Responsibility of the leader

On May 13, 2023, when meeting with voters in the capital Hanoi, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said very clearly that for officials who have committed violations and are found to have their hands dirty, it is best to resign, which is gentle, humane, and progressive.

The General Secretary added, “If you are not worthy, then resign. That is humane, compassionate, and humane. There have been many such cases and there will be more to come. Just wait and see!”

Recently, there have been officials, including high-ranking officials, who have been disciplined in accordance with the above spirit. And after the General Secretary met with voters for nearly 10 days, on the afternoon of March 22, the National Assembly dismissed Mr. Nguyen Phu Cuong from his position as Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee. Previously, the 13th Party Central Committee's mid-term conference also agreed to let him resign from his position as a member of the 13th Party Central Committee.

Before taking on the position of Chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee from 2016 to 2021, Mr. Nguyen Phu Cuong was Secretary of Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee.

He is the successor secretary to Mr. Tran Dinh Thanh, who was arrested by the Investigation Police Agency - Ministry of Public Security (C03) for bribery and sentenced by the court.

The above incident is part of the process of expanding the investigation into the criminal case "Violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences" occurring at Dong Nai General Hospital, Tien Bo International Joint Stock Company (AIC) and related units.

This is also a case that the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption and Negativity has put under monitoring and direction and has recently brought to public trial.

Regarding the above case, only in the Dong Nai General Hospital project, former AIC Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan directly and directed her subordinates to bribe former Dong Nai Provincial Party Secretary Tran Dinh Thanh with the amount of 14.5 billion VND. Ms. Nhan's bribery took place from 2010 to 2021.

Defendant Tran Dinh Thanh at the trial of the AIC case in late December 2022. Photo: VNA

In this case, former Chairman of Dong Nai Province Dinh Quoc Thai also received 14 bribes of 14.5 billion VND from Ms. Nhan and a number of employees of AIC Company to create conditions for this company to win bids.

Not only individuals made mistakes, at the 23rd session (November 2022), the Central Inspection Committee concluded that the Standing Committee of Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee for the 2010-2015 and 2015-2020 terms violated the principle of democratic centralism and working regulations; lacked responsibility, lax leadership and direction; lacked inspection and supervision, allowing the Party Executive Committee, the Provincial People's Committee and a number of organizations and individuals to violate Party regulations and State laws in financial management, investment, bidding, and land use in a number of projects.

The conclusion of the Central Inspection Committee also pointed out that a number of cadres and party members have degraded in political ideology, lifestyle ethics, violated regulations on what party members are not allowed to do and responsibilities to set an example, and have been criminally prosecuted.

According to the conclusion of the Central Inspection Commission at the 23rd session (November 2022), the responsibility for the above violations and shortcomings belongs to the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, the Party Committee of the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee and Mr. Tran Dinh Thanh, former member of the Central Committee, former Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Nguyen Phu Cuong, member of the Central Party Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee, former Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Dinh Quoc Thai, former Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, former Secretary of the Party Committee, former Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Cao Tien Dung, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee...

Mr. Nguyen Phu Cuong was dismissed for an important reason: he had to take responsibility as the leader when he was the Secretary of Dong Nai.

On November 3, 2021, the Party Central Committee issued Regulation No. 41/2021 on dismissal and resignation of officials and Notice No. 20 of the Politburo's Conclusion on the policy of work arrangement for officials under the management of the Politburo and the Secretariat after being disciplined. The above regulations and conclusions have become the basis for resignation or dismissal.

Equality before the law also means that those who commit crimes must be punished, those who have contributed will be rewarded and promoted. This is also a mechanism to find talented people to serve the people and the country, while eliminating degraded and opportunistic individuals who take advantage of the mechanism for personal gain.

Moreover, even the handling of responsibility of leaders when their agencies and units commit violations is being carried out decisively and strongly.

The fact that on May 16, 2023, Mr. Nguyen Phu Cuong submitted a request to resign from his duties as a National Assembly deputy and from the position elected by the 15th National Assembly, and that the National Assembly then carried out the dismissal procedures, clearly shows that.

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