PM asks for more aggressive administrative procedure reforms

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính at the conference. VNA/VNS Photo

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính yesterday requested ministries, sectors and localities to strive to improve people's satisfaction with public service at all levels in implementing administrative procedures.

He made the statement as he chaired a national conference to promote administrative procedure reforms and governance modernisation.

The leader said the meeting is part of efforts to assist people and enterprises in difficulties to achieve the common target of stabilising the macro-economy, controlling inflation, boosting economic growth, guaranteeing major balances, and ensuring people’s material and spiritual life.

He highlighted that the Party and State always view administrative reforms as an important step to build and complete a clean, strong, efficient, and effective law-governed socialist state for the people and national development.

Governance modernisation is critical to building a digital Government, economy, and society and this task requires reformed awareness, mindset, and action of the entire political system and society, he added.

Việt Nam has made important strides in administrative reforms, especially in terms of administrative procedures, and improvement of all-level administrations’ governance, but shortcomings still exist and need to be addressed quickly for the optimisation of every resource for the recovery and development, the PM said.

Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Trần Văn Sơn reported that since 2021, 1,758 business regulations in 143 legal documents have been scrapped or simplified. The PM has also approved plans to remove or streamline 1,107 regulations of nine ministries and agencies.

The portal for consulting and searching for business regulations has been updated with 17,687 existing rules, 352 others set to be issued, and plans to remove or simplify 1,029 business regulations to seek feedback from associations, enterprises and people, and also to monitor the implementation of reforms.

The PM has also approved a plan on the decentralisation of power in dealing with 699 of the 5,187 administrative procedures in the more than 100 areas, equivalent to 13.47 per cent, helping shorten the time needed to solve those procedures, improve civil servants’ performance and reduce costs for people and enterprises, Sơn said.

About 11,700 single-window pisions at different levels have been set up nationwide to handle administrative procedures.

Regarding governance modernisation, important platforms and information systems of an e-Government are being operated and developed, helping to strongly reform the working methodology and boost digital transformation at State administrative agencies, he added.

However, the leader admitted that there remain many problems and shortcomings in administrative procedure reforms, including those related to land, finance, public investment, home affairs, labour, health care, education, and import-export activities. The reduction and simplification of business regulations have not been paid due attention to and have not mobilised the participation of associations, businesses and people. Many ministries and branches do not have a plan to reform regulations. People and businesses also have to bear many unnecessary costs.

He also pointed out a lack of attention to online administrative procedures and sluggish digital transformation at some ministries, sectors, and localities.

The connection and sharing of data between the National Public Service Portal, the ministerial and provincial administrative information system and the national specialised databases as well as the digitisation records and results of administrative procedures settlement at all levels of government are still slow.

The PM also said that some leaders have not been aggressively directing and spending resources for administrative reform, while coordination among ministries, sectors and localities is ineffective.

Human resources for handling administrative procedures have not yet met the demand, especially the lack of high-quality human resources in State agencies to organise digital transformation activities and build information and data systems. Security and information safety in many places have not been paid due attention to.

In the future, the Prime Minister emphasised the need to have a new way of thinking, leading and directing innovation among leaders of all levels, especially those who directly contact and work with people and businesses.

“If we do not make efforts to promote administrative procedure reform and modernise administration work, we will fall behind while we must take advantage of every opportunity to go forward,” Chính said.

The PM requested that by the end of 2023, the proportion of people using online public services must reach 50 per cent.

Regarding tasks and solutions, the Prime Minister requested that ministries, sectors and localities focus on implementing Resolution 02 of the Government on improving the business environment, enhancing national competitiveness in 2022, Project 06 on developing the application of data on population; identification and electronic authentication for national digital transformation in the period of 2022 - 2025, with a vision to 2030.

Relevant agencies have to review and propose a plan to reduce and simplify regulations related to business activities, and submit them to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval before September 30 every year; fully and accurately update and promptly publicise business regulations, compliance costs and reform options. They should also conduct consultations with people and businesses on regulations, problems, difficulties and reform options for the system.

Units must also improve the quality of online public service provision, ensuring user-friendliness; accelerate the process of digitising records and administrative procedure settlement results in accordance with the Government's regulations. VNS