HANOI – Traffic policing, land management, customs and construction top the
list of areas where corruption takes place most commonly, according to a survey
done by the Government Inspectorate and the World Bank (WB).
Results of the survey named
“Corruption from the perspective of citizens, firms and public officials” were
announced at a press conference in Hanoi on Tuesday.
Although there have been many
surveys on corruption in Vietnam, this is the first time since the
Anti-Corruption Law was introduced in 2005 that a sociological survey on this
issue have been conducted.
The survey was carried out in ten
cities and provinces, interviewing over 2,600 citizens, 1,000 businesses and
1,800 public officials from five ministries, including the ministries said to
have high chance of corruption, such as the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry
of Construction and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The
scale of the survey, therefore, could be seen as fairly representative.
When asked to name the top three
displeasing issues in Vietnam at present, over one-third of the surveyed
citizens chose corruption as their biggest displeasure, followed by prices and
traffic accidents. Meanwhile, corruption is the second biggest displeasure to
enterprises after prices, says a report on the survey results.
The answer of enterprises is not
surprising as they have been badly hit by inflation while having to deal with
corruption. State officials even described corruption as a national vice, said
the Government Inspectorate.
Over 82% of the citizens
interviewed said corruption was widespread in the country. More than 75% of the
respondents considered corruption a serious problem.
Around 45% of State employees
said they had witnessed corrupt practices, while 44% of enterprises and 28% of
citizens said they had to pay unofficial fees.
Although fewer cases of
corruption have been detected, it does not mean the evil has been reduced.
Rather, “it means this practice has become more complicated and sophisticated,
and better hidden, not that it has lessened,” according to the report.
The main causes of corruption,
according to the respondents, are light-handed sanctions against corruption,
moral degradation among State officials, ask-give mechanism and cumbersome
administrative procedures.
Speaking at the press conference,
Victoria Kwakwa, WB country director for Vietnam, said: “The survey has shed a
ray of light on corruption in Vietnam.”
However, Deputy Inspector General
Tran Duc Luong of the Government Inspectorate said the survey did not reflect
the opinions of all people, businesses and public officials.
“The survey (results) did not
reflect opinions of State agencies,” he said.
The survey indicates traffic
police, land management, customs and construction are the areas with the most
corruption. On the contrary, corruption rarely occurs in the fields of post
offices, media organizations, treasury offices and grassroots police.
Enterprises considered the
difficulties caused by State agencies while they underwent administrative
procedures as a form of corruption. Some 70% of the businesses surveyed said
they had offered to pay informal fees, while the remainder was asked to do so.
Market management authorities top
the list of agencies asking for informal fees, followed by traffic police,
economic police, and environment management agencies.
About 60% of the businesses
replied unofficial fees were high, but over 50% admitted the benefits that such
fees provided were great.
Some 63% of the corporate
respondents said State officials had prolonged the process on purpose. As a
result, many of them had to give bribes for their convenience.
The role of the media is highly
appreciated as 80% of the businesses and public officials surveyed said the
media had detected corrupt practices before the authorities did. Over 8% said
the media pressure had prevented corruption cases from sinking into oblivion.
Lan Nhi and Tu Hoang - The Saigon
Times Daily
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