According to the World Bank, corruption in land management is a dangerous and pressing issue that remains a concern in Vietnam.
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| The government has sent inspectors to investigate suspected mismanagement of this site in Hanoi\'s My Dinh area, where agricultural space was reportedly turned into the construction site for an office and apartment building. |
The report on assessing risk factors causing corruption in land management was carried out jointly by the World Bank, the Embassy of Denmark and the Embassy of Sweden. The report was released at the 8th Dialogue on Anti-Corruption with the theme, “Anti-corruption in land Administration and Use” held in Hanoi on November 25.
The report, implemented in five localities of Lang Son, Bac Ninh, Binh Dinh, and Tien Giang provinces and Ho Chi Minh City, indicated that up to 78% of people interviewed believed corruption existed in land allocation, withdrawal, compensation and resettlement.
In Ho Chi Minh City, some investors joined hands with state cadres to buy ownership rights of large areas of agricultural land and then turned it into non-agricultural land.
Besides, investors often spend extra fees for urban planning cadres to get the land information, the report said, adding that the state monopoly in urban land planning and use will increase risks of corruption.
Investment projects in Ho Chi Minh City are often approved based on proposals from investors. In Hanoi, the case of stopping the construction of a hotel in Thong Nhat Park under the prime minister’s request is a typical example of this. The hotel project was opposed by the public because it would occupy most of the green space in the park.
According to the report, up to 85% of people surveyed said that local land managers caused them difficulties in getting certificates of land use.
Interviewees in Lang Son Province said it is very difficult for them to complete procedures to receive the land use certificates if they do not give money to authorities. The same situation is also seen in Binh Dinh Province where people often use brokers to get the certificates.
Meanwhile, most land managers in communes in Ho Chi Minh City often ask for more unnecessary paperwork such as certificates of marriage in the process of making land use certificates.
The Dialogue on Anti-Corruption is organised twice a year by the Embassy of Sweden on behalf of Vietnam’s development partners, the Government Inspectorate and the Office of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption on behalf of the Vietnamese government.
The 8th dialogue attracted representatives from Vietnam’s development partners and donors such as the UN, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Embassies of Sweden, Switzerland , Denmark , New Zealand and Australia.
