by Vu Kim Chung
27-12-1999
Vietnam's anti-corruption campaign appears to have had a dramatic impact on the already moribund decision-making process, with several sources saying government officials were paralysed with fear at becoming caught up in the purge. The decentralised structure and demand for consensus within the ruling Communist Party were widely criticised as the principle reasons for the slow pace of economic reform and the apparent inability of authorities to deal with a host of deepening social problems. However, apart from the December 1999 session of the National Assembly, the day-to-day activities of government ground to a halt.
"In the current climate, no one wants to put their name to a decision. Everything is at a standstill, it's incredible," said an engineer involved with the Hoa Binh power project outside Hanoi. The party's anti-corruption drive claimed two more high-profile victims on December 21, 1999 as the National Assembly dismissed two of its members for corruption.
Sacked were National Assembly member Dinh Hanh, a former vice-chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, and Vu Xuan Thuat. The details of charges against Mr Thuat remain unclear, but Mr Hanh has been linked to a multimillion-dollar land scandal. The cleansing of the party - seemingly aimed at boosting its legitimacy in the face of public disillusion with endemic corruption - resulted in the dismissal of nearly 1,500 party members with another 1,100 officials and businessmen being tried for corruption by the end of September 1999.
Earlier in December, Deputy Prime Minister Ngo Xuan Loc was sacked after being implicated in a multimillion-dollar corruption scandal related to the ADB-financed Irrigation and Flood Protection Rehabilitation Project and land scandals. An investigation into the irregularities, bribes and mismanagement in the ADB-financed project executed by the Central Project Office (CPO) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is under way. The international engineering consultant firms have been determined to definitely not have been involved in the irregularities. The irregular practices used by the CPO appear to have permitted extraordinary expenses levied by government agencies contracted to provide goods and services to the project. Such practices are illegal in Vietnam and government agencies are not permitted to act as subcontractors or provide goods and services to internationally-financed projects. All the firms in the international consortium have been deemed to be clear of involvement and are considered to have carried out their obligations well in difficult bureaucratic circumstances. The government said it plans to make public its findings once the case is completed.