Up to 45% of enterprises in Vietnam bribe local authorities, according to a recent survey conducted by the World Bank.
Corruption is still a major headache
The survey, which was conducted in 2009, was delivered at a recent anti-corruption seminar. The seminar, organised by the Central Steering Committee for Anti-corruption and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) focused on corruption at local level and was held in Can Tho City on November 1.
According to Tran Thi Lan Huong, a World Bank administrative expert, this rate is much higher than other countries, including Russia at 29%, the Philippines 18%, Indonesia 13% and Turkey 11%.
Most officials at the gathering said that corruption is still a major headache.
Over the past five years, the country had dealt with 1,450 cases of corruption nationwide. This meant that on average the country still had to deal with 291 cases of corruption a year.
Le Hung Dung, Vice Chairman of Can Tho municipal government said, “Corruption still remains common in several industries and is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Meanwhile, anti-corruption work remains ineffective.”
Can Tho conducted nearly 850 inspections and detected wrongdoings worth over VND15 billion (USD719,079) during the five-year period.
The city heard 18 corruption trials and prosecuted 28 offenders during the period reviewed.
Many people said that few people bothered denouncing corruption due to the lack of confidence in the authorities.
Addressing the seminar, Government Inspectorate Deputy Chief Tran Duc Luong said that Vietnam considered fighting against corruption an important task which should be strictly carried out at different levels, industries and localities.
The organisation of the seminar prior to an anti-corruption exchange was aimed to create a chance for localities, international organisations and state agencies to share experience on the issue, he added.