The country has a lot of work to do in its fight against corruption, requiring a high degree of patience and determination, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said at the third meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong urged the committee, in the second half of this year, to pay more attention to preventative measures and information dissemination.

Presiding over the meeting in Ha Noi yesterday, the Party leader said in this complicated and long-term struggle, all relevant agencies must continue making all-out efforts and pay more attention to institutional building while increasing their supervision of key areas and fields prone to corruption.

Trong praised the committee's efforts in the detection and punishment of corrupt acts as well as the contribution made by the National Assembly, the Fatherland Front and the whole political system as well as the press to the fight against corruption.

However, he said, many flaws remained in preventing and combating corruption such as the inconclusive attitudes of several branches and agencies, an incomplete legal system, slow settlement of major cases, plus an array of limitations in awareness-raising work.

He urged the committee, in the second half of this year, to pay more attention to preventative measures and information dissemination.

The committee must focus on handling a number of corruption cases that highlight public concerns, Trong added.

The meeting mapped out eight core tasks for the remaining months including popularising the revised anti-corruption law and the launch of an anti-corruption component to be taught in schools.

The committee will also participate in the process of revising corruption-related content in the 1992 Constitution.

Seven working groups headed by the committee's members will be established to inspect the performance of several branches and localities nationwide in anti-corruption work.

In the first half of this year, the inspection sector conducted 4,724 administrative inspections and over 89,000 intensive inspections in certain fields, focusing on land management, capital construction and budget management and spending.

The inspections discovered inappropriate use of VND12.2 trillion (US$580.9 million) and 452 hectares of land.