VietNamNet Bridge – While Viet Nam continues to fight corruption and promote access to corruption-free public services, many people still think bribery is necessary in order to receive high-quality treatment.

People register residence at Ha Noi's Hai Ba Trung District Police headquarters. Viet Nam is striving for corruption-free public services. (Photo: VNS)

They reported paying between VND5 million (US$240) and VND30 million ($1,440) in medical bribes each year.

Twenty-nine per cent said that bribes were necessary to secure a job in the public sector; 21 per cent said they were crucial when applying for land use rights; and 17 per cent said that they were important in order for their children to receive better treatment in school.

The report also revealed that eight out of every 10 citizens were unaware of land use plans in their localities.

A third of those polled said they had been evicted from their land, but only 9 per cent said they had received compensation close to the market value. Last year's figure was even lower than the finding of the report, which revealed that 17 per cent had received compensation close to market price.

Citizens in central provinces including Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang and Quang Nam seemed relatively satisfied with the quality of public services. However, residents in northern mountainous provinces, the Central Highlands, the south central region and the southern provinces were dissatisfied with their public services.

With regard to citizens' participation in democratic processes at the grassroots level, northern Son La Province earned the highest score and southern provinces Binh Thuan and Tay Ninh were rated lowest.

Ha Noi and HCM City were found to be good at informing residents about policies including social welfare, laws, and the State budget, while Can Tho, Da Nang and Hai Phong were at the bottom of the group.

In general, Quang Binh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Long An were the three top-performing provinces in terms of governance and public administration. At the other end of the scale, Ninh Thuan, Dien Bien and Quang Ngai scored relatively low.

United Nations Resident Co-ordinator Pratibha Mehta said that the PAPI was a key policy tool to monitor the performance of government institutions and the delivery of basic public services from the perspective of its users and beneficiaries.

More than ranking provinces and pointing fingers at weak performers, PAPI complemented and supported the implementation of Viet Nam's public administration reforms, she said, adding that it provided space for citizens to raise their voices and for authorities to learn about their preferences, frustrations and recommendations.

Former Minister of Home Affairs and PAPI Advisory Board chairman Thang Van Phuc said that the PAPI was a way to quantitatively assess the outcomes of the country's public administrative reforms instead of using a general qualitative approach as was done previously.

Responses from citizens—who are not only beneficiaries but also users of public services—played a key role in helping authorities to make and adjust policies, he said.

The Central Highland province of Kon Tum was the lowest-performing province in the PAPI 2010, but it implemented an action plan last year to improve public service delivery and gain its citizens' trust.

Vice chairman of central Ha Tinh Province People's Committee Le Dinh Son said that the province chose last year to focus on citizens and administrative reform.

The PAPI 2011 lists Ha Tinh toward the top of the list, which proved that the efforts had been successful in changing the minds of local citizens, he said, adding that the province still faced many difficulties associated with insufficient infrastructure and relocation for the Vung Ang Economic Zone Project.

The PAPI is expected to provide sound evidence for policy-making.

It is a joint policy research initiative implemented by the Viet Nam Father Front, the Centre for Community Support and Development Studies, the National Assembly Standing Committee's Commission on People's Petitions and the United Nations Development Programme.

The PAPI was first piloted in three provinces in 2009; it expanded to 30 cities and provinces in 2010 and finally reached all 63 last year. It helped offer a comprehensive picture of the current state of affairs of local governance in all the cities and provinces by capturing the grassroots perspective.

The PAPI survey looks at six different dimensions of provincial governance and public administration: participation at the local level, transparency, vertical accountability, control of corruption in public sector, public administrative procedures and public service delivery.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News