The Ministry of Finance led the way in e-Government development in 2017, with more than 20 million requested records under online processing, according to a report on Vietnam’s e-Government development in 2017.

Volunteers help residents in the central city of Da Nang set up electronic citizen (e-citizen) accounts.

Announced by the Vietnam Digital Communications Association as part of the National Conference on e-Government in Hanoi on July 5, the report featured evaluations and rankings for three categories, including ministries and ministerial-level agencies, governmental agencies and centrally-run cities and provinces.

In the category of ministries and ministerial-level agencies, the Ministry of Finance led with 0.71 points, followed by the Ministry of Science and Technology (0.692 points) and the Ministry of Justice (0.678 points).

Meanwhile, among governmental agencies, Vietnam Social Security led with 0.814 points.

In terms of centrally-run provinces and cities, the central province of Hue topped the list with 0.727 points, followed by central Da Nang city, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, the northern province of Quang Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City. 

According to the Government Office, the three basic indexes of the e-Government system of online public services, telecoms infrastructure and human resources have improved. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and the Vietnam Social Security provided a total of 1,551 online public services. The figure in localities stood at 45,374. 

The telecommunications infrastructure index also significantly improved, with the rate of internet users in Vietnam accounting for 54.2 percent of the population. 

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, many online public services at levels 3 and 4 of ministries, agencies and localities have been operated effectively, with a huge number of records processed. 

Speaking at an event organised by the association and International Data Group, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Minh Hong said that the use of information technology and the building of e-Government had been a concern of the Party and State.

The Government had a plan to implement a new resolution on several key tasks to develop e-Government in 2018-20, he noted, adding that the Government is preparing to set up a National Committee for e-Government with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc as chairman.

Hong also said that the Ministry of Information and Communications together with other ministries, departments and localities had achieved positive results in the use of information technology and building of an e-Government. 

The report is a foundation for ministries, departments and localities to grasp the status of technology use in their agencies, he said. 

From that, agencies will make plans to promote the use of information technology and improve the effectiveness of management and the reforms of administrative procedures to enhance the e-Government development index of Vietnam, he stressed.-VNA