Vietnam’s central bank tops admin reform index: government report

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has surpassed other government agencies to take first place for the third consecutive year in terms of administrative reform, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The central bank scored 92.36 out of 100 among the 19 ministries and agencies surveyed in the Public Administration Reform (PAR) Index 2017 conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Ministry of Information and Communications was ranked second with 86.13 and the Ministry of Finance third with 84.42.

The ranking was based on feedback from 18,300 civil servants and 34,000 citizens in the categories of management, one-stop policy implementation and organizational reform.

The Ethnic Committee and the Ministry of Health ranked lowest at 72.13 and 72.40.

On a provincial level, Quang Ninh topped the index, followed by Hanoi, which rose from third in 2016.

The capital was also placed sixth in terms of public finance reform and finished 12 in terms of administrative reform. Both categories were topped by the southern province of Long An ranks.

Ho Chi Minh City moved up from 15th to 10th position in the latest survey.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has also published its Satisfaction Index of Public Administration Services (SIPAS) 2017, that surveyed 33,900 citizens.

The survey found that 80.90 percent of participants were happy in general with the service they received, while 3.4 percent of citizens said that cicil servants had caused them difficulties. A further 2 percent said they were asked to pay bribes to streamline the admin process.