MANY AMERICANS IN HCMC FEEL THE UNWELCOME PINCH OF

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000238

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS, USAID/ANE, EEB/TPP/BTA/ANA
USDOC FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO
USTR FOR BISBEE
TREASURY FOR CHUN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EINV CVIS KFRD KPAO SOCI PGOV VM
SUBJECT: MANY AMERICANS IN HCMC FEEL THE UNWELCOME PINCH OF
CORRUPTION


1. (SBU) Summary. One leading Ho Chi Minh City developer best
summed up the pervasive nature of corruption in Vietnam by
declaring to the Consul General, "corruption is in the air that
we breathe." A recent informal survey ConGen HCMC conducted
found that more than one in five American citizens responding to
a simple voluntary survey reported having been asked for an
informal payment at some point in Vietnam, whether while doing
business, completing paperwork or simply traveling around the
country. Corruption and transparency are major issues that
directly affect the lives and business interests of Americans in
Vietnam. Mission will continue to press interlocutors at all
levels on issues of transparency and corruption and more broadly
through the strong support of assistance programs like the STAR
program. End summary.


2. (SBU) As part of on-going efforts to better understand the
wider economic climate, the Consulate General developed a brief
survey to provide American citizens with the opportunity to
voluntarily and anonymously report whether they had ever been
asked to make an informal payment while traveling or conducting
business in Vietnam.


3. (SBU) Of 118 completed surveys, 26 (22 percent of
respondents) reported requests for informal payments. Those
reporting such requests included 21 men and five women who were
in Vietnam for a wide range of purposes, including visiting
family (14),conducting business (10) and even getting married
(4). Seventeen of those who responded positively volunteered
that they were ethnically Vietnamese and six said they were
Caucasian, while three responded "American." Nearly equal
numbers of people aged 21-35 (8),aged 36-50 (10) and aged 50 on
up (8) reported having been asked to make an informal payment.


4. (SBU) Two respondents volunteered additional information.
One had been asked to make a $5 payment upon arrival at a
Vietnamese airport and another was asked to pay $300 at a
provincial Department of Justice office. Others did not include
specific information on the nature of the inappropriate request
for payment.


5. (SBU) Comment: Corruption in Vietnam is not an abstract
development issue -- our informal survey shows it has directly
affected 22 percent of those American citizens who volunteered
to complete our survey. From billion-dollar development deals
to routine bureaucratic approvals, opportunities to solicit
informal payments abound in HCMC. This survey was particularly
useful because it provided a snapshot of the "grass roots"
corruption that impacts ordinary Americans, including tourists
and which is less likely to come to our attention than large,
corporate issues. To counter corruption at all levels, Mission
will continue to engage GVN interlocutors at all levels to press
for transparency and anti-corruption measures. The USAID-funded
Support for Trade Acceleration (STAR) program work on
transparency and good governance (including work on the legal
system) and State Department programs to support investigative
journalism are particularly useful, and should be expanded.
Mission will seek to work more closely with the American Chamber
of Commerce in Ho Chi Minh City to push forward this critical,
shared interest. End comment.


6. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi.

DICKEY