On the morning of December 14, the 14th Plenum of the CPV’s Central Committee started in Hanoi. For the party with 5, 2 million members in the country of nearly 100 million people, this is the most important meeting, having a decisive and lasting influence for at least 5 years, on the entire Vietnamese nation.
Because, it arranges personnel.
In all the Party and government apparatus from the central, ministries to localities, whoever gets up or down, depends on the decision of this plenum.
Short-term policies and decisions in the term of each field, each locality will also depend a lot on the individual holding that position, after the election of the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels will act out in early 2021, after the 13th Party National Congress slated for January next year.
Unlike the US election, the election results depend on the effectiveness of the incumbent apparatus policies implemented in the previous term. As for Vietnam, the issues that anyone can discuss publicly are just those who have been jailed for corruption- “firewood” had been put in the “oven.”
It seems that only need to be assessed as being less corrupt (whoever dares to dream of “not being corrupt“), just like the folk saying “eat just enough, know how to work” then that individual is bright enough to get support from other people.
That is why in all the discourse on General Secretary cum State President Nguyen Phu Trong, the quality of “fighting corruption” is absolutely appreciated. Therefore, in an important interview on human resource work published in the Government electronic newspaper – the mouthpiece of the Government of Vietnam, Mr. Vu Quoc Hung – former vice-chairman of the Central Inspection Commission only mentioned the courage to stand up to corruption and affirmed that it is the most important quality of the party members.
The article was published two days before the opening of the 14th Plenum. According to the unspoken principle of the media, only platform content will be formally posted on the front page of the press at this time.
Mr. Hung said that the root cause of corrupt officials is the lack of training, not enough bravery before temptation.
“Integrity, purity, self-preservation, not under any pressure” – Mr. Hung uses a series of adjectives describing standards of leaders.
However, I do not know those who achieve the above qualities, when sitting in the chair of provincial chairperson, minister, even president … how will keep them.
Below is the payroll of key positions in the Vietnamese government apparatus and parliament:
The three highest positions of the government apparatus and elected bodies are both VND 20 million/month (about $865). The President of the country gets more than VND800,000.
These are key positions lower or hold the industries:
All people responsible for the economy, justice, … have a salary of approximately VND17 million/month. That is about $735/month.
And here is the salary of the police and military officers:
The lowest officer rank is a second lieutenant, with a salary of nearly VND7 million/month. To the highest level of the overwhelming majority of officers is colonel, salary is nearly VND13 million/month. The top level of the top, who are exceptionally rare talents, possessing superior brains and strategic bravery in the armed industry, the whole industry before and after not many people, salary less than VND17 million/month.
The salaries of the soldiers are VND5 million-VND6 million a month.
According to a 2016 survey (up to now) of the General Statistics Office (Ministry of Planning and Investment), in 2016, spending on education was nearly VND5.5 million/person. Average monthly expenditure per household is VND8 million.
Thus, with the rank of colonel, if there are two children going to school, after spending money for them, the colonel’s salary remains VND1.8 million per month. That means his wife will have to contribute more than VND6 million for the family during the month. It also means that the couple has no chance to study any more. And after spending, his whole family will not have a penny left to save.
If you are a lieutenant colonel (salary is nearly VND12 million/month), you should have only one child. If there are two children, the paternal money to go to school for them will be clean from the father’s salary.
Senior officers (second lieutenant) should not dream of getting married with children, because they can only support themselves at the lowest level. Can’t count to homes, cars, computers for study and work, phones to keep in touch, and so on.
A minister must have a few suits to wear to the social meetings. The price of a Viet Tien brand men’s vest (a popular average brand of Vietnamese men’s clothing) is VND2 million/set, equal to 1/8 of the minister’s monthly salary.
Designer Vo Viet Chung said that he had more than 10 years designing ao dai for National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. This brand, four years ago, had the cheapest price of about $1,500 /set (about VND35 million). Do not know how much the highest price is, but as he boasted, the sets with the price of $5,000 and $10,000 have been sold a lot.
If Ms. Ngan only bought the cheapest ao dai from Vo Viet Chung, it would take her two months without eating, spending any money, to buy one. That is with the salary of the chairwoman of the National Assembly, and with the salary just increased since July 2020. If it was just a vice chairwoman (she had held this position for many years before) it would take her three or four months. Calculated, 300 Ao Dai takes at least 600 months salary of Chairwoman Ngan: 600 months is 50 years of income, absolutely no money for living expenses.
I’m sure Mrs. Kim Ngan must have a husband who does business very well, or inherit a very strong economic background from her family so she can maintain her family and provide money for the so luxurious Ao Dai collection. Ms. Ngan is so lucky!
The tables and chairs are as high as thrones, with dragon-head handles, the entire interior shines with gold in the house of former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, no one knows the price. Just looking at the vast building, the huge columns of meticulous decoration, they cannot be made of industrial wood with gold paint.
Like Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh is also very lucky. Congratulations both.
But do not know how many lucky people like you and grandparents, among the leaders of the country? With a salary that is 5 years lower than an engineer who graduated, not equal to the price of the latest iPhone phone (according to the comparison of the netizens that the American people can not earn about 5 days of income) how many leaders can raise families, feed their children, save for old age, buy facilities for study, research, feel secure in life to spend enough time and effort for work? How to maintain pure bravery, absolutely not under any pressure? How do they think about methods of economic and cultural development for Vietnam, when the life of their whole family can only exist at a level that is just enough to exist, but that is to say with the salary of the minister?
And so should I consider the statements of the former deputy chairman of the Central Inspection Commission, who is responsible for the purity of the party members, in the form of “rhetoric“?
Thoibao.de (Translated)
