Correcting the situation of avoiding responsibility

Lesson 1: "Diagnosing" fear of making mistakes and fear of responsibility

The leadership and direction of our Party and State affirms that: Officials and civil servants are servants of the People and have the responsibility to serve the People. However, currently, in many places, officials and civil servants are huddled, evading, shirking responsibility, not performing their duties and tasks properly and fully. This "disease" causes the settlement of many legitimate tasks of the people and businesses to stagnate; hindering the socio-economic development of the province and the country.

Want high position, but afraid of responsibility

The disease of "fear of responsibility" was clearly pointed out by President Ho Chi Minh during his lifetime. In his ideological legacy, President Ho Chi Minh mentioned the root cause of the disease of "fear of responsibility" in a very specific way: "If it is beneficial to me, I am active; if it is not beneficial to me, I am negative. I want to have a high position, but I am afraid of responsibility".

According to Uncle Ho, people who suffer from fear of responsibility are those who: "They want high positions, but are afraid of heavy responsibilities. Gradually their fighting spirit and positivity are weakened, their heroic spirit and good qualities of revolutionaries are also weakened; they forget that the number one standard of a revolutionary is the determination to fight for the Party and the revolution all their lives."

In the book by the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on "Resolutely and persistently fighting against corruption and negative practices, contributing to building our Party and State increasingly clean and strong" - published on the occasion of the 93rd anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 2023) - excerpts from a number of articles published in the Communist Magazine, including articles written by the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong nearly 50 years ago about the disease of fear of responsibility, also clearly pointed out the disease of fear of responsibility and its manifestations: "The immediate task requires everyone to have a very high sense of responsibility, but currently among our cadres and party members, there are still comrades who are afraid of responsibility".

Son Duong district leaders presided over the reception of citizens.

In the context of the country promoting the construction of a constructive, honest and people-serving government, the situation of officials avoiding responsibility is becoming a burning issue, causing public outrage. In reality, many officials and civil servants, especially at the grassroots level, show signs of shirking, avoiding, and even being indifferent to urgent issues of the people.

Mr. Nguyen Van Huan's family, Group 4, My Lam Ward (Tuyen Quang City), has been waiting for many years to be granted a Land Use Rights Certificate. According to Decision No. 185/QD-UBND dated June 4, 2009 of the People's Committee of Yen Son District, his family was allocated land for resettlement when the State reclaimed land to serve the project of renovating and upgrading National Highway 37.

However, after many years of waiting, Mr. Huan's family's rights have not been resolved. Too frustrated, he has repeatedly sent petitions to authorities at all levels, even having to "call for help" to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

Mr. Huan expressed: "My family has complied with the State's policy of allocating land to serve the project. Yet, up to now, our legitimate rights have not been guaranteed. I do not understand why such a simple matter has taken so long?".

Similarly, the land dispute between Mr. Dinh Quang B's family in Dong Tam village and Mr. Dam Xuan V's family in Dong Lanh village in Tan Thanh commune (Son Duong) has also been in a "suspended" state for a long time. Mr. B. has sent many petitions to the authorities at all levels, but has not received satisfactory answers, leading to a long-simmering conflict. Mr. B. has sent a petition to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee in hopes of a resolution.

The delay is long

According to the report of the Provincial Inspectorate, from 2024 to now, the whole province has handled 2,200 petitions and complaints under its authority, while 235 cases are under consideration and resolution. The whole province has received citizens 3,426 times with 3,460 citizens and 3,413 cases. At the citizen receptions of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, it is not difficult to see that cases that could have been resolved at the commune and district levels were "pushed" to higher levels.

Typical issues include land disputes, compensation for site clearance, granting of land use right certificates, or small conflicts within the community such as the land dispute between Mr. Hoang Cong Tien, Bao Ninh village and Mr. Le Duc Lanh, Lang Toi village, Yen Nguyen commune (Chiem Hoa).

Or the long-standing land acquisition case of 3 households of Mr. Nguyen Phi Hung, Mrs. Ngac Thi Dung and Mrs. Hoang Thi Tien, Vinh Son residential group, Vinh Loc town (Chiem Hoa) to build Chiem Hoa Bridge. However, after many years, the resettlement land allocation has not been implemented... This is just one of the cases and petitions that the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee has sent to the district level for resolution.

Comrade Khanh Thi Xuyen, Chief Inspector of the province, said: Complaints and denunciations are being handled by all levels and sectors in accordance with the provisions of the law to ensure the interests of the State and the rights and legitimate interests of citizens. However, there are still some cases and petitions that have not been resolved in a timely manner. The reason is that the responsibility of the heads of some agencies and units in handling complaints and denunciations is not high. The qualifications and capacity of some cadres and civil servants in charge of receiving citizens and handling complaints and denunciations in some sectors and localities are still limited compared to the requirements of the work; the handling of complaints and denunciations is mainly concentrated at the district level, but the district inspection force is still thin, leading to a discrepancy between the workload and the number of people performing the work...

This situation is also clearly reflected in the supervisions of the Provincial People's Council. Many cases are pending and delayed in resolving voters' petitions, which have lasted from year to year. A typical example is the petition to promptly resolve procedures for Tuyen Quang Non-ferrous Metal Joint Stock Company to hand over land to local management and carry out procedures to grant land use right certificates to households living in the Antimony Mine area, Ngoc Hoi Commune (Chiem Hoa).

Through monitoring, it shows that voters have made recommendations on this content since the 2nd session (August 2016), the 10th session of the 18th Provincial People's Council (August 2020) and continued to make recommendations at the 2nd session (July 2021), the 5th session (December 2022) of the 19th Provincial People's Council. At the time of monitoring, the above recommendations have not been completely resolved (after more than 8 years). According to the monitoring report and the People's Committee of Chiem Hoa district, in the Antimony Mine area, Dam Hong 3 village, there are 125 households living on an area of ​​39,347 m2. The origin of the land has been managed by Thai Nguyen Nonferrous Metallurgy Enterprise since the 1970s and assigned to households for use since 1996.

However, the legal documents on the land use boundaries of the mine during the period 1960 - 1989 were incomplete. In 1989 - 1996, the map defining the mine boundary was outside the land area used by 125 households. Therefore, the land of 125 households was not under the management of the mine and did not have to be recovered. These households used the land stably, in accordance with the planning and were eligible for land use right certificates. The monitoring delegation noted the difficulties of the People's Committee of Ngoc Hoi commune in searching for old documents. The delegation requested the Provincial People's Committee to direct relevant units to guide the company to complete the procedures for returning the land to the district for management, thereby making a plan to allocate land and issue red books to the people.

Reporting to Tuyen Quang Newspaper, Ms. Nguyen Thi T, Ga Luoc hamlet, Phuc Ninh commune (Yen Son) was upset that the stream across Luoc bridge has been polluted for many years. At hamlet meetings and meetings with voters, people have repeatedly reported the pollution to the local government, but it has not been thoroughly resolved. This situation has been prolonged, seriously affecting the lives of the people.

"We have repeatedly petitioned the local authorities about this situation, mentioned it in village meetings and meetings with voters, but so far there has been no drastic solution. We hope that the authorities will soon intervene, find the cause and have a solution to completely handle this pollution to return a clean living environment to the people," Ms. T. shared.

According to the report of the Provincial People's Council, this is just one of the cases that have been resolved for a long time and have not been resolved. There are still cases of backlog and delays in resolving voters' petitions that have lasted from year to year. This delay comes from resource difficulties; control and supervision mechanisms are sometimes overlapping and unclear, causing officials to worry about being "stuck" in complicated processes and procedures. In addition, some officials lack initiative, creativity, and are accustomed to a safe, "peace-first" working style, leading to a situation of avoiding responsibility and pushing work away...

"Diagnosing" the disease of avoidance, fear of mistakes, and fear of responsibility is not only a problem of individual officials but also a dangerous "disease" that erodes people's trust and slows down the country's development. If not treated promptly, this "disease" will cause unpredictable consequences.

(To be continued)

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/chan-chinh-tinh-trang-ne-tranh-trach-nhiem-210077.html