Administrative reforms provide little evidence of real progress
Last week the topic for discussion we raised was on the country’s administrative reform. Most people who responded think there are good intentions behind the project, but that few results have been seen.
Nguyen Duc Anh, Vietnamese, HCM City
The Government has, for a long time, stressed administrative reform to reduce red tape and ease the troubles surrounding administrative procedures in Viet Nam.
It even announced some sound projects with clear goals and courses of action such as the project called “30” in 2007. However, as a citizen who sometimes must deal with the State offices, I have to say that the effort seems to be not enough. The changes are insignificant and hardly noticeable; the main issues are still there.
What I hope for in dealing with administrative issues are simple procedures, which do not take much time and cause trouble to solve, and officers, who are willing to guide me in a nice manner.
Even though there have been some signs of improvement in those fields recently, it is still a bad experience for me to clear such paperwork with a State office.
The procedures are still very complicated and difficult to cope with, and the officers do not seem to be happy when you put forward a lot of questions or make errors on your forms.
This fact makes people so afraid of dealing with administrative stuff, that it has become a habit for them to hire a “co”, an agent who can go and deal with the administrative issues quickly for an extra fee.
It is clearly not a good solution as it creates a situation where people are even less knowledgeable about the procedures and become totally dependent on “co”.
Next week: |
As many as 77 per cent of Vietnamese consumers favour foreign products, while the average figure for Asia is 40 per cent, according to Dr Dinh Thi My Loan, deputy chairwoman of the Viet Nam Retailers’ Association.
Most of those surveyed said the reason was that Vietnamese consumers did not have enough information about high-quality domestically-produced products.
A campaign promoting made-in-Viet Nam products has been recently launched. It is expected to not only stimulate the domestic demand for such products, but also to cultivate national pride and a consumption culture that encourages the production of more made-in-Viet Nam high-quality goods.
Is there any similar campaign in your country? What do you think should be done to promote Vietnamese products? Do you usually buy goods made in Viet Nam? As a consumer, what do you expect when you buy a product in general and a made-in-Viet Nam product in particular?
We welcome your opinions via e-mail to: opinion.vietnamnews@gmail.com – or by fax to 84 (0) 43 933 2311. Letters can be sent to The Editor, Viet Nam News, 11 Tran Hung Dao Street, Ha Noi.
Replies to this week’s question must be received by Thursday morning, September 10. |
To fix the problem, I expect the Government to offer some significant improvements. The action schemes need to be thorough, effective, consistent and widely applied. However, up to now, no project has achieved this target.
Kaki Chan, Vietnamese, HCM City
Viet Nam‘s procedure for preparing paperwork has seen much improvement since 2007. Although the enhancements are still limited, it is a good sign the Government is trying to adapt to people’s needs. The best solution for the Government is to computerise as much as possible.
When I was 16, I had to go to a Government office to order an ID card. The waiting room was filled with people listlessly waiting.
There were several steps necessary to get the card made that were not that complicated, and yet it took a really long time. If computers were used for some of the steps, the process would likely have been faster.
I realised that the less dealing with people there is, the faster the procedure is. Even when computers are adopted, improvements will not come unless the users can perform tasks on those computers successfully.
Officers should be trained carefully. The training course should focus on how to make the participants master the use of some popular programmes such as Word, Excel, Power Point, etc. Theories should be made simple, with a bigger focus on practice in the programme.
Bui Thi Hoa, Vietnamese, Ha Noi
I think the administrative reform has done a good job at some points. From my own view, the procedures have been improved quite a lots last year, which I noticed when I tried to get marriage and birth certificates and have them notarised at Bach Khoa Ward’s People’s Committee where I live. The reception desk has been better with their services, which is more detailed and focused. The instructions to prepare papers for each specific type of registration and notarisation were clear. They promptly reviewed each file and were very on time with the deadline. It’s absolutely quicker than in the past.
However, some other things, such as the attitude of staff, still need to be improved. Some showed disrespect toward people who come to get their documents notarised. In addition, there were some points still not clear such as the fee for notarisation and copying.
Vu Bich Ngoc, Vietnamese, Phu Tho
It has been better, I can see. However, in my opinion, the Government should also focus more on training its staff. Sometimes, the procedure itself is very simple, but becomes very complicated just because the staff is to rigid or irresponsible, especially in taxation and customs.
If there are no stiff measures, the effort to show our willingness to improve the investment environment, will be just a theory.
Viet Nam is trying to prove to the world that it is changing. I noticed that the Government started to think of changing its bureaucratic image. However, everything has been really improved in the last two years only. —
Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn
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