Information disclosure, transparency and accountability in current law of vietnam

“Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce..,In Vietnam, since Doi Moi Renovation 86, the Communist Pa ty and theState have p omulgated a la ee numbe of guidelines, poli

N RRENT LAW OF V ETNAMham Van ruong1- A/ rof Dr Vu Cong iao2

In the last fe decades, info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency and accountability

in state gove nance have specially been inte ested by inte national o ganizations,gove nments and people of many nations Obligation to pe fo m publicity,

t anspa ency, and accountability of competent officials o iginates f om the theo y ofthe sove eignty of the people and cont ols ove state po e , unde hich the state - as

a public po e institution established by the people ho have delegated to it the ight

to manage society - is sub ect to the people’s cont ol and supe vision and has to info mand explain to the people about thei o ganization and activities

P omoting publicity, t anspa ency and accountability is an activity that most ofthe count ies a ound the o ld have pe fo med and p oven a g eat effect in p eventing

po e abuse, bu eauc acy, and co uption, as ell as enhancing the effectiveness andefficiency of state gove nance Info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency and accountability

in state gove nance have become a equi ement and condition in many inte nationalmechanisms and t eaties, one of the “common ules” in the common play g ound inthe context of globalization One of the specific example is the info mation disclosu e,

t anspa ency and accountability a e defined as one of the most basic p eventivemeasu es in the United Nations Convention against Co uption of hich Vietnam is

“Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce ,

In Vietnam, since Doi Moi (Renovation) ( 86), the Communist Pa ty and theState have p omulgated a la ee numbe of guidelines, policies and leeal egulations toefo m the o ganization and ope ation of the state appa atus and to p event and fightagainst co uption In the system of measu es hich is int oduced to achieve thosegoals, implementation of info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency and accountability instate gove nance is one of the p io ities The latest issue is the La on Anti-co uption

20 8 and the legal documents guiding this La , and is also mentioned in many official

Pa ty documents and othe legal State documents

Ho eve , it can be seen f om the actual situation that the implementation

of info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, and accountability in state gove nance ofVietnam still has many sho tcomings and limitations This is conside ed to be one

of the main easons fo dec easing the effectiveness of anti-co uption activities inVietnam By summa izing, compa ing and analyzing legal documents and su veyepo ts hich is elated to the issue, this a ticle cont ibutes to cla ify the cu entsituation on info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency and accountability in statemanagement of Vietnam, focusing on ans e ing the th ee follo ing questions:(i)

Ho a e info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency and accountability defined inVietnam’s la ? (ii) Ho a e the ob ects and scope of “info mation disclosu e”

“t anspa ency”, “accountability” defined in Vietnam's la ? (iii) What a e the esults ofthe implementation of legal p ovisions on “info mation disclosu e” “t anspa ency”and “accountability” in Vietnam?

Def t o s of format o d sclosure, tra spare cy a d accou tab l ty

V et am’s Law

Info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency and accountability e e issues hichhave been add essed by P esident Ho Chi Minh ight since ou count y gained itsindependence Acco ding to P esident Ho Chi Minh, officials and state agenciesmust “act ith dignity”, follo the spi it of “ especting people” “ especting the la ”

“being open and st aightfo a d ” That ideology has been exp essed in va ious legaldocuments in the o ganization and ope ation of the state appa atus since 45

Ho eve , the conside ation of the issue of openness, t anspa ency andaccountability in the la as a concept, equi ement, and p inciple in the o ganizationand ope ation of the state appa atus came late

Especially, of the th ee concepts mentioned above, the concept of co uption as

“Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

fi st mentioned in the 2 constitution Ho eve , a legal definition of co uption asnot given until 8 in O dinance No 2-L/CTN on anti-co uption, dated 26 Feb ua y

8, by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, stated that: “Co uption

is an office holde ho abuses of his/he official capacity to embezzle, to take b ibes

o kno ingly act against the la fo self-seeking motives, causing damage to the

p ope ty of State, collectives and individuals and inf inging on the p ope functioning

of agencies and o ganizations ”2

The 2005 La on Anti-co uption (amended and supplemented in 2007and 20 2 - he einafte efe ed to as the 2005 La on Anti-co uption) - defined

co uption ith fe e o ds: “Co uption is an act of an officice holde ho abuses ofhis/he official capacity fo pe sonal gain”3Hie 20 8 La on Anti-co uption inhe itedthis definition4

In te ms of info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency, initially as a mean to fightagainst co uption, O dinance No 2-L/CTN also egulated that people ith positionand po e must decla e houses, land and othe valuable assets of g eat value5The O dinance also stated that allocation and use of state budget funds, state capitaland assets fo ta geted p o ects and p og ams that e e app oved by competentagencies o o ganizations must st ictly comply ith la p ovisions and app ovcontent and must be disclosed to elevant agencies, o ganizations and the people

di ectly using it Mobilization of the people’s cont ibuted capital fo investment inbuilding o ks and setting up funds outside the State's egulations must be discussedand decided by the people Use of that capital must be fo the ight pu pose andpublicized fo people to supe vise and submit to the inspection and examination

by competent state agencies 6Ihese can be conside ed to be the fi st egulations onopenness and t anspa ency in Vietnam’s anti-co uption la , but not a definitionthe eof yet

A ticle 8, 2 Constitution: “State agencies and officials must espect the people, devotedly se ve them, maintain close contact ith them, listen to thei opinions and be unde thei supe vision; esolutely fight against eve y exp ession of bu eauc acy, a ogance, autho ita ianism and co uption”

2O dinance No 2-L/CTN by Standing Committee of National Assembly dated 26 Feb ua y Ỉ 8 on

anti-co uption

3Clause 2, A tide ,2005 La on Anti-Co uption (amended and supplemented in 2007,20 2)

4Clause , A ticle 3,20 8 La on Anti-Co uption

5Clause , A ticle 4»O dinance No 2-L/CTN dated 26 Feb ua y 8 on anti-co uption

6Clause 2,3, A ticle 5, O dinance No 2-L/CTN dated 26 Feb ua y 8 on anti-co uption

“Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

Acco ding to Dictiona y ofVietnamese, info mation disclosu e is “not hiding andkeeping sec et but disclosing to eve yone”, t anspa ency is “self-evident and specific”2Simila ly, Vietnamese Dictiona y defines openness as “disclosu e, let people kno ”3,and t anspa ency as “clea and specific4” So, compa ed to info mation disclosu e,

t anspa ency imposes highe equi ements T anspa ency is not only info mationdisclosu e but also equi es initiative, esponsibility and honesty in the implementation

of info mation disclosu e

Accountability, due to being a ne definition, is not mentioned in Vietnamesedictiona ies Ho eve , acco ding to Encyclopedia B itannica, the te m “accountability”

is used to desc ibe the esponsibility fo “explaining”the behavio ofcompetent officials

in pe fo ming thei duty5

With ega ds to la , the 2005 Anti-co uption La fi st defined info mationdisclosu e: “Info mation disclosu e means the publication of official info mation ondocuments, activities o ce tain contents supppỉied by agencies* o ganizations o units6”The La also defined t anspa ency but only in the ange of assets and income:

“P ope ty and income t anspa ency means decla ation of p ope ty and income by

pe sons ho a e obliged to make such decla ation hich, hen necessa y, shall be

ve ified and concluded7”

The 20 8 Anti-co uption La gave a ide definition that combined bothinfo mation disclosu e s and t anspa ency: “Info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency

of agencies, o ganizations and units means disclosing info mation and p ovision ofexplanation fo the o ganization’s st uctu e, pe fo mance of duties, entitlements andesponsibilities of agencies, o ganizations and units du ing thei ope ation”8

Rega ding accountability, the 2005 Anti-co uption La did not give any legaldefinitions but specified: “Upon equest, competent state agencies shall p ovideexplanation fo thei decisions o actions du ing the pe fo mance ofthei duties befo eagencies, o ganizations and individuals hose legal ights and inte ests a e di ectlyBig Dictiona y of Vietnamese, Chief Autho Nguyen Nhu , Ho Chi Minh National Unive sity Publishing House, 2007, p 346

2Big Dictiona y of Vietnamese, cited book, p 037

3Vietnamese Dictiona y, Encyclopedia Publishe 20 0, p 277,8 5

4Vietnamese Dictiona y, Encyclopedia Publishe 20 0, p 277,8 5

5 b itannica com

6Clause 2 A ticle 2 2005 Anti-Co uption La (as amended in 2007 and 20 2)

7Clause 3 A ticle 2 2005 Anti-Co uption La (as amended in 2007 and 20 2)

8Clause 4 A ticle 3 20 8 Anti-Co uption La

affected by such decisions o actions ” Additionally, the La egulates the explainingobligation of the o igin of an inc eased asset2 Next, accountability as mentioned inthe 20 3 Constitution: “Ministe s and heads of ministe ial-level agencies shall epo t

to the Gove nment and the P ime Ministe and exe cise a egime of epo ting to thePeople on issues pe taining to thei espective management3” Ho eve , until 20 8, theAnti-co uption La gave a legal definition ofthis te m, acco dingly: “accountability isthe esponsibility of a competent o ganization, unit o individual (he einafte efe ed

to as “competent autho ity”) to cla ify info mation and p ovide timely and adequateexplanation about his/he decision o actions du ing pe fo mance of his/he duties4”

2 Co te ts of st tut o o format o d sclosure, tra spare cy a daccou tab l ty A t -corrupt o Law of V et am

Cu ently, institutions on info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency a e p esented

in a se ies of egulations in Section , Chapte II of the 20 8 Anti-Co uption La ,hile the institution on accountability is p esented in a egulation in the 20 8 Anti-

co uption La and some egulations of Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP, dated July

20 , specifically egulating a numbe of a ticles and measu es fo the implementation

of the 20 8 Anti-Co uption La

2 1 Contents o f institution on openness and transparency

The 20 8 Anti-co uption La specifies some gene al p inciples: Agencies,

o ganizations and units shall disclose all info mation about thei o ganization

st uctu e and ope ation, except fo state sec ets, business sec ets and othe info mation

p esc ibed by la 5 Additionally, info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency shall beaccu ate, dea , adequate and timely and comply ith la p ocedu es established bycompetent autho ities6

Info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency ange includes: a) Implementation ofpolicies and la s elevant to the la ful ights and inte ests ofofficials, public employees,othe employees, se vicemen and citizens; b) Dist ibution, management and use ofpublic funds, public assets o funds f om othe la ful sou ces; c) Human esou ce

“Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance

A ticle 32a 2005 Anti-Co uption La

2A ticle 46b 2005 Anti-Co uption La

3Clause 2 A ticle ,20 3 Constitution

4Clause 5 A ticle 3 20 8 Anti-Co uption La

5A ticle 20 8 Anti-Co uption La

6A ticle 20 8 Anti-Co uption La

management; code ofconduct fo officeholde s; d) Implementation ofpolicies and la s

ot ert a t ose me t o ed Po ta,b a d c oft s Clause aveto be d sclosed bylawBesides the info mation mentioned, state agencies that have influence ove othe stateagencies and individuals shall disclose info mation about administ ative p ocedu es 2Info mation can be published in one of the follo ing manne s: a) Makingannouncements at meetings of the o ganization; b) Posting info mation at the

p emises of the o ganization; c) Sending itten notices to elevant o ganizations; d)Publishing p inted matte s; e) Making announcements th ough mass media; f) Postinginfo mation on ebsites; g) Holding p ess confe ences; h) P oviding info mation ondemand3

State agencies shall hold p ess confe ences, make public announcementsand p ovide info mation fo the p ess on a pe iodic o ad hoc basis ega ding thei

o ganizational st uctu e and ope ation, anti-co uption o ks and actions against

co uption cases in acco dance ith ou nalism la s4

In addition to agencies, o ganizations and units in the public secto , Dec ee No

5 /200 /ND-CP, dated July 20 , specifically egulates a numbe of a ticles andmeasu es fo the implementation of the 20 8 Anti-co uption La and specifies theimplementation of openness and t anspa ency in o ganizations and the ope ation

of co po ations and o ganizations outside the public secto that mobilize People’scont ibutions fo cha ity pu poses Acco dingly, these entities must issue specificegulations on openness methods, contents and have esponsibility fo opennessand t anspa ency, complying ith the cha acte istics of thei ente p ises and

o ganizations5 The contents that equi e info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency a e;a) The implementation of policies, egulations and la s on the legal ights and benefits

of o ke s, membe s o pa tne s; sala ies and benefits; o king hou s, b eak timeand othe social elfa e; code of conduct, ente p ises and o ganization’s cha te s; the

o ganization and assignment ofpe sonnel and othe contents equi ing openness and

t anspa ency in acco dance ith elated egulations and la 0 Fu the contents thatequi e openness and t anspa ency a e: egulations on mobilizing, managing and using

! Clause A ticle 0 20 8 Anti-Co uption La

2Clause 2 A ticle 0 20 8 Anti-Co uption La

5Clause A ticle 20 8 Anti-Co uption La

4A ticle 3 20 8 Anti-Co uption La

5A ticle 53 Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

6A ticle 53 Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

“Ope ess, Tra spare cy and Accountability in tate overnance

the cont ibutions fo cha ity pu poses; the ights and obligations of the cont ibuto sand the beneficia ies; the pu poses ofmobilized cha itable cont ibutions; the sub ects,methods and amount ofcont ibution; the esults ofmobilization, hich include: the list

of cont ibuto s, sponso s, the methods and amount of cont ibutions and sponso ship;the esults of managing and using the cont ibutions fo cha ity pu poses

2.2 Co te ts of accou tab l ty st tut o

An o ganization o individual shall p ovide explanation fo thei decisions

o actions du ing pe fo mance of thei duties at the equest of the o ganization oindividual that is di ectly affected by such decisions o actions

The explaining pe son shall be the head of the o ganization o a pe son la fullyautho ized to p ovide explanation

The e a e t o cases of explanation as egulated by La : (i) In the cases hen a

p ess agency that publishes info mation about violations of la equests explanation

fo the pe fo mance of duties and affai s assigned; and (ii) hen supe visingautho ities o othe competent autho ities equest explanation in compliance ithelevant la s2

Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP p omulgates a se ies of egulations specifying clause, A ticle 5 20 8 ofthe Anti-co uption La as follo s:

~Contents of explanation: The legal basis fo the decision o the action 2 Theautho ity to make the decision o take the action 3 The p ocedu es fo making thedecision o taking the action 4 The contents of the decision o the action3

- Conditions fo accepting explanation equests: Ihe equesting pe son musthave full legal capacity o have a legal ep esentative in acco dance ith egulationsand la 2 The decisions o actions of the equested pa ty must di ectly impact on thelegal ights and p ivileges of the equesting pa ty4

- Reasons fo e ecting explanation equests: Failu e to satisfy the conditionsspecified in A ticle 4 ofthis Dec ee 2 The contents ofthe explanation equest specified

In A ticle 6 of this Dec ee have al eady been explained o have been taken ove by the

_“Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty in tate Gover a ce

A ticle 53 Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

2A ticle 5 20 8 Anti-Co uption La

3 A ticle 3 Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

4A ticle 4 Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

competent agencies, o ganizations, units o individuals unless the equesting pa ty

p ovides good easons 3 The equesting pe son is unable to cont ol thei behavio due

to stimulants o acting in manne s that dis upt public o de , intimidate o offend the

p ide and self-esteem ofthe equested pa ty 4 The autho ized pe son o ep esentativelacks valid pape s specified by la

- Contents beyond explanations: Sec ets of the state, p ivate lives o businesssec ets as specified by la 2 The di ections o o de s fo the implementation and

o ganization ofthe tasks, civil conducts ithin the agencies, o ganizations o units that

a e not publicized, implemented o the di ections and o de s given by the supe io s tothe infe io s2

- Responsibilities of head of agencies, o ganizations and units in p ovidingexplanations: Elabo ate the esponsibility to p ovide explanations acco ding to theules and egulations of the agencies, o ganizations o units 2 Assign individuals odepa tments to take explanation equests 3 O ganize, di ect, expedite and supe visethe implementation of p oviding explanation and the penalties fo violations ithinthei competence3

- Rights and esponsibilities of equesting pe son: The equesting pa ty has thefollo ing ights: a) Request explanations by themselves o via a ep esentative ithfull civil capacity; b) Withd a the hole o pa tial explanation equest; c) Receivethe itten ep esentation of the explanation ofthe explaining agencies, o ganizations,units o individuals; d) Complain and/o denounce as pe la 2 The equesting pe sonhas the follo ing obligations: a) State thei full name, add ess o p esent pe sonalpape s o autho ization pape ; b) Follo the p ocedu es specified in Section 3, Chapte

II of this Dec ee and othe elated egulations and la s; c) Make clea , t uthful andsuppo ted statements ega ding the contents of the explanation equests; d) P ovideinfo mation and documents ega ding to the contents of the explanation equests4

- Rights and esponsibilities of the equested pe son: The explaining pe sonhas the follo ing ights: a) Demand info mation o documents of the equesting

pa ty ega ding the explanation equests; b) Inst uct the equesting pe son to follo

“Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

A ticle 5 Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

2A ticle 6 Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

3A ticle 7 Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

4A ticle 8 Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

the p ocedu es specified in Section 3, Chapte II of this Dec ee and othe elatedegulations and la ; c) Re ect the explanation equests fo easons specified in A ticle

5 of this Dec ee 2 The explaining pe son has the M o ing obligations: a) Accept theexplanation equests ithin his/he competence; b) Inst uct the equesting pe son tofollo the p ocedu es specified in Section 3, Chapte II of this Dec ee and othe elatedegulations and la ; c) Respond to the equests in acco dance ith the p ocedu es anddeadline specified in this Dec ee and othe elated egulations and la

- P ocedu e fo p oviding explanations:

+ Explanation equests: The explanation equest must be made in itten fo m

o in pe son to the equested pa ty The equest in itten fo m: a) The equest muststate specifically the contents of the explanation; specify full name, add ess, phonenumbe o email add ess of the equesting pe son, b) The itten equest must beathe signatu e o finge p ints of the equesting pa ty The equest in pe son: a) Theequesting pe son must info m the explaining pe son of the equest contents Ifmultiple pe sons simultaneously equest the same contents, a ep esentative must beappointed to delive the equest The appointment of the ep esentative must be made

in itten fo m bea ing the signatu es o finge p ints of the equesting pe sons; b) Theexplaining pe son must desc ibe t uthfully the contents ofthe equest on pape ; specifythe full name, add ess, phone numbe o email add ess of the equesting pe son, c)The equesting pe son must sign o append finge p ints to the explanation equest+ Accepting explanation equests2:The equested pa ty ill accept the equest ifthe equesting conditions a e met and easons fo e ection a e avoided, both of hich

a e specified in A ticle 4 and A ticle 5 of this Dec ee, espectively If the equest isoutside his competence, the ecipient shall inst uct the equesting pe son to contactthe competent autho ity as pe la Ifthe itten equest fails to meet the equi ementsspecified in Clause 2, A ticle 0ofthis Dec ee, the ecipient must inst uct the equesting

pe son to add mo e info mation and/o documents If the equested contents have

al eady been explained, the equesting pe son ill be p ovided ith copies of theitten explanation Within 5 o king days f om the day on hich the equest iseceived, the explaining pe son must send a itten notice to the equesting pe sonabout hethe o not he/she ill p ovide an explanation and if not, p ovide easons

_“Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

A ticle Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

2A ticle Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

“Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

+ Implementation of p oviding explanations ^ a equest ith simple contents

is made in pe son, an explanation can be p ovided di ectly The di ect explanationmust be documented and signed o finge p inted by both pa ties Fo othe cases,the explanation shall adopt the follo ing p ocedu e: a) Collecting and ve ifyingelevant info mation; b) Contacting ith the equesting pe son di ectly to cla ifythe elevant info mation if necessa y The contents must be documented and signed

o finge p inted by both pa ties; c) Issuing a itten ep esentation; d) Sending theitten ep esentation to the equesting pe son Ihe itten ep esentation mustinclude the follo ing info mation: a) The equesting pa ty’s full name and add ess; b)The content ofthe explanation; c) Hie esult afte o king ith the othe o ganizationsand individuals (if applicable); d) The legal basis of the explanation; e) The detailedcontents of the explanation

4- Deadline fo p oviding explanations2: The explanation must be p ovided ithin5days f om the day on hich the explanation equest is eceived; p ovided complicatedcontents, the deadline can be extended once ( time) only, fo no mo e than anothe

5 days and the equesting pa ty must be notified in iting Ihe suspension du ationspecified in Clause , A ticle 4 of this Dec ee ill not count to a ds the deadline fo

an explanation

+ Suspension and cancellation of explanation p ovisions3:Du ing the p ovision

of explanation, the explaining pe son ili call fo a suspension if: a) The equesting

pe son has deceased and his/he hei is not yet identified; the agency, o o ganizationinvolved in the case is split, me ged o dissolved and the e is no eplacement yet; b) Theequesting pe son is incapable of civil acts and his/he legal ep esentative is not yetidentified; c) The equesting pe son is ill o , because of any othe ob ective easons, theexplaining pe son is unable to fulfill his/he duty The explaining pe son shall p oceed

to explain hen the causes fo suspension a e co ected The explaining pe son illcall fo a cancellation if: a) The equesting pe son has deceased ithout hei ; theagency o o ganization involved in the case is split, me ged o dissolved ithout anyeplacements; b) The equesting pe son lacks legal capacity and does not have a legal

ep esentative; c) he equesting pe son ithd a s all explanation equests

A tide 2 Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

2A ticle 3 Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

3A ticle 4 Dec ee No 5 /20 /ND-CP

“Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

3 Impleme tat o o f format o d sclosure,tra spare cya d accou tab l tylaws o a t -corrupt o a d mpleme tat o V et am

In o de to avoid epetition ith specialization la s fo each field ofinfo mationdisclosu e and t anspa ency, the 20 8 Anti-co uption La does not egulate the fields

of info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency in detail as the 2005 Anti-Co uption La

In fact, ho eve , implementation and assessment of these activities a e still based onegulations of each field, including:

a) Information disclosure and transparency ofstate agencies’activities Info mationdisclosu e and t anspa ency a e inte nal equi ements by natu e and one of thestanda ds of state appa atus activities, hich cont ibutes positively to the enhancing

of thei effectiveness and efficiency Info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency a euseful measu es to p event ong, negative behavio s and exp essions that misleadand educe efficiency of pe fo mance in the state appa atus

Ove the past yea s, in o de to institutionalize these policies bet een the Stateand the people, the Cong ess has atified a numbe of elevant la s including the La onReception of Citizens in 20 3, the La on Access to Info mation in 20 6 and the P ess

La in 20 7 Th ough these La s, people’s democ acy is enhanced ith the egulation

of collecting people’s opinions befo e making decisions on impo tant guidelinesand policies of the count y; egulations on st engthening people’s supe vision uleega ding activities of the state appa atus

Acco ding to the 20 7 P ovincial Anti-Co uption Assessment of Gove nmentInspecto ate (PACA INDEX 20 7) , ove the yea s, the State has st engthened activities

of la popula ization and education, cont ibuting to ensu e people’s ight of access to

la , openness and t anspa ency of policies and la s The quality of administ ative

p ocedu e esolution is inc easing; the manne and scope of publicizing and

t anspa entizing administ ative p ocedu es and state management info mation a eextended; the business envi onment is enhanced pa tly to aise competitiveness of

co po ations and economy A single- indo mechanism is maintained and extended,enhancing the quality and efficiency of the esolution of administ ative p ocedu e fopeople in a convenient, public and t anspa ent ay Hie application of info mation

Gove nment Inspecto ate (20 7), Repo t on P ovincial Anti-Co uption Assessment (PACĨNDEX 20 7);

technology in administ ative agencies” activities is synch onously implemented

f om the Cent al to local agencies, g adually attempting to become an “elect onicgove nment” o “elect onic autho ity” This is pa ticula ly t ue fo mode n single-indo systems on dist ict and commune levels, public administ ative cente s, systems

to ve ify elect onic documentation ofpeople, officials and employees in administ ative

t ansactions Info mation net o k among agencies and units is inc easingly extended,

fo ming a gene al database in many management fields

PACA 20 7 sho ed that the national ave age sco e in inte nal info mationdisclosu e and t anspa ency is 7 82 points, accounting fo 86 8 %, including 33

p ovinces hich have a gaining maximum sco e ( / ) in this aspect The epo t statedthese numbe s sho ed good ne s on publicizing legal policies on local eb po talsand info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency in some a eas2

Ho eve , publicizing state agencies' info mation is cu ently limited in VietnamAlthough the La on Access to Info mation as eleasedin 20 6 and came into legal effect,

in fact, info mation disclosu e activities a e fo malistic This is one of the easons that theAssessment on P ovincial Gove nance and Public Administ ation Pe fo mance Index(PAPI20 7) gave out a statement that as not in unison ith PACA 20 7 specifically, the

20 7 PAPI Repo t stated that info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency a e among the mostvulne able issues ofstate management units ove the count y, ith an ave age national sco e

of only 5 68/ 03, inspite ofmac o management activities e e imp oved This includes the

p omulgating no mative documents fo ad ustment, as ell as d astic di ection f om theGove nment, the P ime Ministe , the heads of state management agencies, minist ies anddepa tments To p ove that statement, the 20 7 PAPI Repo t said that 70% ofquestionedenterprises said that it is necessary to have a “relationship”togain documentsfrom provincialeople’s Committee and compared to previous years, it is more difficult to have access toplanningdocuments oftheprovincial eople’s Committee4

Diffe ences bet een info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency assessments f omgove nment agencies (PACA 20 7) and people’s assessments (PAPI 20 7) (see thetable belo ) need fu the esea ch to be clea

_“Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce _

Gove nment Inspecto ate (20 7), as cited, p 30

2Gove nment Inspecto ate (20 7), as cited, p 30

3Gove nment Inspecto ate (20 7), as cited, p 3

4Gove nment Inspecto ate (20 7), as cited, p 3

"Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

Fu the mo e, acco ding to the inspecto ate’s esults, only 78 people e e ve ified, only

5 of hom e e found in violation of asset t anspa ency and handled acco dinglyOnly 3 out of 63 p ovinces and municipalities conducted ve ification and 0 out ofthose 3 p ovinces discove ed du ing ve ification that people ho decla ed thei assets

e e in violation and handled these cases2

The emainde (50 p ovinces) did not conduct a ve ification of income andasset decla ation in 20 7 An example cited in the PACA INDEX 20 7 is Ho Chi MinhCity - he e income decla ations e e collected f om mo e than 37,000 civil se vantsand officials, eaching nea ly %, but ithout mentioning any cases handled because

of inco ect decla ations This esult also made the Municipal Pa ty CommitteeSec eta y Nguyen Ihien Nhan question the accu acy of title epo t3

Gove nment Inspecto ate (20 7), as cited, p 36 - 37

2Gove nment Inspecto ate (20 7), as cited, p 37

3Gove nment Inspecto ate (20 7), as cited, p 37

“Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

-20 8, except fo the esults f om -20 5, the sco e of this aspect has been inc easingsteadily ove the past 5 yea s, pa tly thanks to the elevant egulations in Land La

(amended), int oduced in 20 3 Ho eve , in gene al, this sco e is lo , sho ing thatlocal autho ities should make g eate effo ts to imp ove info mation disclosu e and

t anspa ency in land management

Acco ding to PAPI 20 8, in measu ing land info mation disclosu e and

t anspa ency ill the pe iod 20 -20 8, the e as a ema kably consistent esult insofa

as unde 25% of ans e e s said they had access to local planning/plan of land use, butonly a thi d had the oppo tunity to cont ibute thei opinions to planning The index ofthis aspect has been slightly inc easing ove the yea s, p oving modest Imp ovement(see table belo )

I format o d sclosure, tra spare cy of la d use pla g/pla

a d la d acqu s t o compe sat o , 20 -20 8

“Ope esst Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

d) Information disclosure and transparency of budget:1

Pu suant to the egulations of the 20 5 State Budget La , Ci cula No 6 /20 7/TT-BTC, the La on Access to Info mation and good inte national p actice, a su vey

on the openness level of Minist ies and Cent al bodies* budgets as fi stly ca ied out

in 20 8 The esults of the Repo t on the index of publicizing minist ies and cent albodies budgets in 20 8 (MOBI20 82) sho ed an unsatisfacto y pictu e of publicizingminist ies and cent al bodies’ budgets, specifically, the ave age MOBI 20 8 sco e asout of 00 All 37 Minist ies and Cent al bodies have LITTLE openness budgetinfo mation as egulated in the 20 5 State Budget La and inst ucted in the Ci cula

No 6 /20 7/TT-BTC (see the follo ing table) 3

Result sy t es s of t e survey o t e M stry ope Budget I dex 20 8SUFFICIENT

of cent al agencies and minist ies in 20 8 as ve y limited, specifically in thefollo ing:

On availability: Only 2 out of 37 agencies and minist ies publicized at least

of thei budget documents (accounting fo 32 43%); 25 agencies and minist ies(equivalent to 67 57%) did not publicize any documents at the su vey time; only oneunit publicized a Repo t on planned state budget implementation by months in 20 8(The Minist y of Finance) (sho n in the table belo ) 4

Misnist y o pen Budget Index (MOBĨ) 20 8

2 Minist y Open Budget Su vey 20 8 by Budget T anspa ency, Accountability and Pa ticipation (BTAP) as completed ith Cente fo Development and Integ ation (CDĨ) Su vey esult is epo t on Minist y open Budget Index 20 8 (MOBI, 20 8), issued at http://ngansachvietnam net/index php/tai-lieu-nguon/huong-dan-thuc- hanh-cong-khai-minh-bach-ngan-sach/4 0-chi-so-cong-khai-ngan-sach-bo-co-quan-t ung-uong-mobi-20 8 3M OBI20 8, p 0

4MOBI20Ỉ8, p ll