Updated date: 09/10/2023 05:29:44

In early June, the Ministry of Public Security said that Viet A earned a profit of about VND4,000 billion and spent about VND800 billion on "grease". However, in the issued investigation conclusion, the investigation agency clearly stated that the amount of money Viet A illegally benefited was more than VND1,200 billion and the amount spent on bribes was more than VND106 billion.

On the evening of September 9, the Government Office held a regular August Government press conference.

Government press conference scene (Photo: QUANG PHUC)

Regarding the growth target, the GDP growth result in the first 6 months of the year only reached 3.72%. Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong said that this is lower than the set targets as well as the scenario of Resolution 01 of the Government. That poses a heavy task for the last months of the year because to achieve the set targets, the scenarios all aim for a fairly high growth rate. There are scenarios of more than 9%, some scenarios increase from 7 - 8%. This is a very heavy task.

Regarding public investment disbursement, currently, the entire system serving the disbursement and administrative procedures is ready. If there are disbursement documents, the money will be transferred as quickly as possible. However, this requires a lot of effort and hard work from project management agencies and contractors.

“From now until the end of the year, we believe that the 95% level requested by the Prime Minister will be achieved in 2023,” said the Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment.

Lieutenant General To An Xo (Photo: QUANG PHUC)

At the press conference, Lieutenant General To An Xo - Spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security clearly explained the difference in the amount of money that Viet A spent on bribes and thanked the officials. Previously, in early June, the Ministry of Public Security said that Viet A earned a profit of about 4,000 billion VND and spent about 800 billion VND on "grease". However, in the issued investigation conclusion, the investigation agency clearly stated that the amount of money that Viet A illegally benefited from was more than 1,200 billion VND and the amount spent on bribes was more than 106 billion VND.

Explaining this, Lieutenant General To An Xo said that after initiating the case, Phan Quoc Viet and related defendants declared that Viet A Company had revenue and profit of about 4,000 billion VND. Phan Quoc Viet spent about 20-25% of this total, equivalent to about 800 billion VND, to pay a percentage outside the contract for units and partners to buy test kits and other medical supplies and equipment. This was the initial statement of Viet A leaders provided by the investigation agency. However, after the investigation conclusion was issued on August 17, these numbers were different.

"It is impossible to use the initial statements of the subjects to conclude the investigation, because we must pay more attention to evidence than statements," the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security explained.

According to Lieutenant General To An Xo, only when there is enough evidence to prove who gave the money and how much money was given, can an investigation be initiated and prosecution proposed, with the spirit of drawing conclusions based on the clarity of the evidence.

On the other hand, not only is the Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Public Security investigating this case, but the Ministry of Public Security also assigned and entrusted the police of 61 provinces and cities to investigate the amount of illegal profits and "grease money" in the Viet A case.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son (Photo: QUANG PHUC)

Regarding the removal of the civil servant promotion exam, which is attracting public attention, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son said that regardless of the profession, cadres and civil servants want to be promoted. For teachers, promotion not only proves their professional capacity, but also increases their salary and income. The Ministry of Home Affairs has drafted amendments to some regulations on professional promotion, in which there is no longer a form of exam, but only a form of review.

According to the Deputy Minister, whether it is an exam or a promotion, the purpose is to assess professional and technical competence with professional title standards. The promotion exam will not be close to reality, while the promotion review will assess "the right person, the right job". On the other hand, the promotion review will reduce administrative procedures in appointing civil servants.

Regarding this issue, Mr. Vu Dang Minh - Chief of Office, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the upgrading exam has been carried out since 1998. However, because the exam content has not been regulated and is not close to the requirements of the job position, the upgrading exam is still a formality and does not reflect the reality.

With a very large number of civil servants (nearly 2 million people), the exam for promotion is difficult. Not only that, candidates must have a specialized certificate. This is a limitation and barrier.

Organizing exams will cause a lot of waste in terms of time, civil servants, and costs. Therefore, eliminating exams will save a lot of costs for society. 94/95 ministries, branches, and localities agree to eliminate exams to upgrade civil servants' ranks. Eliminating exams will overcome the above problems and at the same time reduce pressure on civil servants.

According to PHAN THAO (SGGP)