Minister of the Interior: Must destroy the fear of making mistakes

Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Tra suggested that the entire political system join in breaking down the mentality of officials being afraid of making mistakes and not daring to do things, and cannot put all the blame on the system.

Explaining to the National Assembly on the afternoon of May 31, Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra said that this is a solution to address the current situation of officials avoiding, fearing mistakes, fearing responsibility, and not daring to perform public duties.

"It is worth mentioning that this does not happen alone but in many localities, including some central ministries and branches, in all socio-economic activities," said Ms. Tra, adding that the fear of making mistakes is clearly shown in the disbursement of public investment capital, land and real estate management, procurement of public equipment, and provision of services directly related to people and businesses.

This causes stagnation and delay in the civil service, erodes and reduces people's trust, affects all aspects of socio-economy and businesses; hinders resources and development motivation; affects the country's socio-economic development goals, especially in the current difficult situation.

Minister of Interior talks about officials who are afraid of responsibility — Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra gave an explanatory speech at the end of the meeting on May 31. Video: *National Assembly Television*

According to the Minister of Home Affairs, there are four basic groups of causes leading to the fear of making mistakes, including limited professional capacity of cadres and civil servants; leaders of some units have not set a serious example; socio-economic institutions are still inadequate, overlapping or have new problems arising in practice but have not been promptly corrected.

"The fight against corruption is being promoted, cleaning up the political system. Many officials and civil servants who have committed serious violations have been disciplined and prosecuted, leading to a fear of making mistakes among some people," Ms. Tra explained.

However, the Minister affirmed that for whatever reason, officials who are afraid of making mistakes and do not dare to do things are violating regulations and showing signs of degradation, which need to be severely criticized and eliminated. In fact, some localities still carry out public investment, economic growth, and business development well. This proves that with the same mechanism, many places are still dynamic, creative, dare to do things and do them well. Therefore, we cannot blame the institutions and mechanisms that make it difficult for public duties to be performed.

To gradually overcome this, Minister Tra said that it is necessary to raise awareness and strengthen education on public ethics for officials and civil servants; and to discipline localities and units to strictly implement the Prime Minister and Government's instructions on strengthening discipline and handling work. Individuals who do not fulfill their responsibilities or have limited capacity and do not meet the requirements will be replaced.

"We must eliminate the perception that doing nothing is not wrong because this is a sign of self-evolution, seriously hindering development; at the same time, we must arouse the self-respect and awareness of serving the people of cadres and civil servants; amend regulations that cause difficulties and obstacles in practice; and promote decentralization and delegation of power," Ms. Tra proposed a series of solutions.

Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra explains before the National Assembly on the afternoon of May 31. Photo: Pham Thang — Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra explains before the National Assembly on the afternoon of May 31. Photo: *Pham Thang*

She said that although the Ministry of Home Affairs has made efforts to draft a decree on protecting cadres who dare to think and dare to do, it is still facing many legal and jurisdictional issues. Therefore, this content will be reported to the National Assembly for a pilot resolution. The Ministry will also study changes to regulations on cadre assessment in the direction of assessing specific assigned tasks; and soon submit a salary reform policy.

Minister Tra suggested that the inspection, investigation, prosecution and trial agencies classify the violations. In particular, if the violators do not have personal motives or are not corrupt, they should be more lenient and humane to protect those who dare to think and dare to do.

During a day of discussion in the hall on socio-economic issues, many delegates pointed out the current situation of cadres who are afraid of making mistakes, afraid of responsibility, and do not dare to do things. Delegate Tran Quoc Tuan (Head of the Propaganda Department of Tra Vinh Provincial Party Committee) said that in the current heated time, the urgent solution is to prioritize replacing cadres who are afraid of making mistakes and do not want to do things with good cadres who have enough passion and responsibility. This is similar to football, where the head coach is ready to replace players when he observes that his players are playing poorly.

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