The article by Mr. Dinh Hong Ky was published in the Current Affairs section of the Saigon Times Online (www.thesaigontimes.vn) on Friday, January 11, 2019.
At the end of 1990, I set foot in Poland during my five-year working term. At that time, Poland had just undergone a political transition to the new government led by the Solidarity trade union and coalition, with Lech Walesa inaugurated as president. The new administration began transforming the economy from a centralized, bureaucratic, subsidized system to a free-market economy.
With a newly emerging market economy, new laws and policies were formed, and policy inconsistencies were inevitable—creating a fertile ground for corruption. Bribery and extortion were rampant across state administrative agencies. Corruption in Poland at that time somewhat resembled the current situation in Vietnam.
When receiving imported goods, bribery or sharing money with customs officials was necessary to avoid high tariffs. Then there was bargaining to reduce declared quantities to share import tax money. In some cases, customs officials colluded directly with importers to avoid paying any taxes to the state.
On the streets, traffic police extorted money directly from violators to line their pockets. I remember a story when a friend and I were stopped by police for some traffic violation. The officer asked for 50 zloty (Polish currency) privately. My friend only had a 200 zloty note and planned to exchange it, but the officer cheerfully told him to hand it over and said he would return the change—an open, market-like transaction!
However, Poland’s economic and social environment changed rapidly. Along with political milestones such as joining NATO in 2000 and the European Union (EU) in 2005, the economy developed more healthily, and society became increasingly civilized and transparent.
When I returned to Poland with my friend who was once fined by traffic police, I asked if the practice of direct extortion still existed. He said it was almost gone. I learned that the government and police took strong measures against bribery. They first streamlined the system to the bare minimum, then raised police salaries to ensure a decent living standard. In addition, harsh penalties were enforced: if caught accepting bribes, both the officer and the briber faced three years in prison. The police officer would be dismissed and later denied a pension. The cost of petty bribery—50 to 100 zloty (about 300,000 to 600,000 VND)—was too high, so hardly any officer or offender took the risk. In Vietnam, such infractions might only lead to demotion or reassignment.
Poland’s customs and tax authorities have transformed from deeply corrupt institutions into much “cleaner” ones in a relatively short time. Poland implemented the electronic tax declaration system JPK. Every business transaction is transparently recorded in this system. For example, imported shipments are sealed with electronic chips from the port and tracked to the nearest customs checkpoint. Each item in a shipment—like a pair of pants or a shirt—is immediately recorded in the company’s electronic records upon clearance and monitored until sold, with revenues reported for corporate tax purposes. Accountants must update this data directly, so at any time, not only the business owner or accountant but also tax officials and customs officers can track the product’s flow. This interconnected software system linking customs, tax authorities, and businesses helps prevent tax evasion and fraud, simplifies inspections, statistics, and tax settlement. Polish companies can settle taxes within hours, while in Vietnam this can take days or weeks, involving a large team of tax officials with unpredictable results, often influenced by the “will” of the audit team and the company’s willingness to pay. The JPK system also curbs fraudulent VAT invoice trading—a problem rampant in Vietnam and previously widespread in Poland. Additionally, JPK helped reduce the customs and tax official workforce by tens of thousands.
Alongside aligning its legal system with EU standards for transparency, strictness, democracy, and fairness, Poland has digitalized all policies and administrative procedures for easy public access.
Important positions in Poland’s administrative agencies are filled through competitive exams. Mechanisms limit the influence of any single individual in their work area.
The current ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), though conservative and at times controversial in Poland and the EU, has enforced strong anti-corruption policies that have significantly improved Poland’s social and economic environment.
One of Poland’s anti-corruption successes is the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA). It holds extensive powers, including some banned in other EU countries, such as the right to set traps for corrupt officials. While this approach is debatable from a democratic perspective, it has proven highly effective in combating bribery. Numerous CBA sting operations have led to many officials imprisoned with sentences up to 12 years. Now, any official considering taking a bribe fears being caught by the CBA’s traps.
Poland has also incorporated anti-corruption education into schools. Students from primary through university levels are continuously taught that giving and accepting bribes are serious, despicable crimes.
In just a few years, Poland transformed from a country plagued by corruption similar to today’s Vietnam to a much-improved state. According to Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Poland ranked 36th out of 180 countries, while Vietnam ranked 107th.
I do not think we are unaware of lessons like those Poland learned. The real question is whether we can overcome “group interests” and “sectoral benefits” to boldly implement strong anti-corruption measures deeply into our economic and social life. This would be more effective than focusing solely on headline cases that the current “anti-corruption furnace” chases around seeking “fresh or rotten wood” as it does now.
Dinh Hong Ky
