At the plenary session of the 11 th National Party Congress on January 14, delegates continued to deliver presentations and make recommendations to the Congress’s draft documents.

Politburo member and State President Nguyen Minh Triet chaired the session, on behalf of the Congress Presidium.

Dang Ngoc Tung, member of the Party Central Committee (PCC) and President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, made a speech on building up the Vietnamese working class as the vanguard in pioneering the cause of national industrialisation and modernisation.

“Implementing the renewal policy initiated and led by the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese working class has constantly grown, both in terms of quantity and quality, and has been present in all industries and economic sectors, becoming an important force and taking the lead in the cause of national industrialisation and modernisation,” Tung said.

The official emphasised that, although making up just 21 percent of the country’s total workforce and 11 percent of the population, the Vietnamese working class has contributed more than 60 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 70 percent of the State budget.

He requested the Party pay attention to improving the working class’s political awareness, class ideology and national spirit so that they could adhere to the Party and the nation’s revolutionary cause and strive to escape from poverty and backwardness, as the nation is stepping up the knowledge-based economy and international integration.

In his presentation, Le Huu Nghia, PCC member and Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration, said that, in the draft Political Platform (supplemented and developed in 2011), the Party continued identifying eight features of socialism the Vietnamese people are sparing no efforts to build up.

“These features are the achievements of the renewal process, and firstly the results of reforms in theory on socialism, based on the creative application of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thoughts in line with Vietnam’s current conditions,” Nghia noted.

Vu Tien Chien, PCC member and Chief of the Office of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption Prevention and Control, focused his presentation on proposals and major solutions to enhance the efficiency of the fight against graft.

“Preventing and combating corruption is an extremely important task that draws special care from the Party and State,” he said, adding the work has seen progress in recent years.

Chien went on to say that, to prevent and gradually push back the negative phenomenon, it is essential to enhance the Party’s leadership on the fight against corruption and Party committees at all levels and heads of agency must actually consider it a focal task in building up the Party and State. The dissemination of information and education should be stepped up, he added.

The official suggested supplementing and perfecting mechanisms, policies and laws on socio-economic management, as well as solutions to prevent and combat corruption.

It is necessary to increase openness and transparence in making and enforcing policies and laws; strengthen oversight of the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels and uphold society’s role in the fight against corruption, he said.

Chien also emphasised the need to improve the efficiency of inspection, auditing, investigation, prosecution and trial of corruption cases.

Meanwhile, Deputy Head of the PCC’s Commission for Information and Education Vu Van Phuc pointed to the necessity to promote and better the practical efficiency of the campaign “Study and follow President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example”, describing it as an important solution to train the revolutionary ethics for officials and Party members.

“The national-scale campaign has created big changes in terms of ideology as well as the will to self-improve and practise morals among officials and Party members,” Phuc stressed.

Also at the January 14 plenary session, the delegates heard a number of other presentations, including “Building up the people’s police force” by Politburo member and Minister of Public Security Le Hong Anh; “The key role of groups, corporations and banks in building a socialist-oriented market economy” by PCC member Vo Duc Huy; and “Enhancing inspection and supervision – An important solution to build the Party more transparent and strong” by Trinh Long Bien, PCC member and Deputy Head of the PCC’s Commission for Inspection.

The others are “Strengthening unity among ethnic groups and focusing on economic, cultural and social development combined with the protection of natural resources and the environment” by Nie Thuat, from the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak; and “Implementing gender equality, Vietnamese women actively contribute to national construction and development” by Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, PCC member and President of the Vietnam Women’s Union./.