VietNamNet Bridge – By July 20, any government agency that still uses paper meeting invitations will be reprimanded, said HCM City Vice Chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen. This is a move to promote e-government in the city.


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At a conference on June 29 to seek solutions to improve HCM City’s Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) and Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), which were low in recent years, Vice Chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen said the improvement of these two indicators will contribute to building HCM City’s e-government of publicity and transparency.

The city will also consider the municipal Department of Information – Communication’s proposal on implementing e-government model at communes, wards and departments in the city.

Tuyen said by July 20, any government agencies that still use meeting invitations by paper will be reprimanded. “It is very simple to send an e-invitation. If you cannot do that, how can you build e-government,” Tuyen said.

The Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) is a policy monitoring tool that reflects citizen experiences with the performance of central to local governments in governance, public administration and public service delivery.

HCM City’s PAPI 2015 ranked 47th out of 63 cities and provinces, down 29 places compared with 2011. Meanwhile, its PCIalso dropped from 4th place in 2014 to 6th place in 2015. Among the PCI, the transparency from 4th to 17th place.

To improve these indices, the city has proposed several measures, including the focus on administrative reform to create favorable conditions for businesses, organizations and individuals.

New policies designed to help HCMC businesses thrive

All enterprises should have equal access to city resources, regardless of size, type or industry, the deputy chairman of HCM City's People's Committee said.

Nguyen Thanh Phong spoke at a conference in HCM City on Wednesday. He said the city will create favourable conditions and develop a sound investment environment by amending or creating policies to help businesses overcome challenges and take advantage of new opportunities.

At the conference which discussed local companies' competitiveness, Phong said startup activity and improvement of competitiveness will be strongly supported by the city.

"Enterprises and investors have made huge contributions to the country's development and modernisation. In HCM City, we don't just consider businesses something to manage. They need support and conditions to develop. Their growth corresponds to the city's development," Phong said.

He said ideas from enterprises and investors are welcome, as "this will help the city and its departments solve social and economic issues."

At the conference, companies in different sectors spoke about ways to help the business community.

Vu Duc Giang, chairman of the Viet Nam Garment and Textile Association, said the city lacks skilled textile and dye workers, creating challenges for the industry.

The shortage of raw material suppliers in the city is another obstacle.

Giang proposed that the city create a stable regulatory system to help businesses develop.

Vu Kim Hanh, chairwoman of the Association of High-Quality Vietnamese Goods, suggested the city enhance companies' knowledge about international integration. "They should help companies adapt to market change," she said.

To create strong national brands, connections must be developed among managers, big companies, banks and small- and medium-sized enterprises, Hanh said.

In recent years, HCM City has worked to create a more favourable investment environment.

At present, 180,000 are operating, accounting for 31.7 per cent of the total number of companies in the country. VNS

Linh Nhat