VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has asked employees at economic groups and general corporations to publicly declare their individual assets and 2016 incomes.

Vo Kim Son from the National Academy of Public Administration said all civil servants, not only officials, should declare their assets and income.

“MOIT is following the Anti-Corruption Law which stipulates that all individuals have to publicly declare their assets and personal income,” he said.

“Managers and the heads of units have to declare how much they earn a month and list valuable assets, from houses to cars to land. Everything needs to be made public,” he said.

Nguyen Huu Tri, Deputy Director of the Institute of Sociology and Management Science, said the request about asset declaration needs to be considered thoroughly.

He said MOIT only has the right to make such a request to enterprises under MOIT in which the state holds more than a 50 percent stake. 

As for equitized enterprises, operating under specific policies, MOIT doesn’t have the right to make the request.

he Ministry of Industry and Trade has asked employees at economic groups and general corporations to publicly declare their individual assets and 2016 incomes.

“In this case, it is the board of management and board of shareholders which decides whether assets should be made public,” he said.

The news about sky-high incomes of managers of some state-owned economic groups and general corporations has stirred up the public. 

The income of managers at Sabeco, a brewer, is reportedly VND1.4 billion a year on average, while the figure is VND850 million at Vinachem, a chemical manufacturer. 

The leaders of Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), which has a monopoly in electricity transmission and retailing, receive VND600 million a year.

An EVN report showed that in 2015 the group spent VND8.63 billion to pay management staff. 

Nguyen Van Ngai from the HCMC Agriculture and Forestry University said the income is too high compared with the average income in society.

“Even the state’s leaders receive VND50 million a month,” he said.

EVN’s managers are still receiving high pay, though the group has continued to take a loss.

Tri said that loopholes in the management of public assets have been exploited by leaders and officers. They have turned public assets into their personal assets and caused damage to the state’s assets.

“Water, oil & gas, and coal are natural resources under the state’s management. However, due to loopholes in management, natural resources have become the assets of some groups of people,” Tri said.

The expert, who applauded MOIT’s decision, expressed his concern that solutions may not be successful if MOIT cannot draw up reasonable solutions to implement the decision. 

Thanh Lich