The public is not happy with slow advances in the fight against corruption and this is made worse by the failure to enforce anti-corruption laws enacted in 2006, according to a legal expert. NA Law Committee Head, Mr Keyoun Yotsayviboun, yesterday said limited progress was caused by a lack of public awareness, sentencing measures that were too liberal, lack of investigation and a failure to bring offenders before the courts. Mr Keyoun said it would take some time to address the problem. “Corruption is a chronic disease and it's not easy to solve the problem, corruption is like other chronic diseases and it cannot be cured in one day,” he said. “Prior to this, our country was governed by orders and customary rules so changing this behaviour is not so easy.” State Inspection Authority Vice President, Mr Thongsy Ounlasy, estimates Laos lost almost 100 billion kip from corruption last year. “Corruption occurs in many sectors especially those related to investment and tax collection,” he said. Mr Thongsy was unable to say whether corruption had increased this year, but he did say the authority would release a report at the end of the year to evaluate the extent of corruption in the country. “The anti-corruption law has been enforced, but not widely,” he said. “Our enforcement of the anti-corruption laws is part of our enforcement of criminal laws because corruption is a criminal matter.” He suggested an information campaign would be helpful to increase awareness and the law enforcement sector needed to work harder to bring offenders to justice. He said corrupt officials had faced disciplinary action but information about these cases had not been published or broadcast through Lao media, so the public wasn't aware of the cases. Mr Thongsy said another approach to addressing corruption would be to establish an anti-corruption organisation with police powers to specifically fight the problem. “Corruption has been damaging our economy and our nation as well as the reputation of our country in the international community,” he said. “This corruption also destroys the image of our government officials who are not corrupt and work sincerely for the benefit of the nation.” NA Vice President, Mr Xaysomphone Phomvihane, told Vientiane Times last week that corruption and abuse of power were some of the assembly's most serious concerns. He urged the government to focus more on inspection measures to address the problem and to ensure cases were always reported in the media.
The first national law of Laos was enacted in the 1980s. Since the enactment of the country's constitution, the National Assembly has passed more than 70 pieces of legislation. But many of them, including anti-corruption laws, are not well enforced, officials said during the NA session which finished last week.
Corruption is being in the deep root in Lao society for a long time ago. So let it be........don't bother them at the end all the old fart will die too. They can't take all the money they got to spend in hell with them.
Please tell me the news below is not true. Is our Laos too poor as a nation and unable to buy Olympic Uniforms for our own athletes? There are only four of them. Why even bother to have an Olympic Team if Laos can not afford two tracksuits. Is there any rich people in Laos that would make a donation. It is totally embarrassing to learn about our country in the 21st century. I am as Laotian American is in complete shock, speechless and disappointed. We don't have any pride to talk about. Though I left Laos since I was only 14 but Laos was my birth place, I always hope for advancement, civilization and with possible development one day. I would not have ever thought that Laos is still this poor. What a shame and pity for our four athletes. I would not want to be in Beijing Olympics if I were them. IOC picks up tab for tiny Laotian team BANGKOK (Reuters) - Cash-strapped Laos will send a team of only four athletes to next month's Beijing Olympics, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) picking up the tab. The Southeast Asian country, which has never won an Olympic medal, is relying on charitable handouts and an IOC grant to pay for tracksuits and flight tickets and ensure its two swimmers and two runners get a chance to compete. Laos's Olympic chief Somphou Phongsa admitted there was little hope of any Laotian medals but said the tiny team's participation was all about putting their country on the map. "The standard is too high for us to win anything in Beijing but we are proud to represent our country," Somphou told Reuters by telephone from the country's capital, Vientiane. "We were lucky to get the four places. We wanted to compete in five sports but our boxers and our taekwondo and judo fighters all failed to qualify." Laos's biggest sporting success came at the 2006 Asian Games, when Phoxay Aphailath won a silver medal in the Chinese martial art of wushu. It is one of Asia's poorest countries and most of its 5.8 million people have no access to sports facilities, with many living without running water or electricity. Laos will host the Southeast Asian Games for the first time next year, although it has had to reduce the number of sports by almost half because of chronic cash shortages and a lack of facilities, prompting complaints from other competing nations. (Reporting by Martin Petty, editing by Ossian Shine)
