Strengthening control to enhance administrative reform index

Talking to Binh Duong Newspaper reporters about administrative procedure (AP) control in 2016, Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Deputy Director of Department of Justice, said that the key task was to perform seriously, synchronously major orientations of administrative procedure reform (APR) to further improve the competitiveness, administrative reform index of the province.

Nguyen Quoc Cuong (standing, left), Deputy Director of Department of Justice, and representatives of relevant agencies checked the posting of APs on official website at Customs branch managing import-exported goods outside IPs

- AP control works of the province achieved encouraging results in 2015. So where is the main content of the implementation in the last year, sir?

- As an assisting agency, early in the year, Department of Justice counseled provincial People's Committee (PPC) to launch programs, plans on AP control in 2015 in accordance with the Government’s Resolution, directives of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice in order to implement uniformly, synchronously AP control tasks from province-level departments and agencies to People's Committees at all levels. Accordingly, the key task is to review, standardize AP according to Decision No. 08/QD-TTg dated Jan 6^th 2015 of the Prime Minister to strictly control the issuance of schemes, drafts normative act on AP from opinion collection, evaluation, evaluate seriously impacts of AP regulations to publicize and update the national database on AP. Another important content was PPC’s directive on heightening the accountability of heads of State administrative agencies in APR at all levels; cultivating and effectively use key personnel working in performing AP control.

PPC directed Department of Justice to coordinate with relevant agencies and units to strengthen the inspection and control AP control activities, APR at 41 units. After inspection, PPC made timely directives to overcome shortcomings; especially, raise the awareness of leadership and staff performing AP control. Agencies and units have also received, solved well individual and organization’s petitions for AP regulations, and then posted on official portals and mass media. The communication supporting AP control between people, businesses was focused with high-quality programs, like: “Joining hands to reform APs” on Binh Duong Newspaper and “Law and life” on Binh Duong Television. Department of Justice also collaborated with provincial Cultural – Movies Center to communicate the role and significance of AP control activities…

- Could you tell us more about AP simplification program directed by PPC?

- Decision No. 08/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister identified the reviewing, standardizing was one key task in 2015. Accordingly, PPC directed agencies and localities to implement seriously this task with a goal to standardize 100% APs at all levels, publicize APs on the national database, and post completely, uniformly APs at AP receiving, handling places.

According to the Prime Minister’s directive, Binh Duong issued the implementation plan. PPC assigned Department of Justice to be in charge of organizing conferences to disseminate, train units and localities for the implementation. As a result, Binh Duong approved specific AP lost, including 14 specific APs in 5 fields, issued a decision to announce specific APs, collected opinions on simplification of 13 key AP groups according to Decision No. 08/QD-TTg. The success of the implementation came mainly from key personnel performing AP control from provincial to grassroots level.

- In the future, AP control activities will focus on which central tasks, sir?

- Inheriting the achievements and overcoming limitations in the last year, in 2016, AP control missions of the province focus on some key contents: implementing seriously synchronously major orientations on APR put forward by the Government, the Prime Minister; choosing APs need to be simplified, cutting costs for AP compliance, removing difficulties of business production and people, enhancing competitiveness, APR index of the province.

In parallel, performing uniformly, synchronously, effectively AP control, review, evaluation activities; enhancing communication about AP control, APR inspection, especially unscheduled inspection at offices and units of handling APs. Regulations on coordination among agencies and units involved in receiving, handling feedbacks and petitions of individuals and organizations will be developed. The province will also enhance the implementation of Law on Promulgation of legal documents, namely, strictly control the regulating APs right from drafting to ensure the issuance of really necessary, reasonable, lawful APs with low compliance costs, contributing to improving the quality of institutions and business environment.

- Thank you!

Reported by Ho Van – Translated by Ngoc Huynh