Following the correct procedures and meeting the standards - why is the appointment... still wrong? - Part 1: Officials who have just "taken off" and then... "fallen"

Public opinion especially supports the policy of handling officials who violate the law in the spirit of "no forbidden zones, no exceptions, no matter who they are". However, many people are concerned that recently, some officials who have just been appointed, transferred, and assigned important responsibilities have quickly been... disciplined. Why is the appointment process strict, officials are assessed as qualified, elected with a very high number of votes of confidence, but still not the right people are chosen?

Illustration: suckhoedoisong.vn

The above two cases are not alone. In January and May 2025, comrades Duong Van An (Secretary of Vinh Phuc Provincial Party Committee) and Nguyen Thi Kim Chi (Deputy Minister of Education and Training) were also disciplined with warnings for violations from their previous working periods, when they held positions in Binh Thuan province and Cua Lo town (Nghe An). It is worth mentioning that both of them had been in their new positions for less than a year.

At the conference to review the Party's inspection, supervision and disciplinary work held on June 24, 2025, Comrade Tran Cam Tu, Politburo member and Standing member of the Secretariat, emphasized the requirement to "strictly assess personnel work, ensure that no cadres who violate moral qualities and lifestyle, show signs of "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" enter the Party Committee and "thoroughly overcome the situation of cadres who have just been appointed and elected and then disciplined".

Looking back at the cases of the above-mentioned officials, it is easy to see that they all have a "good background", high qualifications, and have held many important positions in the political system. Comrade Duong Van An has a PhD in Economics, was a youth union official, and gradually matured through many leadership positions. During his time as Deputy Secretary of the Binh Thuan Provincial Party Committee, he was considered a "frank fighter", and had different opinions from the collective when he discovered violations. Perhaps that is why he was trusted to be assigned the task of Secretary of the Binh Thuan Provincial Party Committee, then Secretary of the Vinh Phuc Provincial Party Committee - a locality that was also "hot" in terms of personnel work when his predecessor was arrested for corruption. But then the violations that occurred in Binh Thuan caused him to be disciplined.

Comrade Nguyen Thi Kim Chi was also recognized as a capable, courageous cadre, who grew up from the grassroots, came from the education sector, was an excellent teacher at a famous school in Nghe An province, and held the position of Secretary of the Cua Lo City Party Committee. Comrades Nguyen Van Hieu and Tran Viet Truong were also cadres who were well-evaluated before being disciplined.

So where is the problem? Is it because the process is flawed? Or is it because the implementation of the process is too formal, too procedural, and lacks substantive verification?

The process is right, but choosing the person... is still wrong?

In fact, the current process of appointing officials is carried out in 5 strict steps, from screening, introducing, evaluating to collecting opinions and deciding. But as commented by comrade Le Nhu Tien, former Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and Children: "The process is just a process, the problem is how to select the input to put into that process". He compared: "To make a delicious ham, it must go through many steps: pounding, wrapping, boiling. However, if the meat is spoiled from the beginning, no matter how much process is done, it will only produce spoiled ham". That is, we cannot expect good output if the input is not really clean cadres, whose true nature is not properly assessed.

Here, “the process is correct” but the cadres are still “wrong” is a warning for cadre work, especially in evaluating and reviewing cadres. Accordingly, the problem lies in the fact that some party organizations evaluate cadres based on emotions, based on “good” records, ignoring the real factors; some places even take advantage of the process to legitimize the available choices, despite warnings from public opinion.

Don't let it slip through the net from the input stage.

When officials who violate the law are disciplined after being appointed, even in just a few cases, not only is their personal reputation damaged, but the party organization is also greatly affected.

Obviously, to "choose the right person", we cannot rely only on records, achievements or superficial credibility. There must be a mechanism for substantive examination, verification of ethics, lifestyle, interest relationships, signs of degradation... in a proactive, objective and regular manner. Cadre work needs to escape the orbit of "political sentiment", and instead be "political science". During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh once advised: "Cadres are the root of all work". Cadre work is the most important task in the cause of Party building and state administration building. He believed that in selecting cadres, there must be no bias or favoritism, but must choose people who are truly virtuous and talented.

If the root is not strong, the top will sooner or later fall. The fact that officials “take off” and then “fall” is a manifestation of the imbalance between form and substance; between correct procedures and incorrect people. This problem cannot be solved only at the last step, when the mistakes of officials have been discovered and must be dealt with, but must be solved from the very first step: Correctly assessing people.

REPORTER GROUP

Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-chong-tu-dien-bien-tu-chuyen-hoa/dung-quy-trinh-du-tieu-chuan-vi-sao-bo-nhiem-van-sai-bai-1-can-bo-vua-cat-canh-da-roi-837241