Governance and public administration performance see small improvements

The latest results from the nationwide survey on Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) 2014 have indicated minimal improvements in all six fields measured in the past four years, as was reported at the launching ceremony of PAPI 2014 in Hanoi on April 14.

Public primary education, a sub-dimension of 'Public Service Delivery', shows poor quality teaching, bribery and irregular feedback from schools (photo for illustration: Huu Chi)

The report showed that the 2014 scores of five out of the six fields shifted less than 2 percentage points compared to 2013.

'Participation at Local Levels', which measures citizens' knowledge of their participation rights in political, social and economic life and how they exercise them, saw the largest decline in its score.

The other five fields —'Transparency', 'Vertical Accountability', 'Control of Corruption', 'Public Administrative Procedures' and 'Public Service Delivery' — all displayed stable scores with insignificant improvements compared to the previous years.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Pratibha Mehta, UN Resident Co-ordinator in Vietnam and UNDP Resident Representative said that "By providing evidence of citizen experiences, PAPI and the data it generates is seen as a mirror that reflects how local governments perform". She noted that 'The ultimate aim of PAPI is for this evidence to be used to fix problematic areas and ensure good governance and quality services for all citizens - thereby improving the reflection provinces see in the mirror."

According to the survey, PAPI 2014 showed no province or city achieving the high scores in all six fields but pointed out localities with the highest scores in four or five fields.

Quang Binh central province was the only province to receive the highest scores in five fields, missing only 'Participation at Local Levels'. The provinces of Quang Tri, Vinh Long, Nam Dinh, Long An, Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai were listed among provinces having the highest scores in four fields.

Ha Giang, a northern province, received the lowest scores in all six fields and Lai Chau, Cao Bang and Khanh Hoa finished with the lowest scores in five fields.

Chairman of Vinh Long provincial People's Committee Tran Van Ron said that PAPI is a measure which helps local authorities to gain a better understanding of local citizens. In 2015, Vinh Long province will continue to raise awareness of PAPI to review its shortcomings, improve the local governance and handle public issues in a more transparent manner, he added.
PAPI is a policy monitoring tool that reflects citizen’s experiences with central and local governments in public administration and delivering public services.

PAPI is the collaboration between the Centre for Community Support and Development Studies (CECODES), the Centre for Research and Training of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF-CRT) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The PAPI initiative has been co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC) and UNDP since 2011.

The PAPI survey has been conducted annually in all provinces and cities across the country since 2011. In 2014, more than 13,500 randomly selected citizens were surveyed.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)