VietNamNet Bridge – People in Da Nang City will have the chance to give their views on their residential quarters' 2,700 civil servants working in public administrative agencies, through an online evaluation website launched on Jan. 2.

Administrative staff in Thach Thang precinct instruct local residents on administrative procedures. Today Da Nang became the first city in Viet Nam to launch evaluations of administrative public services and qualifications of civil servants.

Local people can access the website http://cchc.danang.gov.vn from home or via computer systems at administration agencies to post their opinions on procedures and the performance of civil servants working for the People's Committees of the 56 communes, precincts and departments in the city.

Announcing the new scheme, director of the city's Home Affairs Department Dang Cong Ngu said: "It's a new change in the new year as we continue administrative reform in the 2011-2015 period. We have prepared for years to launch the online public evaluations on administrative procedure."

The department said a three-month survey showed 60 percent of staff were viewed as providing good service by the local people, while 25 percent were fair and only 15 percent were average.

Tran Trung Son, head of the administrative reform office under the home affairs department, told Viet Nam News: "None of them (civil servants) received complaints from local people. It's fair and perfect result from the pilot project.

We set it up to provide a true evaluation on the administrative procedure and the service of civil servants including attitude, conduct and public satisfaction."

"We will accumulate self-assessments of civil servants and opinions from leaders and local people to rank the staff online. The evaluation will help us classify the quality of public service and personnel," Son said.

"It will be a drastic step for administrative procedures reform and Da Nang has been allocated as the first city in Viet Nam to launch the evaluation on civil servants," he stressed.

Son also said the evaluation was an initial test of the process to improve transparency.

"Of course, we open the assessment for all people, anywhere in the city. We post detailed personal information of all 2,700 civil servants on the website, so local people can view it from their personal electronic device to vote on administrative procedure services and staff," he said.

Son added that good staff would receive better bonuses or promotion, while poor ones would get further training.
"The evaluation will create fair competition among public servants, while local people are the beneficiaries of quicker procedures."

A survey showed that 90.3 per cent of local people are satisfied with the administrative procedure service.

First achievement

Thach Thang precinct, which was the location of 10 departments and district administrations under the pilot reform project, has achieved reasonable results from the reform process over the past two years.

"We have cut down the time of the administrative procedure process for local people due to the pilot project. Local people do not need to shuttle back and forth as many times as they used to," said Tran Son Vuong, an official from Thach Thang precinct's committee.

"A marriage certification used to take between three to eight days two years ago, but we have reduced the process to only two days. We only employ five staff and they classify around 500 files each day," Vuong said.

"We post hotlines and phone numbers for the precinct's leaders, so local people can voice their opinions on public services or staff 24 hours a day," he added.

In a latest online survey, 98 per cent of people posted their satisfaction with the administrative service and the manners of staff.

Le Thi Yen, a resident in the precinct, said she has seen a big change over the past two years.

"We hesitated to contact precinct staff or leaders in previous years. I used to wait a week for a procedure such as birth certification, paying tax or obtaining a business license. But they only take one or two days now," Yen said.

"We are now welcomed by staff when we have a procedure to deal with at the precinct. Staff give out detailed instructions with a smile."

Ho Thi Minh, a worker for the People's Committee of Son Tra District, said she had to strive to rank on top for staff quality.

"It's fair. We got an equal bonus in previous years, however, it changes now. I hope to get a better payment for my efforts at work," Minh said.

Minh, 31, was voted as one of the top 12 staff in the city, receiving five stars in the recent pilot project.

Son of the Home Affairs department, also explained that software and computer systems at the people committees or departments' offices are available for local people to post their opinions and votes on staff or services.

"They (local people) can vote on the service and staff with different criteria. The best workers will receive a five-star vote with a click on screen after a procedure is finished," he said.

Da Nang has seen the most rapid local development in Viet Nam due to its comprehensive reform of administrative management.

According to the city's investment promotion centre, it took investors just five days to obtain a business license.

Source: VNS