Deputy PM urges prioritising administrative reform in business

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang says administrative regulations and procedures in investment and business should be simplified and reformed first. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi – Administrative regulations and procedures in investment and business should be simplified and reformed first, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang said at a recent meeting on administrative reform and improving the efficiency of policy consultation to the Government and the PM.

The Government Office on June 29 issued a notice on the Deputy PM’s conclusions at the meeting, which pointed to limitations in the work and the causes like the low sense of responsibility of some agencies, especially of their leaders, loose coordination between agencies, and a lack of decentralisation.

Quang emphasised the need to streamline administrative procedures in the areas directly relating to production and business activities and people's life such as construction, real estate, taxation, customs, electricity, energy, agricultural production and processing, export-import, education-training, and health care.

Ministries, agencies and localities must also fully and accurately publicise procedures on the national database on administrative procedures, the Deputy PM said.

Other tasks include assessing the quality of services, and regularly supervising performance by relevant officials and agencies, and strictly handling wrongdoings.

The Ministry of Justice, legal affairs divisions in ministries and ministry-level agencies, and Justice Departments of provincial-level People's Committees must further strengthen the verification of administrative procedures in proposals, projects and draft legal documents to ensure that only those procedures which are really necessary, reasonable and legal are promulgated.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is assigned to coordinate with the Government Office and other ministries and agencies in reviewing and proposing plans on consolidating inter-sectoral organisations, including the PM’s policy advisory group. The work must be done within next month.

The Government Office is tasked with working together with relevant ministries and agencies to devise a plan on major administrative reforms from now to the end of this year, which will be submitted to the PM in July.

The Deputy PM also instructed the Government Office to submit a proposal to the Prime Minister on the establishment of a task force on administrative reform of the PM, which will instruct, monitor and push the implementation of programmes, plans and projects on administrative reform, identify difficulties and obstacles and remove them in a timely manner, prioritising pending ones.

Quang also urged upgrading the national database on administrative procedures in the third quarter of this month.

Reform imperative to tackle red tape in business Despite efforts of the government in administrative reforms and simplification of business conditions, enterprises are still struggling with cumbersome procedures.

PM requests intensifying administrative reform, business climate improvement Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on June 1 signed a document requesting all public agencies and localities intensify their work for effective administrative reform and business climate improvement.