24 local government officials reprimanded for slowness of asset declaration
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has reprimanded the Chairman of the Dong Nai province Peoples’ Committee in writing for slowness in sending in a report on local government officials’ asset declarations.
On June 24, Dong Nai province chairman Vo Van Mot released a serious reprimand to 24 senior officials of nine local government agencies for tardiness in submitting the individual asset declarations required by a February 2008 anti-corruption decree.
Among the officials criticized are the top officials of the province’s Departments of Justice, Agriculture and Rural Development, Construction, Science and Technology, the Dong Nai Television Station, the People’s Committees of Dinh Quan, Nhon Trach and Trang Bom districts and the chairman of the State-owned Dong Nai Food Industry Corporation.
Previously, on May 7, 2009, Mot had written an official letter advising these officials that they must accept responsibility for not setting a good example to subordinates in declaring personal assets, a dereliction that led to the Prime Minister’s criticism.
The Dong Nai province chairman had accepted these officials’ explanations. The reprimand was sent to each individual and it clearly points our each person’s mistakes.
The government in February 2008 issued Decree 37 on declaring the assets and incomes of government employees. Accordingly, the first declaration was conducted last year.
According to Chief Government Inspector Tran Van Truyen, the initial declaration is used as a basis for the evaluation of subsequent declarations. As of 2009, if any civil servants are discovered to have declared assets untruthfully, they will be punished.
Truyen said the asset declaration files are managed in a process that continues until officials retire. Even after officials retire, if inspectors detect assets, which the officials can’t prove they acquired legally, they will be subject to penalties.
The Chief Inspector emphasized that asset declarations are a legal foundation for managing state employees, and therefore officials must bear legal responsibility for their declarations.
VM
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