Vietnam: 12th National Assembly session

As Vietnam Focus went to press delegates were gathering for the final session of the 12th National Assembly before May's elections. The session will last just over a week and will tackle only five new laws: on the prevention of human trafficking, government cryptography, independent audit, and an amendment and supplement to some articles of the Code of Civil Procedures and the Law on Capital. The body will meet again in late June for the first session of the 13th National Assembly.

One of the first items of business this week was the Vinashin affair. The Assembly has been very vocal in recent months, especially after its November and December session, in which delegate Nguyen Minh Thuyet from Lang Son attempted to bring a vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for his mismanagement of the shipping conglomerate. His bid was ultimately rejected.

Vinashin was again a lead item in the final session, but those who hoped some blame would be assigned within the government will have been disappointed. On the opening day, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, who is the former minister for finance, announced that no individuals or organisations other those already under investigation would be held responsible for the mismanagement of Vinashin and its losses of $4.4 billion.

The Politburo considered that the violations outside of Vinashin itself were not serious and that those involved within the economic group had already drawn enough criticism and would learn from the events.

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© 2011 Menas Associates