Vietnam's provincial steering committees for preventing and combating corruption, waste and misconduct have been instructed to identify and prioritise major cases involving wasteful spending and inefficient use of public resources as part of a broader effort to strengthen governance and accountability.

The directive was issued at a six-month review conference held by the Central Internal Affairs Commission, which assessed the performance of the Party's internal affairs sector and provincial anti-corruption steering committees during the first half of 2026.

Stronger oversight from the outset

Addressing the meeting, Central Internal Affairs Commission Chairman Le Minh Tri commended provincial steering committees and local Party internal affairs commissions for their performance over the past six months.

He urged local authorities to continue implementing resolutions of the Party Central Committee, Politburo plans and conclusions issued by General Secretary and President To Lam in his capacity as head of the Central Steering Committee on Preventing and Combating Corruption, Waste and Misconduct.

Le Minh Tri also called for stronger inspection, supervision, citizen reception and complaint resolution.

He stressed the importance of regular oversight from the earliest stages to detect, correct and prevent violations before they escalate into more serious misconduct.

Authorities should focus inspections on sectors, locations and activities considered vulnerable to corruption, waste and misconduct, while ensuring complaints and petitions are handled promptly, transparently and in accordance with the law to prevent local disputes from developing into larger public concerns.

Fighting waste beyond financial losses

Alongside institutional reforms, stronger coordination and tighter control of power at the grassroots level, Le Minh Tri called for greater efforts to combat waste, accelerate digital transformation and improve the quality of public officials.

"The fight against waste should not be limited to money and public assets. It must also address the waste of time and development opportunities," he said.

He urged state management agencies to develop measurable criteria that clearly define the responsibilities of individual agencies, organisations and officials.

Provincial steering committees were instructed to select several representative cases involving waste for focused investigation and handling to strengthen deterrence and prevention.

At the same time, local authorities were asked to review implementation of Politburo regulations on power control and prepare plans to deal with surplus facilities, delayed infrastructure projects and long-stalled developments that have resulted in waste.

Improving governance

Le Minh Tri also urged provinces to strictly implement regulations on evaluating public officials and to promptly reassign or rotate personnel where necessary to improve the quality of policy advice and governance.

According to the conference report, the Party's internal affairs sector and provincial steering committees achieved positive results during the first six months of 2026.

The Central Internal Affairs Commission coordinated the preparation of seven major policy proposals on internal affairs, anti-corruption, waste prevention, misconduct and judicial reform for submission to the Party Central Committee, the Politburo and the Secretariat as part of preparations for implementing resolutions adopted at the 14th National Party Congress.

The commission also advised the Central Steering Committee on addressing delayed public projects, long-pending developments with risks of financial losses and waste, and surplus state-owned land and buildings following administrative restructuring.

In addition, it provided recommendations on handling several major corruption and misconduct cases while helping improve asset recovery in corruption, waste and misconduct investigations.

Provincial steering committees carried out 57 inspections and supervision activities related to power control and anti-corruption efforts, including oversight of the operation of Vietnam's new two-tier local government system.

The committees also monitored emerging issues, supervised complaint handling and recommended timely action on complex cases and public concerns.

Tran Thuong