General Secretary To Lam gave a speech at the 80th Anniversary of Vietnam Inspectorate's Traditional Day.
To leaders and former leaders of the Party, the State and the Fatherland Front, and leaders of ministries, branches, and localities;
To leaders and former leaders of the Inspectorate throughout the periods;
To delegates and comrades;
Today, in the spirit of the nation competing for achievements in order to welcome the Fourteenth National Congress of the Party, let us celebrate the Eightieth Ceremony of the Vietnam Inspector Traditional Day (23rd November 1945 – 23rd November 2025). This is a special milestone that not only recalls the glorious tradition of the Inspectorate, but also reasserts the stature, position and mission of the inspection work in the mission to construct, develop and protect the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
On behalf of the leadership of the Party and State and with my own personal feelings, I would like to offer my warmest regards and best wishes to the leaders, cadres, civil servants, public employees, and workers of the Inspectorate throughout the years as well as our distinguished guests.
Dear comrades,
From the first days of our nation, President Ho Chi Minh signed decree number 64 on the 23rd of November, 1945 to established the Special Inspectorate – the predecessor to the Inspectorate of Vietnam today. He advised us: “Inspectors are the eyes and ears above, and a friend below”; “Inspectors are like a mirror reflecting faces, and blurry mirrors cannot reflect anything”. Those words are not just professional instructions, but also a motto for the cultivation of the morals, courage and personality of an inspector – a specialized profession, requiring determination and also humanity; honesty, as well as understanding.
Throughout 80 years of construction, development and maturity, the Inspectorate of Vietnam has participated in many glorious historical chapters of the nation. In the wars of resistance against France and America, despite the harsh conditions of wars, the inspectorate organizations would continue their operations, helping to maintain discipline and ensuring every resistance and national development policy is enacted fairly and properly. In the renewal and integration period, inspectors continue to be an important force in protecting the integrity of the state apparatus by preventing, detecting and handling violations, especially in terms of corruption, wastage and negativity.
It could be said that where inspection exists, discipline is established, trust is reinforced and the law is held supreme. That is a pride held in concert with 80 years of history – 80 years of reasserting the confidence, loyalty and dedication of the team of inspectors towards the Party, the State and the People.
In recent times, the Inspectorate has become more proactive and fierce, consulting many mechanisms, policies and strategic solutions for the Party in terms of combating corruption, wastage and negativity. They have also organized many specialized and widespread inspections, focusing on areas prone to violations, contributing majorly to the construction and regulation of the Party.
Civilian feedback reception and dispute and accusation resolution saw innovations in method and increases in the quality of collaboration with ministries, branches and localities. Numerous backlogged, complex and protracted cases have been dealt with promptly, helping to stabilized society and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the people, thereby contributing to political security and social order, and reinforcing the belief of the People towards the Party, the State and the political system of our nation.
Implementing Resolution number 18-NQ/TW on the 25th of October, 2017 of the Twelfth Central Committee and Conclusion number 134-KL/TW on the 28th of March, 2025 from the Politburo and Secretariat, the Inspectorate has proactively reorganized and streamlined its apparatus, increasing operational efficiency and efficacy. Through this, it has also improved its institution, increased its administrative discipline and helped to more effectively operate the two-level local government, better serving the People.
The achievements and contributions of the Inspectorate over these 80 years have been recognized by the Party, the State and the People through many valuable awards such as the Gold Star Order, the Order of Ho Chi Minh, the First Class Order of Independence, the First Class Order of Labor and many other glorious emulation titles. This is a pride and the basis and motivation for the Inspectorate to confidently continue going forward in the new development stage.
Dear comrades,
Our nation is heading into a new development stage, with a desire to construct a mighty, prosperous and happy Vietnam, aiming towards becoming a developed, high-income nation by 2045. The rapid and strong development and deep integration, along with economic, social, technological and environmental challenges sets out a higher, more comprehensive demand towards the Inspectorate – the agency responsible for maintaining integrity, effectiveness and fairness in the administration of the state.
Inspection today is not just a tool for detecting violations, but an institution for the establishment of transparency, promotion of innovation, and protection of social stability and belief. A good administrative platform must have a strong monitoring mechanism, and the Inspectorate is the pillar in this mechanism.
With that vision, the Inspectorate needs to continue to innovate comprehensively and modernize aggressively, link inspection work with development goals, place the People at the heart of all activities, and aim towards building an upright and effective administrative system that dedicates itself to the people. I would like to suggest some orientations and crucial objectives for the Inspectorate in the upcoming periods:
First, thoroughly understand the Party's policies and guidelines regarding the construction and regulation of the Socialist Republic Party and State; effectively deploy the Resolution of the Fourteenth Congress of the Party, materialize the spirit of innovation and develop in a fast and sustainable manner. The Government Inspectorate Party Committee needs to focus on the construction of the “Increase the leadership of the Party regarding the inspection work, meeting the needs of preventing and stopping corruption, wastage and negativity” Project. Within the project, clarify the mechanisms as well as the leadership methods and contents of the party in the inspection work, ensuring the complete leadership of the Party while at the same time respecting independence, objectivity, openness, transparency and compliance with the law.
The Inspectorate needs to consider the inspection work reception of citizen feedback, dispute and accusation resolution as well as prevention of corruption, wastage and negativity as the central political objectives, linking the, closely with the development and regulation of the Party and the construction of an upright and constructive socialist republic State that serves the People.
Second, strongly innovate thinking and operational methods in inspection. Inspection is not only for detecting and handling violations but also to prevent them, while also constructing and motivating development. Every inspection must aim for a dual objective: Detect violations early to protect public property, while also allowing the resolution of difficulties and obstacles for organizations, businesses and citizens.
Preventing and stopping corruption, wastage and negativity is not just to handle violations, but also to clear up the investment environment, reinforce trust, promote economic development and ensure healthy and transparent competition.
Inspection work needs to shift its focus from “handling violations” to “preventing them far and early”, combining administrative inspection with specialized inspection, and combining direct inspection of the scene with digital data analysis. Inspectors must stay one step ahead, predicting and warning of risks early, not allowing small violations to turn into serious incidents. All inspection activities must be objective, fair and transparent, while obeying the motto: “No disallowed areas and no exceptions, but also no extreme means or just for formality”.
Third, using the inspection results, there needs to be an increase in practical conclusions and detection of problems, suggestions for improving the institution, policies and law as well as detection and prevention of “gaps” in the administration of the state and enforcement of law. This is the highest value of the inspection work in a socialist republic State.
Many lessons from reality have shown that: One correct, objective and timely inspection conclusion can save trillions of Vietnamese Dongs, remove many institutional obstacles, contribute to the investment environment and promote socio-economic development.
Fourth, push for modernization, application of technology and digital transformation within the Inspectorate, meaning a good implementation of Resolution number 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo. Focus on the construction and operation of the national database for citizen feedback and dispute and accusation resolution, and database for control of the property and income of people in power. Also collaborate and link with other national databases such as population, land, finances and banks, etc. in order to aim for completely digital inspection work, dispute and accusation resolution, monitoring and handling – which is transparent, fast, effective and economical.
Fifth, the Inspectorate should take care in building the Party and constructing a team of Inspectorate staff that is truly upright, confidence, intelligence and adept.
An inspector must be someone with a “pure soul, firm mind, intelligence in their work and acts correctly”; someone with the will to protect what is right and fight back against what is wrong, and take responsibility for the common good, just like what Uncle Ho taught us: “Inspectors are like a mirror reflecting faces, and blurry mirrors cannot reflect anything”.
The Inspectorate needs to continue to complete mechanisms for encouraging and protecting cadres that dare to think, dare to do and dare to take responsibility; reward the upright and punish the violators, in order to create a pure, democratic and united work environment.
In the process of doing their duty, the Inspectorate needs to work closely with ministries, branches and localities, especially agencies in the internal affairs sector in order to ensure synchronicity, agreement and effectiveness. Party committees and authorities need to continue to lead, train and create favorable conditions for the Inspectorate to continue to perform their functions well, so that inspection can truly become one of the essential tools for the development of an upright, lawful and constructive State.
Dear comrades,
An 80 year long tradition is something to be proud about, and is also valuable experience for the Inspectorate to continue firmly on its path of innovation, integration and development. I believe that with the comprehensive leadership of the Party, the management of the state, the accompaniment of the entire political system and the People, as well as the spirit of unity, responsibility and dedication of the entire staff of cadres, civil servants, public employees and workers, the Inspectorate of Vietnam will continue to live up to that glorious tradition, achieving many great things and contributing worthily to the mission to build and protect the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Inspectors must always be the eyes and ears above, and a faith below, a mirror that reflects the uprightness and fairness of the state, and a firm pillar of the People towards the Party and the system.
Keeping the mirror of the inspector bright is keeping the faith of the People strong, as well as keeping our public administration pure, effective and efficient.
I would like to wish for the Inspectorate of Vietnam to continue to grow, continue to stand strong and remain worthy of the love that the Party, the State and the People give.
I wish for our comrades and our distinguished guests the best of health, happiness and success.
Thank you very much!
Translated by Nhat Nam
