Officers and business executives don’t dare to think and don’t dare to take responsibility, in order to keep their seats.

On May 25, when discussing socio-economic development in the first quarter of the year, National Assembly deputies spent time talking about the phenomenon of officials sitting idle, or not doing anything, and therefore, not making mistakes.

Deputy Head of the National Assembly’s Committee for People’s Aspirations Hoang Anh Cong, a deputy from Thai Nguyen, said that officials blame each other and shun work, not only in the public sector, but also in the private sector and the business community.

“I know that some inspection companies have vowed not to take inspection contracts related to public investments because of complicated problems. If they make mistakes in property valuation, they may be sentenced to prison. So, they think it is better to avoid such jobs,” he said.

This is a "serious contagious disease" which poses a big threat to socio-economic development. According to Cong, it is necessary to clarify the reasons behind this or it will be difficult to solve the problem, because the disease has been spreading rapidly and has become much more serious.

He cited a story about HCM City mentioned by city Mayor Phan Van Mai and Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung as an example. In many cases, officials at lower levels ask for instructions from officials at higher levels, and the officials at higher levels answer that it is necessary to "do in accordance with regulations".  As a result, the officials "pass the buck" to each other, while the work cannot be done and opportunities are missed.

The deputy from Thai Nguyen stressed that it was the disease which caused HCM City, considered the economic locomotive of the country, to have an extremely low growth rate in the first months of the year.

Le Huu Tri, a National Assembly deputy from Khanh Hoa, called for measures to correct the style of working by cadres, civil servants and public employees at different levels, and handle managerial officers who are "afraid of responsibility", thus causing delays in handling administrative procedures.

Hoang Van Cuong, a National Assembly deputy from Hanoi, stressed that state officers have reasons to follow the "play safe" principle. In reality, many civil servants have been punished when performing official duties though they were not seeking profit in doing this.

The Politburo has released Conclusion 14 on protecting cadres who "dare to think and dare to do", which is hoped to be a mechanism to encourage cadres to overcome barriers to bring benefits to society.

Thu Hang