~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Poverty, corruption still problems, Vietnam says

HANOI - Vietnam admitted on Friday that corruption and red tape remain huge problems as it celebrated the 60th anniversary of its independence from French colonial rule.

"Many people are still poor and the government and the political system remain cumbersome and not effective enough," President Tran Duc Luong said at a celebratory parade. "Bureaucracy and wastefulness, a lack of responsibility and disrespect for the state's rules is widespread," he said. "Corruption and other social evils remain a concern," Luong added. "The economy remains weak." He called on Vietnam's 82 million people to launch an all-out effort to renovate a country led by a communist government with an "open door, ready to befriend other countries."

The government has been cracking down on corruption following frequent criticism by foreign investors that graft is a major hindrance to doing business in Vietnam. Despite robust economic growth of around 7 percent per year, Vietnam remains one of the world's poorest nations with an annual per capita income of just around $500.

Vietnam declared independence on September 2, 1945 after more than 80 years of French rule.

Reuters - September 01, 2005.