ANTI-WASTE

TO LAM

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam

President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

1. In every revolutionary period, our Party and State have always paid special attention to the work of preventing and combating waste, issued many resolutions, directives and conclusions on this issue and led the entire political system and the entire people to organize and implement it, achieving many results. Faced with the requirement of increasing resources and mobilizing the people's strength to bring the country into a new era under the leadership of the Party, the work of preventing and combating waste is facing new, urgent and pressing requirements and tasks.

During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh always focused on preventing and combating waste. He advised, "Corruption, waste and bureaucracy are the enemies of the people, the army and the Government"[1]; He pointed out, "Corruption is harmful, but waste is sometimes even more harmful: It is more harmful than corruption because waste is very common..."; "Waste, although not pocketing public money, is still very harmful to the people and the Government. Sometimes it is more harmful than embezzlement"; He repeatedly emphasized "We must cherish public money: All the food, clothing, and use of you are the sweat and tears of our compatriots. We must save, preserve, and not waste; "Embezzlement, waste, and bureaucracy are a kind of "enemy within". If soldiers and people strive to fight foreign invaders but forget to fight internal invaders, they have not fulfilled their duty. Therefore, soldiers and people must enthusiastically participate in that movement". Not only did he regularly advise, remind, and discuss about thrift and anti-waste from a theoretical perspective, President Ho Chi Minh was also a shining example of practicing thrift and anti-waste, inspiring the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army to strive to compete, mobilize, and converge potential and strength to defeat colonialism and imperialism, liberate the nation, and unify the country.

Since the implementation of the renovation process, the Central Executive Committee, the Politburo, and the Secretariat of all terms have issued many directives, resolutions, and conclusions on preventing and combating waste. On August 21, 2006, the Third Conference of the Central Executive Committee of the Party (Term X) issued Resolution No. 04-NQ/TW on strengthening the Party's leadership in the prevention and combat of corruption and waste; on May 25, 2012, the Central Executive Committee (Term XI) issued Conclusion No. 21-KL/TW on continuing to implement the Resolution of the Third Conference of the Central Executive Committee (10th tenure); on December 21, 2012, the Secretariat issued Directive No. 21-CT/TW on promoting thrift practice and combating waste; on December 25, 2023, the Politburo issued Directive 27-CT/TW on strengthening the Party's leadership in thrift practice and combating waste. The document of the 13th National Congress of the Party clearly stated: "The work of preventing and combating corruption and waste... has not had clear changes... detection and handling of corruption and waste are still limited... Corruption and waste... are still serious, complicated... increasingly sophisticated, causing outrage in society". Institutionalizing the Party's policies, the Standing Committee of the 10th National Assembly issued the Ordinance on Thrift Practice and Combating Waste in 1998; The National Assembly passed the Law on Practicing Thrift and Combating Wastefulness in 2005 and 2013; the 2013 Constitution stipulates that "Agencies, organizations and individuals must practice thrift, combat waste, and prevent and combat corruption in socio-economic activities and state management".

Implementing resolutions, directives and conclusions of the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat, the Constitution and legal provisions, Party committees at all levels, authorities, departments, branches and organizations from the central to local levels have more clearly defined their responsibilities in directing and organizing the implementation of waste prevention and combat tasks. The effectiveness and efficiency of state management, exploitation and use of the country's resources have been improved. The state budget has been strictly controlled from the stage of making, implementing the estimate and finalizing the accounts; Procurement, equipment, management and use of assets, means of transport, working equipment in agencies and organizations using the budget are implemented in accordance with the prescribed norms, standards and regimes; the management of investment projects using state capital and assets has had positive changes. The rearrangement and handling of state-owned houses and land have been implemented; the management and use of state capital and assets in enterprises, and the people's awareness of saving in production and consumption have had many positive changes. The results of practicing thrift and fighting waste have contributed to the great achievements of the renovation process; achieving and surpassing most of the socio-economic development goals and targets over the terms, even in the context of unprecedented challenges such as epidemics and natural disasters; mobilizing, managing and effectively using human resources, material resources, financial resources, ensuring national defense, security, foreign affairs, social security and social welfare. Besides the results, waste is also quite common, in many different forms, and has been causing many serious consequences for development. Among them, it causes a decrease in resources.