Publicity and transparency in performance of "Super Commission" is the most important requirement

Dr.Luu Bich Ho, former Director of Development Strategy Institute, Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Dear sir, from October 1, 2018 the State Capital Management Committee is officially operating after 8 months of establishment. What are your expectations on the effectiveness of the Super-committee in the coming years?

I appreciate the establishment of this committee. After many years of reform and equitization of SOEs, we have gained some results, but we find that implementation is too slow. It has always failed to meet the requirements and target. After the XII Congress of the Party, there should be a unified body acting as the sole representative of state owned enterprises at State-owned enterprises. This issue has been heatedly discussed for several years by the management agencies and experts leading to a proposal to establish a Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises.

After establishment eight months ago, up to now, there are some people who don’t believe in the ability and efficiency of the agency. In my opinion, I believe that the Committee will operate at least better than the governing ministries for the former SOEs in managing state capital in enterprises. Because we will focus on one point, (playing football while blowing whistle), (playing football and not just blowing the whistle) separating between state management and enterprise management according to the Party’s policy that has been issued a long time ago but has not been implemented well. The experience of many countries has proven this, such as Singapore, Indonesia, China .…., in the future course of the Commission’s activities it will certainly be difficult, because it is a new organization, a new way, but we have to be resolute and persistent, do right. Moreover, it will be guided and supported strongly by the Government and the Prime Minister, everything will progress as required. This is also the new breakthrough that will win against the old stagnation.

At the launch, the Prime Minister asked that when it came into operation, the Committee had to "fight against corruption, negativity, back yard, family members in business". Please tell me your assessment of this issue?

This is the problem that public opinion has long talked about the status of ministries and localities of SOE owners have the "back yard", group interests, corruption, family members in business, in the operation and management of SOEs. It is very difficult to avoid that when the state and enterprise management are not separated. This is also a very important reason for the establishment of the Committee. An important requirement is that the Commission must confront and eliminate this situation.

The most important requirement and criteria for assessing the Commission's performance is transparency. It’s responsible for explaining about its operation. If we can’t do that, it will lead to stagnation, even failure. The experience of other countries, for example, in Indonesia, they had to change the leader of the Commission three times to get success. The Prime Minister has also stressed that there are two ways for the Committee, and the Commission must take the way of building a professional, modern Commission that will promote vigorous reforms and improve overall efficiency in the whole system of corporations, SOEs, and not the way of creating an old bureaucracy, burdening the enterprise system as well as the whole country. I think it is a very clear direction from the Head of Government to the Commission that I expect will achieve success.

Thank you!