The Ministry of Public Security has identified administrative reform as an important breakthrough task in order to improve the quality and efficiency of its work, contributing to the construction of a regular, elite and modern police force. Illustrative image.

In daily activities, administrative procedures are not only a tool for administrative agencies to perform their management functions, but also are identified as a bridge to convey the regulations and policies of the State to life, ensuring the exercise of the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and citizens. Therefore, promoting administrative reform with many good and effective ways will contribute to better ensure the rights of people and businesses.

In the National Report on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in Vietnam under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) cycle three, in the New policies on ensuring human rights section, it is written clearly: "The people-serving government has been shown consistently in many strategies, plans and schemes of the Vietnamese Government since 2016”.

In 2018, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc continued to convey the message of building a constructive government of integrity, for the people and businesses.

The goal of the constructive government is that the government is more proactive in building institutions and laws, not just operating on available rules. Therefore, the first action when building a constructive government is to focus on perfecting the institution; reviewing all policies, legal frameworks in the direction of reducing barriers, removing difficulties for people, improving the business and investment environment. Along with that, the Government has had a series of breakthrough solutions to improve the business and investment environment, reform the thinking and ways of working in ministries and state agencies, making 2019 a special year, building the foundation and trust for the whole country to go on the next journey.

Since then, during its meetings, the Government has always placed the task of building institutions first, then discussing socio-economic issues. Along with that, the constructive government must move more strongly from management to serving people and businesses. Typically, it is the State Administration Reform Plan for the period of 2026-2020 which focuses on the improvement of the quality of administrative and public services as one of the key contents.

So far, more than 5,000 administrative procedures have been reduced and simplified, creating favorable conditions for people and businesses to develop production and business. In addition, the Government has implemented a system of receiving feedback and recommendations of people and businesses. The Government Portal annually makes public the administrative reform index of State agencies and the satisfaction index of the people towards the service of state administrative agencies.

According to a report of the Ministry of Home Affairs released at the meeting to review tasks and missions in 2019, administrative reform in 2019 has achieved many important results, which helped raise awareness, responsibility and made positive impact on actions of governments at all levels, improving the quality of service for people and businesses of governments at all levels, improving the investment and business environment as well as national competitiveness. In 2019, Vietnam ranked 67/141 countries, up 10 places compared to 2018, according to the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum.

Specifically, the Ministry of Finance has abolished 49 administrative procedures, amended and supplemented 23 administrative procedures and issued 38 new administrative procedures. The Ministry of Planning and Investment has reduced and simplified 108 administrative procedures. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has abolished and simplified 251 business conditions. Long An province has shortened the time to solve 23 administrative procedures compared with the regulated times. Ca Mau Province reduces at least 10% of the time to complete 172 administrative procedures.

Ministries, branches and localities have actively consolidated the organization and amended and supplemented working regulations to improve the quality of operation of the one-stop agencies at all levels as prescribed in Decree No. 61/2018/ND-CP. Five ministries and branches have set up a one-stop agency to receive and solve administrative procedures and 55/63 provinces have established the provincial Center for Public Administration Services.

Officials of a Provincial Public Administration Center guide people in carrying out administrative procedures. Illustrative photo.

In 2019, the Government Portal received and responded to 1,595 feedback and recommendations and transferred 1,177 feedbacks recommendations to related agencies for solving. So far, 891 feedbacks and recommendations have been answered and publicized on the Government Portal.

2019 was also a year of groundbreaking administrative modernization. The Government Office opened the National Document Link, which allows 95/95 state agencies from central to local levels to send and receive electronic documents. The Information system for meeting and handling work of the Government (e-cabinet system) was officially put into use, contributing to saving time, costs, improving the effectiveness, management efficiency, administration of the Government, the Prime Minister and cabinet members. The Government has opened the National Public Service Portal, with eight groups of public services integrated and provided on this portal. It is estimated that the total amount of money saved by using the online system is about VND4,222 billion.

Central ministries and agencies are providing 1,736 online public services at levels 3 and 4; 1,046 public services with records reaching 60.25%. Local governments are providing 49,412 online public services at levels 3 and 4; 11,415 public services with records, accounting for 23.10%. The fields with applications processed online are transportation, justice, taxation, customs, business registration and social insurance. In 2019, the whole country had 14,505,494 online administrative records.

Based on these results, it is clear that the task of building institutions, renewing the thinking about administration, and reforming the apparatus have become top priorities and state agencies have turned from managing to serving people and businesses.

Entering the new phase, the common spirit is that the government will continue to drastically reform administrative procedures in the spirit of a constructive government to continue serving the people and businesses better.

Thu Uyen