An official punished for his role in central Vietnam’s notorious Formosa scandal has been named as deputy chairman of a steering board created to reform and strengthen the economic effectiveness of the country’s cooperatives.

The investment ministry announced on Thursday that Vietnam’s prime minister has signed a directive to establish a steering board comprised of one chairman and three deputy chairmen focused on the economic reform and development of cooperatives.

According to the directive, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue will chair the board while the minster of investment, the minister of agriculture and rural development, and the chairman of the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance will serve as deputy chairs.

The Vietnam Cooperative Alliance chairman, Vo Kim Cu, was among several state officials punished by the government for their roles in the notorious 2016 Formosa scandal and the havoc it wreaked on the local environment.

Following the disaster, Cu was dismissed from all government posts, including his position as Party chief and chairman of the north-central province of Ha Tinh, one of four provinces hit by Formosa’s illegal waste dumping.

In April this year Cu resigned from his position as a delegate of the lawmaking National Assembly, citing “health reasons.”

Members of the public are wondering why an official with so many conduct violations was appointed to another chairmanship post. 

As the Ha Tinh leader, Cu was directly responsible for signing illegal documents that facilitated the Formosa’s operations, including allowing the company to discharge the wastewater that led to the fish deaths.

The newly established steering board is tasked with consulting the prime minister on policies, mechanisms and solutions that could boost the economic performances of cooperatives across the country.

Vietnam currently has 19,570 cooperatives with a combined total of more than 6.3 million members, the investment ministry said at Thursday’s meeting.

At present, 10,762 of the cooperatives are involved in the agriculture sector and while 4,328 operate in the industrial, trade, and service sectors.

Vietnamese cooperatives enjoy stable operations and average an annual revenue of over VND3 billion ($132,159) per unit per year. The current average income of cooperative members is VND31.3 million ($1,379) per person per year, a significant rise from VND8.5 million ($374) in 2013.

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