Security sector reform

The launch of the 2020 PAPI report in Hanoi on April 14 (Photo: baotainguyenmoitruong.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – The control of corruption in the public sector last year showed the best performance in a decade, since the Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) survey was first conducted.

The 2020 PAPI report, released on April 14, indicated that in 2020, the percentages of respondents seeing bribes as necessary for jobs in state agencies, health-care services at district-level public hospitals, land use right certificates, fair treatment by primary school teachers, and the granting of construction permits continued declining since 2016, the first year of the 2016-2021 government term.

As many as 18 provinces and cities made significant progress in the control of corruption in the public sector last year compared to 2019. Out of the 16 best performers, seven are from the south, four from the central region, and three from the north. As in previous years, Ben Tre performed well overall in this dimension. Six provinces experienced significant setbacks in 2020, with Ninh Thuan and Ninh Binh had the largest declines.

Nine out of the top 10 performers in controlling corrupt behaviours in local administrations and public services are central and southern provinces. Quang Ninh, Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Quang Tri, and Quang Nam are the top five performers in this indicator.

Compared to the 2016 findings, personal relationships have become less important in all provinces and cities, implying that local administrations may have paid greater attention to a fair recruitment of state employees. However, personal relationships remain very important for five public office positions at the commune level, even among the top performers.

The control of corruption in the public sector is one of the eight dimensions in the PAPI survey. The others are the participation at local levels, transparency in local decision making, vertical accountability towards citizens, public administrative procedures, public service delivery, environmental governance, and e-governance.

PAPI is a flagship governance programme initiated by the UN Development Programmes in Vietnam since 2009. It measures and benchmarks citizens’ experiences and perception on the performance and quality of policy implementation and services delivery of all 63 provincial administrations in Vietnam to advocate for effective and responsive governance.

Over 14,700 citizens were interviewed for the 2020 PAPI Report. This is the largest number of citizens to participate since the survey was first conducted nationwide in 2011. For the first time, the survey also gathered responses from citizens with temporary residence registration status. Nearly 300 migrants were surveyed in six provinces and centrally governed municipalities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Ninh, Da Nang, Dong Nai, and Binh Duong)./.

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Hai Phong (VNA) – The northern port city of Hai Phong targets 1.5 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the second quarter of 2021, according to head of the Management Board of Hai Phong Economic Zones Le Trung Kien.

Kien said that the city will increase dialogues to explore obstacles facing businesses, while enhancing efficiency of investment promotion activities, while prioritising investors with high capacity and advanced, environmentally-friendly technologies .

Along with speeding up administrative reforms, the board will coordinate closely with the local police force to ensure order and security in economic zones and industrial parks, creating a safe environment for enterprises, Kien said.

He said Hai Phong currently has 12 industrial parks. As of March 31, 2021, the local industrial parks and economic zones had lured 406 FDI projects worth 17.15 billion USD.

The average occupancy rate in the local industrial park has reached 62.5 percent. There are 154,100 labourers working in Hai Phong’s industrial parks and economic zones.

In the 2021-2025 period, Hai Phong plans to construct 15 new industrial parks with a total area of over 6,200 hectares.

Last year, the city ranked seventh out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), and second out of 11 provinces and cities in the Red River Delta region./.

An alcohol content check area set up by traffic police on Phap Van – Cau Gie Expressway (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Traffic police nationwide detected and dealt with over 8,700 cases of traffic rule violation on April 15, the first day of a campaign launched to ensure traffic order and safety for the April 30 and May 1 holiday and the May 23 elections.

In handling the violations, police collected 9.9 billion VND (nearly 429,000 USD) in fines, detained 34 automobiles and 1,260 motorbikes, and revoked 915 driving licences.

Among the violations, relevant forces found 626 drivers exceeding the legal limit for “drunk driving” and five others using drugs, according to the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security.

During the campaign from April 15 to June 14, police will intensify monitoring and patrol on roads, waterways and railways while striving to minimise traffic congestion and illegal motorbike racing.

Maj. Gen. Le Xuan Duc, deputy head of the Traffic Police Department, said at the launch on April 15 that the campaign aims to reduce the numbers of accident cases and related deaths and injured people, and especially, prevent extremely serious accident cases.

The traffic police will also accompany leaders of the Party, State, and National Election Council during the inspection of the election organisation, and protect the transportation of ballot boxes, he added./.

An overview of the session (Photo: congan.com.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Public Security has been implementing plans and measures to ensure absolute safety and order for the elections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and the all-level People’s Councils in the 2021-2026 tenure, which are scheduled to take place on May 23.

Speaking at the fourth session of the Subcommittee on Security and Order for the elections on April 15, Deputy Minister Lt. Gen. Luong Tam Quang, who is head of the subcommittee, hailed efforts made by the public security force and localities since the subcommittee’s third session on March 18.

To enable voters nationwide to participate in the elections in a democratic, public and fair manner as regulated by law, Quang requested the subcommittee’s members and police units to combine security work for the elections with ensuring security and social order during the 46th National Reunification and May Day holidays (April 30 – May 3)./.

Addressing an online meeting with representatives from 63 provinces and cities, and their health sectors on accelerating COVID-19 prevention and vaccination efforts, Long warned that Vietnam is in danger of experiencing another outbreak.

He stressed that controlling the pandemic this year will be very difficult for all countries, not just Vietnam.

Vietnam has gone 21 straight days with no new cases of domestic transmission, he said, while also noting that the situation remains complex in the world and the region. The country is still organising commercial flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home, he added.

The Ministry of Health – the standing agency of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control – will continue to strengthen its direction as well as inspection and supervision of high-risk areas.

He underlined the urgent need to prevent illegal travel in border areas and to strictly tackle violations.

Regarding vaccinations, Long said the ministry has made efforts to negotiate with suppliers around the world to purchase larger volumes as soon as possible.

In addition to more than 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that were imported into Vietnam at the end of February, 811,200 more doses of AstraZeneca, sponsored by the COVAX Facility through UNICEF, have also arrived in the country.

Forty-nine out of Vietnam’s 63 cities and provinces nationwide have been provided with vaccines from the second batch, he said.

The ministry has directed localities to promptly map out plans and speed up vaccinations, towards completing the task by May 5.

So far, 75,000 people have received COVID-19 vaccinations, Long said, and affirmed that Vietnam will continue using the AstraZenecca vaccine in the time to come.

At the meeting, a representative of the World Health Organisation praised Vietnam’s efforts and affirmed that the benefits vaccines offer far outweigh the risks.

Also on April 16, the last COVID-19 patient in northern Hai Duong province, which was Vietnam’s largest hotspot during the third wave of outbreaks, was discharged from hospital.

Source: VNA