Indicators that help Nghe An dramatically increase the effectiveness of public administration

PAPI Index Announcement: Nghe An Ranks 4th Nationwide

(Baonghean.vn) - On April 2, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam in collaboration with a number of units organized the announcement of the 2018 Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI). In this announcement, Nghe An ranked 4th nationwide with 46.57 points.

Spectacular rank increase

According to the assessment of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the PAPI Index measures the level of effectiveness in governance and public administration at the provincial level annually through 6 contents: People's participation at the grassroots level; publicity and transparency; accountability to the people; control of corruption in the public sector; public administrative procedures; and public service delivery.

The results announced in the years, the PAPI index of Nghe An province is not stable. Specifically, in 2015, the province's PAPI reached 36.36 points, an increase of 0.6 points compared to 2014, an increase of 5 ranks compared to 2014 (from position 27/63 to position 22/63 provinces and cities). In 2016, PAPI reached 35.57 points, a decrease of 0.79 points compared to 2015, a decrease of 14 ranks (from position 22/63 to position 36/63 provinces and cities).

In 2017, Nghe An's PAPI index reached 35.77 points, higher than in 2016 (35.57 points), but its ranking was lower, down 8 places (from 36th/63 to 44th/63). Compared to the provinces in the North Central region, Nghe An is still the province with the lowest PAPI index in recent years.

Officials of Nghia Trung commune (Nghia Dan) handle administrative procedures for people through the One-Stop Department. Photo: Le Thanh

In 2018, Nghe An's total PAPI score ranked 4th nationwide with 46.57 points/80 points. In particular, many scores of the content axes of the provincial PAPI index have improved significantly compared to 2017 such as: "people's participation at the grassroots level" index reached 5.78/10 points; "transparency" index reached 5.67/10 points; "accountability" index reached 5.48/10 points; "corruption control in the public sector" index reached 6.53/10 points; "public administrative procedures" index reached 7.53/10 points; "public service provision" index reached 7.20/10 points; "environmental governance" index reached 4.48/10 points; "e-governance" index reached 3.70/10 points.

Content axes of the PAPI Nghe An index in 2018. Graphics: HQ

This result is a fairly complete recognition of the province's efforts and solutions with the determination to overcome shortcomings, build a service-oriented administration, and operate effectively and efficiently.

Administrative reform work in the province has always been directed by all levels and sectors and has achieved remarkable results. The province has also strictly implemented administrative reform work, closely controlled the implementation of discipline and administrative discipline of cadres and civil servants. The effectiveness and efficiency of state management have been improved.

Mr. Dau Van Thanh - Director of Department of Home Affairs

Checking the implementation of administrative discipline in Hoa Binh town, Tuong Duong. Photo: Le Thanh

"In particular, the accountability of state agencies is better, people's participation and supervision activities are enhanced, and the relationship between authorities at all levels and people has improved a lot compared to before," the head of the provincial Department of Home Affairs affirmed.

Continue to improve the indicators

Although Nghe An's results were outstanding, like the whole country, in 2018, Nghe An did not have any index group with the highest score in all 8 content indexes.

According to survey results, the percentage of people who believe that there is still corruption in granting land use right certificates and that officials use public funds for personal purposes has not decreased.

In addition, some legal documents and administrative procedures are not unified, are still cumbersome and complicated, causing difficulties for administrative agencies and people in the implementation process. The quality and implementation of publicity, transparency, and accountability to the people are not good...

According to Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Hoa, the increase in PAPI ranking will contribute to creating motivation to improve the efficiency of local governance and public administration. PAPI contributes to building a civil service for the people and promoting sustainable development in Nghe An.

Department of Finance staff apply budget management software. Photo: Le Thanh

In 2018, the Provincial People's Committee issued a Project to improve the Administrative Reform Index, Governance and Public Administration Index of Nghe An province by 2020. The Project clearly defines the goal of improving the scores of component indices, gradually increasing the overall score, improving the administrative reform ranking, and ranking the effectiveness of governance and public administration of the province.

With the goal of "Taking people and businesses' satisfaction as a measure of performance", associated with the province's "Administrative Reform Year" solution, Nghe An will strive in 2019 and the following years to maintain the goal of being among the top provinces in the country.

Mr. Le Ngoc Hoa - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee

In particular, the province will pay special attention to improving the contents with low scores and rankings. If people are not satisfied with any content, there must be very specific solutions for each criterion, with the view that all criteria must be increased...

In particular, the province is preparing to establish and put into operation the Provincial Public Administration Service Center. The establishment of this center is the determination of the entire provincial political system towards building a transparent and effective administration to serve the people and businesses.