Thua Thien Hue Province tops nationwide in public administration: 2023 PAPI report

The central coastal province of Thua Thien Hue outperforms 62 other provinces and cities across Vietnam in provincial governance and public administration, the 15^th edition of the PAPI report revealed on April 2.

Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Trung Y, Vice President of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, delivers his remarks on April 2. Photo: UNDP in Vietnam

In the report, which declines to compare localities with each other, Thua Thien Hue scores an overall of 46.04 points and ranks first among all 63 provinces and cities.

The province is also one of the 15 localities that have the highest scores. It is followed by Thai Nguyen (45.78 points), Bac Ninh (45.70 points), Soc Trang (45.61 points), and Bac Lieu (45.57 points).

The capital city, Hanoi, ranks 15th on the list with 43.96 points. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City is one of the 15 localities whose scores are upper medium, from 42.39 points to 43.95 points.

The five worst-performing provinces and cities are Dak Nong, Tay Ninh, Tien Giang, Dong Nai, and Binh Phuoc. These record an overall score of 38.97 points to 39.95 points.

Meanwhile, there are no records of Binh Duong and Quang Ninh's performances due to technical problems.

The report indicates that people value the quality of public governance and administration in the Northern and Central Coastal regions than those in the South.

Of the 15 provinces and cities with the highest overall scores, five are in the northern part and coastal areas of the Central Coast, and four are in the North.

Among the 16 lowest scorers, seven are in the Mekong Delta region, and three are in the Central Highlands.

"With PAPI's wealth of data providing evidence for policymaking, we encourage all provinces to engage stakeholders and take action to increase citizen satisfaction with their performance in 2024 and beyond," United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative Ramla Khalidi said.

"While bright spots were evident in 2023, especially in combatting corruption and unlocking the potential of e-governance, they contrast with a slightly gloomier picture elsewhere, particularly around transparency," she added.

The research results have exerted positive, direct impacts on the guidelines and policies of the Party and the State as well as in the practice of public administration in Viet Nam's localities," said Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Trung Y, Vice President of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

Objective metrics such as PAPI, PCI, or the Public Administration Reform Index (PAR Index) serve as important benchmarks for evaluating the effectiveness of public service delivery by ministries and local governments, he said.

"They offer important suggestions for Vietnam to advance its national development policy, implement the National Digital Transformation Strategy, and foster a people-centered, inclusive state, ensuring that no one is left behind."

PAPI report is one of Vietnam's largest social studies that is compiled by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Center for Community Support and Development Studies (CECODES), and Real-Time Analytics, with the support for fieldwork coordination from the Vietnam Fatherland Front's central agencies and their provincial to grassroots chapters since 2009.

The assessment is based upon eight criteria, namely people's participation at local levels, transparency, vertical accountability, control of corruption, public administrative procedures, public service delivery, environmental governance, and e-governance.

For the 2023 PAPI Report, more than 19,500 randomly selected citizens were surveyed. In total, nearly 197,800 Vietnamese citizens nationwide have been directly interviewed for PAPI since 2009.