Date: Thu, 30 Nov 1995 18:10:44 CSTSince 42 containers of mining equipment were imported by the foreign side (Westralian Sands Ltd) without a trade contract, import licence or customs documents, Nhan Dan has sought to highlight the mistakes of the management of the joint venture, AUSTINH.
At the request of the Vietnamese Prime Minister (Decision 2644 of May 18, 1995 and 3638 of July 5, 1995) an investigation has been carried out by the Ministry of the Interior, the General Department of Customs, the Ministry of Finance, the SCCI, the Ministry of Heavy Industry and other authorities.
According to this investigation, the board of managers of the AUSTINH joint venture has broken Vietnamese laws and has also created a basis for being seen as criminals. It has violated the regulations on financial management, the control and circulation of foreign currency, capital construction, import-export activities, and environmental protection; and has not taken the terms of the joint venture contract seriously.
These violations have seriously damaged the benefits to the Vietnamese side. For nearly 3 years of operation, although 104 000 tonnes of exploited minerals have been exported for about US$10 million, the AUSTINH joint venture has reported large losses. The Vietnamese side has suffered the loss of millions of dollars. The foreign side has deliberately violated accounting regulations and has falsely declared the cost of 42 containers of mining equipment. This has resulted in the loss of our material resources, pollution of the environment, the unemployment of 1800 workers, etc.
So far the foreign side has not taken any constructive measures to settle these problems. Therefore, it is time to take strong measures to settle once and for all the scandals in this joint venture, and to take these cases of bribery and corruption to court, and to withdraw its licence in order to protect our laws, our society and to use this as an example for other joint ventures to understand correctly our "open door" policy.
