption work, that index would certainlyincrease year by year. He said that the more corruption cases are openlyand transparently addressed, the higher level of trust in the Party and State’spolitical determination will be.
Dr. Chu Hoang Long from the AustralianNational University said that Vietnam's upward movement in the corruption perceptions index(CPI) report by Transparency International indicates that Vietnam's efforts incombating corruption have resulted in significant changes recognised byinternational experts.
Vietnam is one of the 25 countries that saw an improvement inits ranking, gaining 3 points and moving up 10 places compared to the previousranking.
Looking at the index, it can be said that Vietnam is abright spot in the fight against corruption, Long said.
Combating corruption is a long-term and complicated process thatdemands steadfast belief in principles and theories, along with resolutedetermination and political strength, he stressed.
The primary cause behind corruption is the lack of transparency,so it is essential to further increase transparency in the exercise ofauthority and responsibilities by management agencies, Long went on./.
