Vietnam Country Profile

Snapshot

General Information

Corruption Levels

Initiatives

Resources

Information Network

Sources

Show All

Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives

• Legislation: The National Assembly, which is dominated by members of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), passed a long-awaited Anti-Corruption Law (in Vietnamese) and a Law on Thrift Practices and Anti-Wastefulness in 2005, which became effective in June 2006. The Anti-Wastefulness Law temporarily bans the purchase of vehicles by government agencies and prohibits state agencies from using public funds for dinner parties, bonuses and gifts. It focuses on land use and management, projects funded by the state budget, the use of public offices and houses, national-level projects, the use of foreign aid, purchase of official vehicles and purchase of equipment. Corruption practices are addressed by the Anti-Corruption Law 2005, which criminalises attempted corruption, passive and active bribery, extortion, bribing a foreign official, abuse of office and money laundering. It also requires government officials and close family members to publicly disclose their assets, but, in practice, there exists an implementation gap regarding asset declaration, and monitoring mechanisms are still being developed. The law also stipulates that all ministries, sectors and localities develop specific rules and regulations to encourage public participation in anti-corruption activities. Government agencies are further required to draft assessments of the law's implementation. While it is reported that the law and the reasons for its implementation have been made relatively clear to central and local levels, the practical method of how to implement it in terms of capacity and incentives is much less clear. According to Transparency International 2006, a major drawback of the law is the narrow focus on state and public sector corruption, which means that private sector corruption is neglected. Decree No. 47 represents an attempt to encourage and protect the rights and responsibilities of individuals, the media, civil society and the private sector in anti-corruption activities. The decree provides social actors with the right to request information from state agencies in order to boost information sharing and transparency. It also forms a potential base for future legislation that encourages the role of business in anti-corruption measures. Throughout 2008, a study on the implementation of the Vietnamese Anti-Corruption Law was conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark in collaboration with Sweden and Vietnamese anti-corruption authorities. The study concludes that the Vietnamese government, so far, has come a long way in issuing the required legal framework, but that several areas still need attention in order to reach the intended effects of the law's provisions, such as monitoring, coordination and enforcement, capacity-building and a stronger emphasis on the public-private nexus of corruption. Vietnam ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in June 2009. However, Vietnam has announced that it will not hold to Item 2, Article 66 of the UNCAC, which stipulates that members have the right to bring disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the UNCAC to international arbitration courts. Moreover, Vietnam does not recognise the UNCAC as a direct legal measure for the extradition of corrupt criminals. Extradition must be based on national law. Vietnam has also chosen not to adhere to some of UNCAC's optional measures, such as private sector corruption and special investigative techniques, as these are not yet covered by national law. Access the Lexadin World Law Guide for a collection of laws in Vietnam.

• Government Strategies: With pressure from and in collaboration with the international donor community, the Vietnamese government has taken significant steps over the past several years towards adapting anti-corruption measures throughout its public administration. For example, in cooperation with the World Bank, the government has been running a customs reform project and a Tax Administration Modernization Project, both intended to strengthen governance and transparency in both administrative sectors. Furthermore, several bilateral donors have been assisting the government in systematising and strengthening other public sector reforms and projects. For example, the Embassy of Denmark in Vietnam is assisting provincial administrations to increase monitoring and evaluation of public administration reforms. In September 2008, Vietnam introduced a draft of the National Strategy for the Fight Against Corruption Towards 2020 and implementation plan. The strategy mainly focuses on increasing transparency of policies, budgets and information about the operation of the government, as well as a gradual disclosure of public assets and public officials' incomes. Emphasis is also put on strengthening anti-corruption agencies and their power to investigate corruption. The Chief Government Inspector has announced that the first phase of the national strategy will focus on land management, finance and banking, and equitisation of private companies. In July 2004, Vietnam committed to the goals of the ADB & OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia-Pacific Anti-Corruption Action Plan for Asia and the Pacific, which focuses on building sustainable, legal and institutional frameworks to fight corruption. Vietnam has been relatively successful in implementing two out of three pillars of the action plan. The American Chamber of Commerce reports that Vietnamese authorities and Vietnamese media have made commendable improvements in 'Supporting Active Public Involvement' (pillar one) by exposing and condemning cases of corruption. It is also acknowledged that the government has taken various measures in relation to 'Strengthening Anti-Bribery Actions and Promoting Integrity in Business Operation' (pillar two) by removing and punishing corrupt officials.

• Anti-Corruption Agency: The establishment of a specialised anti-corruption agency is laid out in the Anti-Corruption Law 2005. The law delegates authority to the Office of the Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption (OSCAC) headed by the Prime Minister. The OSCAC is mandated to coordinate, examine and supervise the fight against corruption and has the right to suspend deputy ministers and officials holding equivalent posts. However, many observers point to the lack of impartiality within the OSCAC, since it consists of members who are full-time officials in other agencies. OSCAC members include representatives of agencies of the Communist Party Vietnam (CPV), the government, the Fatherland Front (in Vietnamese - a socio-political coalition organisation and arm of the CPV) and the judicial sector. As a result, there are concerns that some corruption cases involving state officials or members of the CPV are not being investigated properly. The lack of a truly independent anti-corruption agency in Vietnam is often cited as a major weakness of the current efforts to curb corruption in Vietnam. It is frequently argued that the absence of such an agency results in overlapping mandates and functions of other institutions that are related to the fight against corruption.

• Government Inspectorate (GI): GI has been the main anti-corruption institution in Vietnam for years and also functions as an Ombudsman, receiving citizen complaints and denunciations. It is charged with investigating cases of corruption and has an Anti-Corruption Department. However, it does not have powers to prosecute and must pass corruption cases on to the People's Procuracy for them to be prosecuted. In cooperation with donors, the GI has conducted a study of Vietnamese anti-corruption legislation and its compatibility with the requirements outlined in United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC); following the adoption of the Anti-Corruption Law 2005, Vietnam has been assessed as meeting the legal requirements. Inspection reports of the GI are not publicly available. According to the U4 Anti-Corruption Research Centre 2008, the GI plays an oversight role for the government, but this role is reportedly undermined due to corruption within the GI. The efficiency of the GI is disputed and some observers, including Global Integrity 2006, point to a lack of independence as one of the main reasons behind its questionable performance. Nevertheless, the GI conducted several audits of state agencies and projects between 2006 and 2009 and identified around USD 647 million in missing taxes as well as large-scale tax evasion by private and state-owned Vietnamese companies. Various donors are providing aid for capacity-building of the GI, and it is expected that the importance of the institution in the fight against corruption will increase. Companies should report incidences of corruption and bribery to the GI (see the Information Network section of this profile for contact details).

• People's Procuracy: The People's Procuracy is in charge of prosecuting cases of corruption. It is mandated to initiate public prosecution following investigations and to ensure implementation of the law by all levels of government, ministries, economic bodies, social organisations, the army and citizens. The People's Procuracy is organised into the Supreme People's Procuracy at the national level, with lower-level bodies at the provincial and district levels. The Prosecutor-General is elected and removed by the National Assembly at the proposal of the President. The term of office is five years. The Prosecutor-General reports to and is supervised by the National Assembly. Directors of lower-level units are appointed and removed by the Prosecutor-General. Directors of local units are supervised by the People's Council of the same level. The People's Procuracy also investigates and prosecutes offences committed by judicial officials and handles complaints and denunciations of judicial decisions. According to the U4 Anti-Corruption Research Centre 2008, corruption fuelled by people trying to prevent cases from going to court is frequent in the People's Procuracy. However, the same source also reports that prosecutions of corrupt public servants are nearly always successful. Issues may exist concerning exact penalties, but guilt is usually already decided and conviction assured.

• State Audit of Vietnam (SAV): The SAV was reorganised into an independent organisation in 2004 and is the supreme audit institution in Vietnam. The SAV refers directly to the National Assembly and is responsible for certifying the accuracy and legality of the state budget at all levels of government. Donors such as Danida and GTZ are both involved in a programme to strengthen the capacity of the SAV. However, according to Transparency International 2006, the SAV still suffers from inadequate resources and overlapping mandates with the Government Inspectorate (GI), seriously hampering its efficiency. The SAV has a weak capacity to enforce auditing recommendations, and there is little evidence that the government acts on the SAV's reports. Access a description of the SAV's mandate and legal foundation.

• E-Governance: Vietnam is in the process of developing e-government initiatives, including the introduction of e-procurement and an online system for tax declaration and payment. Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi both launched online business service agencies in 2000. The Hanoi Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ho Chi Minh Department of Planning and Investment sites are designed to serve as first points of contact for potential investors, particularly foreign investors. The sites provide detailed information including recent news, related laws, regulations and licences, and travel information. Moreover, according to the USAID Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index 2008, various provincial one-stop shops has been established throughout 2008, which have already had a positive impact on waiting periods for business registration and other formalities. Examples of such provincial one-stop shops are the Dak Nong Department of Planning and Investment and the Dong Nai Department of Planning and Investment. For general information, news and details on ministries as well as central and local government(s), see the official Government Web Portal.

• Public Procurement: The government is addressing corruption in public procurement and contracting within the existing anti-corruption and Tendering Law 2005 framework. The Anti-Corruption Law 2005 and the Law on Bidding 2005 are the main legal frameworks that regulate the disclosures of procurement information. The government, with the World Bank funding, also initiated a public procurement Comprehensive Capacity Building Program 2004-2009 together with the Ministry of Planning and Investment (its library contains the Official Gazette and a Vietnam Law Database in Vietnamese) and donors to train procurement officials, especially at provincial levels where corruption in procurement and contracting is most pronounced. Ministries in Vietnam operate with their own procurement standards. The Department for Public Procurement under the Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for administering the Tendering Law 2005, developing mandatory standard bidding documents, reviewing all bids and maintaining the procurement database, which includes blacklisted companies. In August 2007, the Vietnam Sustainable Development Center and the Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Center at the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry launched an online bidding portal named dgMarket Vietnam (in Vietnamese), which is a local version of the global dgMarket databank on tender and procurement opportunities. The bidding portal helps foreign contractors to seek tenders in Vietnam and presents opportunities for Vietnamese organisations and companies to find tenders in Vietnam and abroad. According to the director of the Vietnam Development Portal, the project will help improve the transparency and effectiveness of bidding operations in Vietnam, especially for government procurement. Open competitive bidding is the official bidding method in Vietnam, but irregularities reportedly exist. Despite this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and the World Bank Report 2009 shows that the extended disclosure on public procurement is a sign of improvement compared to 2008. The same report also states that there is room for improvement within the procurement sector, where a lack of disclosure on bidding results still remains. In general, the problem is not the availability of procurement rules, but their enforcement and implementation. Furthermore, the Department for Public Procurement suffers from overlapping and conflicting responsibilities with the Government Inspectorate and the State Audit of Vietnam, thus reducing its efficiency of oversight. Moreover, critics note that the Tendering Law 2005 does not improve much on the previous confusing and contradictory framework. Nevertheless, recent initiatives such as the training of provincial procurement officials and the development of e-procurement are expected to reduce corruption within public procurement in the long run. For further information in relation to corruption and public procurement, access the ADB & OECD review on provisions to curb corruption in public procurement and the short ADB paper on Vietnam's public procurement regime and corruption.

• Whistle-Blowing: The Anti-Corruption Law 2005 and the Law on Complaints and Denunciations offer some protection for whistleblowers. For example, government Decree No. 47 stipulates that individuals that want to report an act of corruption must give their name and address, explain the corrupt practice, and submit documentation with the complaint. However, the 2008 corruption study by the Finnish Embassy in Hanoi states that the lack of possibility to report corruption anonymously discourages many people from denouncing public officials, mostly due to the fear of retaliation and harassment. According to Global Integrity 2006, neither private sector employees nor civil servants who report cases of corruption are protected from retaliation or other negative consequences in practice. Critics argue that the lack of protection, coupled with the lack of faith in the system, keeps many citizens and state officials from reporting corruption. Civil servants, private companies and the public can send complaints and denunciations to the Government Inspectorate (see the Information Network section of this profile for contact details).

• General Comments on Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives: Generally speaking, corruption in Vietnam has moved up on the political agenda, and the legal framework for curbing corruption is now well-developed. The Bertelsmann Foundation 2008 reports that the rule of law has improved slightly due to some new laws, which have the potential to increase the level of transparency and predictability, particularly in relations between the private sector and the state. However, according to both Transparency International 2006 and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Implementation Assessment of the Anti-Corruption Law 2008, the mechanisms to tackle corruption are both poorly enforced and monitored, and Vietnam still faces a huge implementation gap in relation to its anti-corruption framework. Transparency International 2006 cites the lack of a systematic approach by the Vietnamese government, politicisation of mechanisms and institutions, overlapping mandates of institutions, lack of an independent anti-corruption agency, nepotism, state institutions characterised by secrecy, and the lack of whistleblower protection as the main obstacles to progress in the fight against corruption. Furthermore, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that private sector corruption is hugely underestimated in Vietnam and not properly addressed by the Anti-Corruption Law 2005. However, it should be noted that many anti-corruption initiatives in Vietnam are relatively new and that fighting corruption is a new task for many institutions.