Corruption prevention

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hoà Bình delivered a keynote speech at a high-level session of the 10th Regional Conference of the Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia-Pacific, themed “Preventing and Combating Corruption in Infrastructure Projects in Asia-Pacific”, in Hà Nội on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hoà Bình has asked the Government Inspectorate to learn from international experience in combating graft, especially in infrastructure projects, in order to ensure the country's sustainable development. He made the remark on Friday at the closing ceremony of the four-day 10th Regional Conference of the Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia-Pacific, which was started in 1999 by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and was hosted this year by the Government of Việt Nam … [Read more...] about Corruption-free infrastructure key to sustainable development: Deputy PM

Jakarta (VNA) - An Indonesian anti-corruption investigator said that a new law governing the country’s anti-graft agency could unleash a spike in corruption in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. In September, Indonesia’s parliament approved changes to a law overseeing the Corruption Eradication Commission, one of the country’s most respected agencies. Under the new law, the agency, known by its Indonesian initials KPK, will be overseen by an Oversight Council, handpicked by President Joko Widodo, and investigators will lose their right to wiretap suspects without a warrant. “The trend of corruption will increase,” Novel Baswedan said in an interview with Reuters, arguing the new law increased the potential for leaks over investigations. Nonetheless, Baswedan said he still hoped Widodo would issue a regulation to restore the KPK’s powers, something which Widodo appeared to rule out last month. Since its establishment in 2002, the KPK has … [Read more...] about Indonesia: New law warned to affect anti-corruption activities

  A sluice in a coastal commune in the Mekong Delta province of Kiên Giang prevents saltwater intrusion. – VNA/VNS Photo Lê Huy Hải HCM CITY — Authorities in provinces in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta and Cần Thơ City are dredging irrigation works and storing fresh water to cope with saltwater intrusion during the dry season. Saltwater intrusion is expected to be more severe this year because of low flooding levels and lower than usual rainfall during the rainy season, according to local authorities. During the dry season, saline intrusion will occur earlier than usual, causing a shortage of fresh water for agricultural production, according to the Southern Institute of Water Resources Research. Kiên Giang Province's People’s Committee has told agencies to dredge irrigation canals to improve … [Read more...] about Delta provinces take steps to control saltwater intrusion

Foreign visitors get on a train to tour Da Lat city, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong (Photo: VNA) Quang Nam (VNA) – The Smoke-free Cities ASEAN Network (SCAN) convened the 6th regional meeting in Hoi An city, the central province of Quang Nam, on November 20, focusing on reshaping tourism through smoke-free environments. The event was attended by more than 100 foreign delegates from smoke-free tourism cities of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, China and Mongolia. It also saw the presence of the Fund for Tobacco Harms Prevention and Control of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance and the World Health Organisation (WHO) Western Pacific Regional Office. Addressing the meeting, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien, member of the management council of the Fund for Tobacco Harms Prevention and Control, said in Vietnam, the building of smoke-free tourism cities began in Hoi An city in … [Read more...] about ASEAN cities seek to promote smoke-free tourism environments

Smuggled cigarettes in Binh Phuoc province are destroyed (Photo: sggp.org.vn)   HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Prevention of smuggling of goods across the country’s borders is becoming more difficult as the New Year season approaches, according to border authorities. Three districts in Binh Phuoc province (Bu Gia Map, Bu Dop and Loc Ninh) which border Cambodia have seen an increase in smuggled goods. For the first nine months of the year, authorities detected 2,659 smuggling cases. Smuggled goods were mostly cigarettes, sugar and clothing. The amount of issued fines and back taxes totalled over 37 billion VND (1.6 million USD). The smuggling cases are usually carried out by small groups of individuals in a number of ways that have become more sophisticated. Many smugglers use shortcuts through the rocky terrain and rivers that help them elude capture by authorities. Smugglers travel to Cambodia to purchase goods, split up the goods in smaller portions, and then smuggle them into … [Read more...] about Smuggling up as New Year approaches