Reform tops state agenda for agencies

Change is in the air for customers of state agencies, with a swag of new administrative reforms on the way this year

One such reform is the one-stop mechanism that will be applied nationwide from next year, the deputy director of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Thang Van Phuc, told a government meeting on reform last week. Under the one-stop mechanism, investors and enterprises who wish to submit proposals or claims will be able to be processed through a separate department established on behalf of local governments and designed to satisfy the requirements of investors and enterprises.
Phuc said that under the plan announced by the government, the one-stop mechanism would be deployed at provincial and district levels by the end of this year. Preparatory steps, like the release of necessary regulations, would be made this year so the one-stop mechanism could be implemented at the communal level from next year.
Phuc said that apart from the reforms required for the one-stop mechanism to be deployed nationwide, the government would also push administrative reform forward in state-owned enterprises in the public utility sector from the middle of this year. Under these reforms, the organisations would become responsible for their own salary and wage payments, meaning state subsidies would be markedly reduced.
“Simultaneously, the new regulations on civil servants working in state-owned enterprises will be fulfilled as of the middle of this year,” Phuc said.
Under the new regulations, civil servants would no longer enjoy guaranteed life employment at state agencies of government enterprises, but would be expected to sign fixed-term contracts setting out the terms of their employment. This increased transparency and accountability is expected to bring about an increased sense of personal responsibility among state employees.
An official from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said that such administrative reforms were necessary.
“State-owned organisations or entities would be divided into three kinds,” he said.
The first kind would be those which have high earnings; then those with smaller earnings and those which have no earnings and simply operate as public utilities. The first kind of organisation would be responsible for their own spending and wage payments, while still having a responsibility to the state budget.
The second kind, could receive partial support from the state budget and the third kind would still receive full state funding.