Vietnam Removes two deputy prime ministers as part of an anti-corruption drive
According to an official announcement, the National Assembly of Vietnam has decided to remove two deputy prime ministers from their positions, marking what observers perceive to be a new escalation in the country’s anti-corruption campaign.
Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam were removed by the parliament on Thursday without any explanation, but the move comes as the Communist-run nation is stepping up its fight against corruption despite worries that the effort is paralyzing routine business because officials fear becoming embroiled in investigations.
The selection of Tran Hong Ha, the minister of the environment, and Tran Luu Quang, the party leader of Haiphong City, as the two new deputy prime ministers, was also approved by the parliament.
An inquiry for feedback from Minh and Dam received no response. No charges have been brought against the men, and they have not been detained.
The most senior officials to date to be affected by the anti-corruption drive, if the dismissals are related to it.
One of the highest officials and ambassadors, as well as a minister of health, have already been detained as a result of the crackdown. Prominent businessmen have also been detained in separate investigations.
Between 2011 and 2021, Minh, 63, was the nation’s foreign minister. Beginning in 2013, he also held the position of deputy prime minister.
Dam, 59, who became the country’s deputy prime minister in 2013, is well recognized for spearheading the campaign to combat the COVID outbreak in Southeast Asia.
The dismissals may be connected to two scandals that disrupted the pandemic response, according to Carl Thayer, an expert on Vietnam’s diplomacy at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, specifically a bribery scandal connected to flying home Vietnamese nationals who were stranded abroad and the purchase of COVID-19 test kits.
Late in December, the Communist Party expelled Minh and Dam from the Central Party Committee as well as the politburo, the group with the most authority.
