HANOI: Vietnam dismissed two deputy prime ministers amid lengthy investigations driven by a campaign to clean up corruption and protect the Communist Party’s legitimacy.
The National Assembly voted to dismiss Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam from office during a four-day special session that began on Thursday. Pham Binh Minh, who has held the position since late 2013, was also voted out.
The parliament did not provide reasons for the dismissals. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh earlier on Thursday asked the National Assembly to dismiss Minh and Dam at their requests, VnExpress news website reported.
Party officials in September stepped up efforts to prod officials to resign if they have been reprimanded, disciplined and are deemed to have low competency. Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong has also urged “timely” dismissals of officials who have not been effective in their roles or have committed wrongdoings.
The dismissals come as authorities aggressively tackle graft as part of a years-long campaign that has ensnared hundreds of officials and businessmen. The probes have defined Trong’s legacy as he serves a rare third five-year term.
There were signs this was coming for the two top ranking officials. Late last month the two were dismissed from the powerful party Central Committee. Minh, a former foreign minister, was also dismissed from the Politburo, which plays a leading role in the country’s governance. The dismissals came at their requests, Thanh Nien newspaper reported earlier.
Police recently detained Dam’s assistant on alleged abuse of power amid investigations involving Viet A Technology JSC, a maker of Covid-19 testing kits.
Authorities in September also detained Nguyen Quang Linh, an assistant of Minh’s, and Nguyen Thanh Hai, director of the department of international relations under the government’s coordinating office, for alleged bribery tied to the organization of repatriation flights for Vietnamese abroad during the coronavirus pandemic.
Authorities have begun criminal proceedings against 39 individuals tied to the case.
Criminal proceedings have been initiated against 102 individuals tied to the Viet A Technology case. In June, police detained former health minister Nguyen Thanh Long, former Hanoi Mayor Chu Ngoc Anh, and a former deputy minister of science and technology for alleged ties to bribery and abuse of power in investigations involving the test kit maker.
