Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Vietnamese voters expect the government, in its 6th National Assembly session starting Oct. 25, to focus its efforts on fighting corruption at all levels, according to a report by the Vietnam Fatherland Front.

When the month-long National Assembly (NA) session convenes on Monday, the representative of the people, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF), will present a report based on voters’ suggestions of issues which needed immediate government attention.

Besides corruption, voters also asked for improved quality of education and revisions to the current salary structure, according to the report.

VFF Central Committee General Secretary, Huynh Dam, said that the general public had appealed to the NA, the highest organ of State power in the country, to quickly pass a new anti-corruption law in place of the existing anti-corruption ordinance, which the public said was not yet adequate.

Voters also called for the establishment of an anti-corruption commission responsible for stamping out corruption, said Mr. Dam.

Such a commission must have the authority to hold heads of the governmental agencies responsible for the corruptive practices or other misconducts committed by their subordinates. Huge corruption cases should also be made public, he added.

As for education, the major reforms of textbooks and curricula undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Training have so far failed to live up to the expectations of the educators and the public, said the VFF report.

Other educational issues raised by voters were the chronic shortage of teaching aids, the burden of school fees and so on, said Mr. Dam. Voters, therefore, ask the government to take prompt action to improve the quality of education and especially get education officials to accept their obligation to make the education system better, he highlighted.

With regards to the salary structure, the VFF Central Committee’s report stated that voters wanted radical salary reform and an increase in the prevailing old-age pensions. Salary and wage increases apparently fail to keep up with the rising prices of several necessities, according the report.

Additionally, voters also expect the government to curb steady increases in consumer product prices, stressed the report.

Delegates from 64 cities and provinces across the country will gather in Hanoi Monday to attend the opening of the session.

On the first day of the working session, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai will deliver a government report on the implementation of the 2004 socio-economic development plan and then provide a guideline for next year’s plan.

The Prime Minister’s report will be followed by Finance Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung’s review of the 2004 budget and budget estimate for the 2005 fiscal year.

Reported by Manh Quan – Translated by Tran Phong
Story from Thanh Nien News
Published: 25 October, 2004, 02:47:28 (GMT+7)
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