by Vu Kim Chung
31-8-2000
Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Van Khai could likely step down at the 2001 Communist Party Congress at which, according party sources, up to half the country's senior leadership would either be asked to retire or be reassigned. Mr Khai had submitted his resignation earlier in 2000, but it had been turned down to allow the Prime Minister to retire with dignity at a forum which provided the opportunity for "routine" changes of senior personnel. The congress was expected to be held in May 2001.
Mr Khai's offer to resign was based on two issues: the first is he felt frustrated at the slow pace of [economic] reform, the second that he had been tainted by the actions of close associates.
Although there is no suggestion Mr Khai is guilty of any misconduct, Vietnam's political system is defined by rigid patterns of patronage within which superiors bear responsibility for the mistakes of subordinates. In turn, these junior officials lose their positions of influence if their benefactors fall from grace. Mr Khai, who rose to prominence through his links with former prime minister Vo Van Kiet, was tainted by at least two incidents involving close associates late in 1999. The first involved the sacking of then-deputy prime minister Ngo Xuan Loc over his role in the corruption involving siphoning of money for financing the reconstruction of the Asian Development Bank-financed Bai Thuong Dam, part of the Irrigation and Flood Protection Rehabilitation Project and gross mismanagement associated with that project, and a multimillion-dollar land scandal associated with a Hanoi recreation centre.
The second was the arrest of senior aide Nguyen Thai Nguyen on espionage charges. Nguyen committed suicide while in custody. Several party sources also said Mr Khai had been embarrassed by family members who used his position for their own personal gain. Speculation about Mr Khai's replacement identified several potential candidates, including Ho Chi Minh City party secretary Nguyen Minh Triet and Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Observers maintained that Mr Khai's imminent resignation confirmed the growing power of general secretary Le Kha Phieu, known for his intolerance of corruption.
"It is difficult to wipe out gangs of bureaucrats and party members involved in corruption and embezzlement. They cover for each other and trap good staff to squeeze money out of the state," he said in a recently reported speech calling for renewed vigour in the party's "moral cleansing". "[But] if we are unable to stop them now, some immoral and unworthy individuals will climb to posts in party committees, even in the Central Committee. This is a [real] threat." Hence the call for the mass resignations and retirements at all levels of the system.
Vietnam watchers are unanimous in their assessment of Mr Phieu's depth of concern about the party if graft is not tackled.
"He may be the only senior leader who really appreciates that the threat is not from so-called 'external forces' and that the party's grip on power will continue to be weakened by the actions of its members," said one observer. "He must have understood that the collapse of society and the economic system in neighbouring Southeast Asian countries was caused by nothing more than the rampant corruption that exists there."
Vietnam Politburo Member Says Graft Widespread
A senior member of Vietnam's powerful Politburo admitted there is evidence of corruption among relatives of Communist Party leaders on August 23. Pham The Duyet said no "serious problems" were discovered, but that even some members of the elite 19-member Politburo should be warned about involvement of family members in corruption.
"Not they themselves, but their families -- wives and children -- have connections," Duyet said. "Some warnings must be made."
Many Vietnamese have become resentful about the growing successful businesses conducted by children of some top leaders of the ruling Communist Party and government. Duyet said corruption had become more sophiscated.
"Links have been set up from central and local levels, between people inside and outside the country... Anti-corruption efforts must not exclude any one at any level."
Duyet's remarks were the latest in a series of recent anti-corruption calls from Party leaders, but his was a rare focus on those close to members of the Politburo, the party's inner sanctum. The calls came in the build-up to the party's Ninth Congress in March 2001, which would set the country's political and economic agenda for the following five years and see major personnel changes. Frustration over abuse of power by party members has been mounting in Vietnam, especially since 1990, when fruits of free market reforms came up for grabs and the new elite started stealing them. The problem seriously began to manifest itself in early 1997. Duyet, also referred to the growing corruption investigation regarding the Asian Development Bank-financed Irrigation and Flood Protection Rehabilitation Project. Investigations now are concentration on the construction of the new Bai Thuong Dam in Thanh Hoa province. Numerous irregularities in the management of the project and the administration of the contract were uncovered. Many of the investigations are concentrated on the Sub-Project Office No. 406 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. This Thanh Hoa office is responsible for managing water resources in Thanh Hoa province and was the representative for the Central Project of the MARD for managing the project.