Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index: Shortcomings in National Policy Enforcement

PAPI is the first large-scale exercise of its kind in Vietnam measuring the standards of governance and public administration drawn from citizens’ experiences when interacting with governmental authorities at different levels. PAPI 2010 was implemented in 30 provinces and reflects on the direct experiences of 5,568 randomly selected citizens across the country on various aspects of local governance and public administration (about 100 questions). Questions are relatively direct, i.e. do you know the procedures to get a red book (a certificate of land ownership), do civil servants explain and guide you?

 

Northern Hai Duong province takes the highest score in local level participation, while Ho Chi Minh City ranks fourth, Da Nang City fifth and Hanoi City is at 19^th place.

 

Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Thua Thien - Hue Province are top performers in terms of transparency, as a high percentage of citizens had access to publications such as household poverty lists, commune budgets and land-use plans. Hanoi stands at 18^th position on the ranking.

 

The most attention-catching indicator is the extent of transparency and publicity in local land-use plans. In two thirds of the provinces, less than 25 percent of the respondents were informed about land use plans. Even in the best performing provinces, the numbers are only between 30 percent and 45 percent. As for accountability, the survey shows little difference from region to region. Socioeconomic conditions play little importance in this dimension. Ho Chi Minh City is in the top 3 for this content while Hanoi is at the low end, above just three provinces.

 

Southern provinces have higher scores on average than the rest of the nation. Ho Chi Minh City tops the ranking in terms of corruption control while Hanoi is ranked 24^th and Kon Tum province stands at the bottom. Procedure for land-use rights certification is a content of the survey. PAPI 2010 results show citizen’s displeasure with this dimension. Respondents in Lang Son, Phu Tho, Binh Phuoc, Hai Phong and Hanoi are unsatisfied with the service of granting land-use rights certificates. In Da Nang City, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Duong, Thua Thien-Hue and Hau Giang provinces, interviewees complained about too much paperwork.

 

The goal of PAPI, according to the survey organizers, is not to rank provinces but to help provinces to know how they serve their citizens and their shortcomings to improve their public services. Dr Dang Ngoc Dinh, Director of the Centre for Community Support and Development Studies (CECODES), said the rankings or scores are important, to let provinces and cities know their weaknesses and strengths to improve their service to citizens. For instance, Phu Tho province has a little “petty corruption” but its indicator of control of corruption is not high. Ho Chi Minh City is appreciated for clear information, publicised fees, service and attitude of civil servants, but it loses marks over too much paperwork.

 

Former Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and PAPI National Advisory Board Chairman, Thang Van Phuc, said: The satisfaction of citizens over quality of public services is assessed through specific operations of public agencies and their awareness and attitude towards administrative works. The performance of public administrative organs does not lie in commitments, promises, documents or operating apparatuses, but the final result. Citizens must be customers as they pay for the service. According to Mr Phuc, although PAPI is for reference only, relevant bodies should look at this and take proper measures to overhaul their public administration system and improve the service to citizens.