Top solution identified

Reforming administrative procedures is considered a priority for cracking down on bureaucracy, inefficiency and the abuse of power and is aimed at creating better conditions for citizens and enterprises to go about their business.

Since early 2007, administrative reform has been included in the working agenda of the regular monthly Cabinet meetings where the Prime Minister continually asked ministries, sectors and localities to accelerate the reforms by introducing effective solutions.

A survey conducted recently by an international organisation showed that over the past five years Vietnam has simplified more than 400 administrative procedures, half of them in 2007. These efforts have paid off and Vietnam jumped up three places in the list of countries that were favoured by foreign investors in 2007. Foreign investment capital in 2007 also reached a record high of US$20.3 billion.

Since the one-stop shop mechanism was introduced, businesses have seen a drop in costs and travel times, and difficulties in business registration have also been ironed out. Thanks to this initiative, the time required for establishing a business has been shortened from 50 to 15 days.

The Government has also issued a resolution to remove barriers to capital construction investment activities and simplify administrative procedures for businesses including the registration of tax codes and the removal of licenses. As a result, as many as 45,000 businesses were established in 2007, which has contributed greatly to the country’s socio-economic development.

In the central highland resort city of Da Lat, local people have now become the administration’s “clients” after ISO management standards were applied. They have benefited from simplified administrative procedures for granting construction licenses, and certificates for land and housing use rights, as well as settling petitions. 

Under the Prime Minister’s instructions, procedures for registering and managing residency books and granting identity cards and ordinary passports have also been simplified. After sending in application forms by mail, applicants can now receive an ordinary passport within 5-8 days. With visa exemptions, Vietnamese nationals residing abroad are now able to buy houses in Vietnam in a much shorter time.

It is worth mentioning that administrative reform was one of the three main challenges Vietnam was facing following its WTO admission in January 2007. One year later, the country has not only maintained a high economic growth, but has also sharpened up the competitiveness of its economy, with exports increasing by 20 percent against 2006. The high inflows of foreign investment and high ODA capital committed by foreign donors testifies to the fact that the efforts to reform public administrative work has been acknowledged by the international community. 

Ambitious goals  

The administrative reform was carried out at a time when Vietnam still lacked experience in managing public administration. This became all too obvious when it started to integrate deeper into the global arena.

On November 7, 2007 the Government issued an action programme to implement a resolution adopted at the 5^th conference of the Party Central Committee on “accelerating administrative reform and enhancing the efficiency of State management”. Accordingly, the Government will instruct all ministries, agencies, provinces and cities to implement 10 specific solutions to accelerate administrative reform, in which reforming administrative procedures is considered a top priority and aims to create a favourable and transparent environment for its citizens and businesses. These procedures will focus on the establishment, dissolution and bankruptcy of businesses, the granting of business registration certificates and investment licenses, land use and management, import-export activities, tax collection, registration for residential permits, identity cards, passports and visas, and business inspections.

Local administrations and State administrative management agencies will examine and amend administrative procedures, or propose amendments and the annulment of outdated provisions to the authorised agencies. 

In an effort to promote administrative reform, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for the first time held an online exchange with Vietnamese people living inside and outside the country on February 9, 2007. This first such exchange is aimed at living up to the citizens’ expectations regarding issues that concern them and more importantly open a new channel of dialogue between the country’s leaders and the people.