VietNamNet Bridge - The public may be skeptical of officials who are considered "qualified" but have to work for their fathers.

Recently, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to verify some cases in which officials appointed their sons or relatives to important positions, and report the results before October 30.

The instruction was released after the media reported that some local officials recruited and appointed their relatives to important positions. The information upset the public, damaging people’s trust in the civil service.

It can be said once again the head of the Government has shown his determination in “seeking talent, not relatives” for the government. Earlier, the public was stirred up by the information that in a district of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue and in a commune in Ha Tay district, Hanoi, many people in a family held key positions in local state agencies. In other places, a director of a state agency appointed his son as the deputy director and a director of an agency recommended his wife as the deputy director.

In all these cases, the same argument was used: the appointment process was carried out strictly under the regulations and there were no regulations banning the appointment of people in the same family to important positions. 

A director mentioned in the cases argued: “I had instructed related agencies to receive consultation from the provincial Party Committee Organization and the provincial Department of Home Affairs. Through examination and consultation, we found there were no regulations banning parents from being the head of a state agency and their children from being appointed as their deputy directors".

National Assembly deputy Luu Binh Nhuong said that competent authorities must study to find out gaps for the recruitment of unqualified people as officials, which can lead to "nepotism" and interest groups and factions, hurting the trust of the people in the Party and State and undermining the leadership of the Party and the administration of the State.

The appointment of relatives to positions in the machinery of government, in the eyes of people, is a self-interested and disgusting act. The feelings of the masses are not always true, but actually this act brings more risk to the system of government. Firstly, it is the risk of the formation of a sectarian spirit and interests groups.

Further, it is the trend of isolating “outsiders”. In addition, when those in the same family work together in the government apparatus, they can weaken the ability of self-control and self-supervision of the government apparatus. Finally, clan infighting can occur within the government apparatus.

“The appointment process is strictly applied” and “the law does not ban it” has become an excuse for all recently detected cases related to the appointment of relatives to key positions in the same agencies.

To prevent similar cases in the future, we need more strict rules. Specifically, the law should prohibit officials from appointing their relatives to any position within their competence or their possible impact.

Some may say that such a ban is extreme and if children of state officials are capable, they why can’t they be appointed to important positions?

Firstly, the public may be skeptical about people who are considered "qualified" but have to work for their fathers! Simply, if they are good, their self-esteem is higher and they don’t need to be appointed by their father. Secondly, if they are really good, they can work anywhere, not with their fathers

More importantly, facing risks, appointing relatives to government agencies potentially weakens the government system, not only by the factional spirit, interest groups, and family struggle, but also by eroding the trust of the people in the government.

Let’s look to the United States, one of the countries with the cleanest and most powerful government apparatus in the world. The United States has banned officials from appointing their relatives to positions in the government since 1960 (Federal Law, Article 3110). The relatives include spouses, children (offspring, adopted children and stepchildren), parents, grandparents, brothers (siblings, cousins, brother and sister in law), grandchildren, aunts, father and mother in law, stepmother - stepfather, ...

Accordingly, the prohibited acts include: the appointment, employment, promotion, or nomination of relatives or conducting personal contacts in recruitment. At the same time, states also have their own regulations on restrictions of recruitment of relatives and see it as part of the fight against abuse of power in the government apparatus.

Ms. Le Thi Nga, Chair of the National Assembly Judiciary Committee, said the current law does not prohibit officials from appointing their relatives to key positions in state agencies, organizations and units under their management. As a result, many voters reported to NA deputies that in some localities, many people in the same family held key positions in the local government.

Nga said some constituents asked the State to research and issue provisions to prevent people in the same family from working together in a local agency to prevent collusion in embezzlement and harassment cases.

Bui Phu Chau