Hanoi (VNA) – Corruption prevention is an important work that needs tobe conducted regularly, continuously, resolutely and patiently, GeneralSecretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed at anational conference of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption onJune 25.

All officials and Party members, especially leaders, shouldbe exemplary, have high consensus on will and action in the fight againstcorruption, and not dare to lose prestige or do demerits, stated Trong, who isalso head of the committee.

He stressed the need for officials and Party members to relyon the public and listen to them through doing what the public applaud andsupport, and stop doing what they do not approve, and even hate and oppose.

Together with strict punishment of violations, it isnecessary to have a mechanism to protect and encourage those who dare to think,dare to do and dare to take responsibility and lead the way in reform for thecountry’s development, he noted.

The Party chief called for intensified efforts to fightwrong points of view and distorted allegations of hostile forces who want totake advantage of anti-corruption combat to smear the Vietnamese Party, Stateand regime.

He emphasised the importance of fostering and increasing theefficiency of disseminations on anti-corruption work to make the public knowthat Party rectification and punishment of violated officials and Party membersdo not slow down development, but purify the political apparatus and officials,and consolidate confidence of people.

The press and mass media should encourage and back theinvolvement of the entire political system and people in the fight againstcorruption, he suggested.

He also suggested making and improving the Party’sregulations and the State’s policies and laws on anti-corruption towards theformation of a close preventive mechanism which provides no room forcorruption, wastefulness and bureaucracy to take shelter.

The Party leader also called for efforts to improve thebuilding of the Party and the political system, and combat individualism,selfishness and group benefits.

Party members in any positions, if violating law, will bepunished strictly without exceptions, Trong said, noting that it is essentialto address weaknesses in personnel work, and supervise and control power toprevent corruption.

According to him, power is always at risk of being“depraved”. Therefore, it is crucial to establish a mechanism controlling theexercise of power for leaders following a principle that all power iscontrolled closely and bound to responsibility.

Inspections must be intensified to ensure power runspublicly, transparently, and incorruptly, he stated.

“Leaders at all levels should remember that no one hasabsolute power beyond the law, anyone who use power must serve the public, takeresponsibility in front of the public and be supervised by the public,” he said.

Everything officials or Party members do should originate fromthe people and be for the people, Trong stressed, stressing that even one pennyof public property is not allowed to be spent recklessly.

The Party chief also emphasised the need to improve theefficiency of detecting and addressing corruption cases, particularly inlocalities and grassroots level, and revoking corrupted assets, and speed upthe investigation on economic corruption cases, especially those attractingpublic attention.

Violations must be punished strictly based on the Party’sregulations and the State’s law without restricted area, privilege orexceptions, Trong said.

According to a report delivered at the conference by PhanDinh Trac, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, head of the CPV CentralCommittee’s Commission for Internal Affairs and deputy head of the CentralSteering Committee on Anti-Corruption, since 2014, disciplinary measures havebeen applied on 840 Party organisations and 58,120 Party members, of whom,2,720 violated anti-corruption regulations.

Since the beginning of 2016, 490 Party organisations and35,000 Party members have been punished, including 1,300 Party members involvedin corruption.

Notably, 50 centrally-managed officials, including ninemembers or former members of the Party Central Committee, received disciplinarymeasures. Among them, Dinh La Thang, a member of the Party Central Committeeand former member of the Politburo, was expelled from the Party.

Over the years, many serious corruption and economic caseswere brought to light and handled in accordance with the law without anyexceptions.-VNA