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Speaking at a Hanoi People's Committee press briefing on June 25, Nguyen Tien Thiet, chief of the committee's Office and the city's spokesperson, addressed the case involving a 97-year-old former revolutionary cadre with nearly 80 years of Communist Party membership.
According to Thiet, the city's Public Administrative Service Center has handled a large number of administrative procedures efficiently, helping shorten processing times for residents and businesses.
"However, the incident at the Ngoc Ha Public Administrative Service Center involving a retired revolutionary cadre with nearly 80 years of Party membership is deeply regrettable," he said.
Following the incident, the Standing Committee of the Hanoi Party Committee and the Hanoi People's Committee instructed the Public Administrative Service Center and relevant agencies to take immediate corrective action.
The city has ordered all officials, civil servants and public employees to reinforce their responsibility to serve the public and strictly observe standards of professional conduct. Authorities have also been instructed to conduct a comprehensive review of operations at the Public Administrative Service Center and the performance of frontline staff.
Hanoi also directed agencies to streamline procedures for receiving, guiding and processing administrative applications, reducing unnecessary steps while addressing shortcomings identified through the case.
The city further instructed managers and frontline officials handling administrative procedures to strengthen accountability.
Thiet said the city would release further information after the investigation is completed and responsibilities of the organizations and individuals involved have been clarified.
As previously reported by VietNamNet, on June 22, V.H. visited Public Administrative Service Center Branch No. 3 in Ngoc Ha Ward to renew an authorization allowing him to collect his mother N.T.T.H.'s pension after the previous authorization had expired.
According to the family, during a video call arranged to verify the authorization request, the communication style of a female official and the subsequent requirement that both of the woman's children appear at the service center left the family dissatisfied.
Following the complaint, Branch No. 3 sent officials to the family's home to complete the authorization procedure, apologize and conduct an internal review.
The Standing Committee of the Hanoi Party Committee also ordered a review of the responsibilities of the organizations and individuals involved while directing the entire public administrative system to improve service quality and professionalism.
Family accepts apology after authorities intervene
After the case was resolved, V.H. told VietNamNet that officials from the Hanoi Public Administrative Service Center and Branch No. 3 visited the family on June 23, completed the authorization procedure at his mother's home and apologized for the shortcomings in the handling of the case.
"The officials visited our home, expressed their concern for my mother's health and completed the authorization procedure. Our family appreciates their prompt response and sincere attitude. My mother was also very pleased," he said.
V.H. said his intention in raising the issue publicly was not to escalate the matter but to encourage improvements in public service.
"I simply wanted to point out what I felt was inappropriate so officials could reflect on their approach. I hoped public feedback would help improve services for everyone," he said.
He added that he was surprised by the widespread public attention the case received and believes the matter has now been resolved satisfactorily.
V.H. also said feedback from residents, together with media coverage, can help improve the quality of public services.
His mother, N.T.T.H., was born in Hue into a family with a Confucian scholarly tradition. She studied at Dong Khanh School, one of Hue's best-known girls' schools, became involved in the Viet Minh movement at the age of 16 and later walked from Hue to the Viet Bac revolutionary base in 1946.
She helped establish Vietnam Women's Newspaper and served as its editor-in-chief until the 1980s. She is recognized as a pre-August Revolution cadre and has nearly 80 years of Communist Party membership.
Thanh Hue
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