The Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) 2017 was implemented with the participation of over 14,000 citizens randomly selected from all 63 provinces.
The report shows a significant turnaround in citizen’s perceptions and experiences with corruption in the public sector, more women adding their names to land use titles, and rising pessimism among the poorest citizens about their future economic prospects. Health insurance coverage expanded and fewer reported land seizures.
However, setbacks included lower satisfaction with compensation for land seized and persistent concerns about poverty among citizens of all socio-economic backgrounds.
Specifically, the greatest improvement gain was seen in control of corruption in the public sector. Citizens reported improvements in both their perceptions and personal experiences.
In all, 33 provinces saw increases in their score on this dimension compared to 2016, with Quang Ninh, Bac Lieu, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Lao Cai and An Giang achieving score increases of 20 per cent or more over the prior year. Among the six provinces that saw significant declines are Dak Nong, Hung Yen, and Hai Phong, with their scores falling by nine per cent or more.
Kamal Malhotra, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam said that the 2017 survey results are mixed and reveal both encouraging and worrying trends. Particularly noteworthy is the reversal in the downward trend since 2013 in control of corruption in the public sector.
Citizens report improvements in both their perceptions and personal experiences. However, the PAPI scores are still below the levels found in 2012.
Kamal Malhotra“So although the direction of change is positive, much work remains to be done to fight corruption to ensure that the findings of the 2017 PAPI report do not represent a temporary aberration but signal the start of a systemic and fundamental reversal of what has been a worrying longer-term trend on corruption,” said Kamal Malhotra.
Poverty was by far the most important issue facing the country for citizens again in 2017 with 28 per cent citing it as their top concern, with economic growth second and jobs third. Despite being the fourth important issue, concern about the environment has risen in importance since 2015 and highly educated ones, are unwilling to sacrifice environmental protection for economic development.
Last year also witnessed several positive trends related to political participation at the local level. The largest increase was in the proportion of citizens reporting that local projects were monitored by Community Investment Supervision Boards.
Citizens reported that overall provincial performance in vertical accountability improved slightly. In 2017, about 25 per cent of respondents across the country said they met village heads to discuss a problem, an increase of about three per cent from 2016.
Results also show good progress made by all provinces in public administrative procedures. Overall, citizens said they were more satisfied with procedures at local one-stop shops in three out of the four services that PAPI measures (certification, construction permits, and personal documents), and they reported a significant increase in accessing one-stop windows for land use rights certificates, up seven per cent.
The downward trend in housing land seizures continued, with less than 7 per cent reporting land seized in 2017, down from an average of about 9 per cent prior to 2013.
Nonetheless, a more concerning trend relates to satisfaction with compensation for land seized.
The 2017 PAPI Report also looks at overall provincial performance. Scores for all of the country’s 63 provinces increased in 2017 compared to 2016, and seven saw significant improvements. Among the best performers were Quang Binh, Ben Tre and Bac Lieu, provinces scoring in the best-performing groups for five out of the six dimensions.
Bac Lieu, Quang Ninh, and Tra Vinh achieved increases above eight per cent, with Bac Lieu making the most impressive movement upward in the index. Ha Nam, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Long An, and Vinh Long also saw their scores rise.
Even in the best performing provinces, however, local governments need to do more to satisfy their citizens’ expectations, as there is a significant gap between the highest provincial score with 39.52 points, and the maximum possible score of 60 for all six dimensions.
There is also a significant gap between the highest and the lowest provincial scores in 2017, revealing differences in how provinces have been performing.
These results point to the need for a continued emphasis on inclusive and equitable development, on transparency, and on public consultation with citizens.
“We hope that with the 2017 PAPI data and evidence from PAPI surveys over the next years, the Government of Viet Nam can better oversee how it moves towards ‘the government that facilitates development and serves its People,’” said Dang Hoang Giang, Deputy Director of the Centre for Community Support and Development Studies (CECODES).
