HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội administration was told on Thursday by the Government to “lead the country” in implementing e-Government to provide easy, corruption-free administrative works for its citizens.

Minister, Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tiến Dũng made the comment on Thursday as he led a working delegation to review the city’s progress in tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc.

While the public and business community’s satisfaction with the city’s administration is apparent, people still expect “paperwork to be processed and returned as fast as possible on online platforms,” Chairman Dũng said.

“The city needs to really push forward the application of science and technology in administrative works, to cut costs and time, as well as reduce petty corruption,” he added.

Chairman Dũng also sent Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc’s compliments to Nguyễn Đức Chung, chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, for his “dynamism, and not shying away from confrontation or sensitive issues,” which has contributed a great deal to the city’s success.

PM Phúc also sent his “good impressions” of the city’s new and major tree-lined roads, as evidence of the city’s strong infrastructure development and well thought-out planning.

“Hà Nội is one of the top localities in the country with regards to public service delivery performance,” Chairman Dũng continued.

The working delegation also noted Hà Nội’s decent progress in streamlining the public sector’s workforce, with 695 city employees let go from their positions and many public organisations now financially independent from the State budget.

Room for improvements

According to Government Office Chairman Dũng, Hà Nội with its critical role as a capital city, should expend more efforts to stay ahead, especially in equitising State-owned enterprises, urbanisation and following through on its commitment to be a smart city.

Nguyễn Đình Cung, director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said that while Hà Nội has improved business conditions, there’s still a lot to be done to better facilitate businesses.

“It seems the investors need Hà Nội more than Hà Nội needs the investors,” Cung said, pointing to HCM City as an example of faster and easier administrative processes.

Chairman of the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vũ Tiến Lộc said he expected the city to prepare to receive innovative and high-tech investment projects soon.

“The city needs to conduct further reforms of its land access, eliminating the pressure of ‘unofficial fees’ and creating a fairer environment for businesses from different economic sectors,” Lộc said.

Speaking at the review meeting, Hà Nội Chairman Chung said the city has strictly abided by the Government’s directives on administrative reforms, putting people and businesses front and centre.

Chairman Chung proposed the State Bank of Việt Nam and post office system allow citizens to pay for public services by cards, adding that currently, the postal fee is 10 per cent of the transaction, “an unacceptable rate” for many.

At the end of December, the city will report on its programmes and applications to build e-Government and smart operations, Chairman Chung said. — VNS