Administrative reforms a must to boost growth and competitive edge: PM

The business and investment environment is a focus area for reforms, with more than 168 business regulations and 247 civil administrative procedures simplified or reduced.

Administrative reforms are a must to mobilise resources, reduce costs for people and businesses and increase product competitiveness on the global supply chains, said Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính.

He was addressing a review meeting on Monday on administrative reform progress in the first six months of 2024 and discussed the tasks and missions for the latter half of the year.

According to a report from the Government’s Steering Committee on Administrative Reforms, nearly 2,900 documents have been issued by ministries, departments and localities to accelerate administrative reforms in the past six months.

Government, ministerial and local leaders also engaged in dialogues to address bottlenecks, while inspection and supervision of public officials’ duty performance has been increased.

In the first half of 2024, the Government also held five law-building sessions, issued 83 decrees and eight resolutions and submitted proposals to the National Assembly for the earlier execution of the laws on land, housing, real estate business and credit institutions

A committee tasked with reviewing and addressing shortcomings in the legal document system was also established, headed by the PM.

The business and investment environment is a focus area for administrative reforms, with more than 168 business regulations and 247 civil administrative procedures simplified or reduced.

A pilot programme for a one-stop public administration service centre has been assigned to Hà Nội, HCM City and the provinces of Quảng Ninh and Bình Dương.

Streamlining also saw progress with a total of 33 public non-business units at the ministerial level cut down. The number of units under the PM’s authority streamlined in 2024 is expected to total 72.

Localities have cut down 10 divisions under the provincial People’s Committees and eight others under district People’s Committees.

A total of 53 cities and provinces have rearranged their district and commune-level units. Organisational streamlining has relieved 3,853 public officers in the first half of this year.

Wage policy reform, which has a significant impact on public employees, saw encouraging results with the base salary increasing from VNĐ1.8 million to 2.34 million ($71 to $92) starting in July.

State budget revenue in the first six months reached 60 per cent of the estimates, increasing by 15.7 per cent.

In addition to the VNĐ700 trillion ($27.6 billion) for raising base salary, pensions and allowances accumulated from increased state budget revenues and savings, approximately VNĐ160.5 trillion ($6.3 billion) was being spent on fiscal policies as well as tax and fee exemptions to support businesses and people.

National digital transformation and e-government development also witnessed positive results.

Acknowledging the achievements and pointing out the lessons learned, PM Chính emphasised five key areas of focus for administrative reforms in the immediate future.

These include reviewing and addressing bottlenecks in policies and frameworks for mobilising resources; increasing dialogues to solve problems and promote growth, trade and create livelihoods for the people; strengthening discipline in administrative procedures and preventing misconduct; accelerating digital transformation; as well as promoting cashless payments and reducing compliance costs.

Ministries, departments and localities must strictly follow the Government’s directions and the Steering Committee on Administrative Reforms’ action plan for the year for each unit, in addition to reviewing and simplifying conflicting or overlapping regulations.

The People’s Committees of Hà Nội, HCM City, Quảng Ninh and Bình Dương are tasked with running the pilot programme for a one-stop public administration service centre from September this year and submit an evaluation report by the end of 2025.

“Ministries, departments and localities must complete the public investment allocation within July 2024 to aim for a 95 per cent annual disbursement rate, as this is one of the key growth drivers,” said PM Chính.