Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has praised theGovernment Inspectorate’s efforts to clarify wrongdoings in severalhigh-profile corruption cases that drew public attention in 2019.

During a meeting to review the Government Inspectorate’s work last year and layout tasks for 2020 in Hanoi on January 13, Deputy PM Binh said that he wasaware of the “tremendous pressure” the government inspectors faced when theylooked into the case of State-owned telecommunication operator Mobifone’sillegitimate purchase of AVG’s shares, the loss-making Thai Nguyen iron andsteel mill project, and severe violations at Da Nang’s Son Tra Peninsula and HoChi Minh City’s Thu Thiem urban area, which all implicated senior officials,even up to a former deputy prime minister and former ministers.

“However, you have dutifully carried out your roles to arrive at accurate andobjective results,” he said.

The intensified anti-corruption drive – with a systematic, comprehensive andno-holds-barred approach – had served as both a warning and deterrence, Binh said,adding that corruption and other adverse activities like loss-causing and wastehad been restrained, earning the public’s confidence.

He noted that anti-corruption efforts played a critical role in maintainingpublic order, which contributed a great deal to the impressive socio-economicachievements Vietnam attained last year.

Compared to 2018, the number of mass complaints and denunciations dropped by asignificant amount, Binh claimed, adding the number of settled cases in 2019was also higher.

However, Binh pointed out numerous issues the Government Inspectorate needed toaddress, including unnecessary inspections with delayed reports, impracticalproposals to deal with violations, and a small number of inspectors who failedto follow regulations.

Petty corruption also remained a rampant issue that plagued businesses andpeople, he said.

He urged the inspectors to focus more on “sensitive areas” at high risk ofcorruption, and cases that attracted public attention, while reviewing theresponsibilities and accountability of leaders of ministries and localgovernments in the implementation of anti-corruption efforts.

Deputy PM Binh also asked that the Government Inspectorate to expediteinvestigations into cases the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption hadput on a special monitoring list.

According to the report, 6,601 administrative inspections and 227,386specialised inspections were conducted in 2019, discovering violations worth 173.4trillion VND (7.5 billion USD) in addition to the mishandling of 22,548ha ofland.

The Government Inspectorate also issued recommendations for administrativepunishments to be handed down to nearly 2,000 organisations and individuals.

It has forwarded its findings related to 94 cases involving to policeinvestigative units for further action.

The inspectorate uncovered violations at 106 State agencies and units when itcarried out reviews of the implementation of anti-corruption laws last year./.