The Hanoi People's Committee is  developing e-government towards digital government which is expected to operate transparently and effectively to ensures public satisfaction with public services.

Accordingly, Hanoi has issued a plan on applying information technology in the activities of public agencies, developing e-government towards digital government and ensuring the city’s network information security in the period of 2022- 2025.

The move shows the local authorities’ commitment to carrying on the administrative reform, urging all localities to put in efforts and enhance efficiency in public services.

Besides, it aims to basically complete digital transformation in public agencies and gradually provide open data to promote digital economy and society.

Citizens at My Duc District People's Committee. Photo: The Hanoi Times

The city government will operate on the capacity of data analysis, bringing Hanoi into the top five localities in the country in developing e-Government and forming a digital government.

The plan has also set a target of involving the private sector and  non-state organizations in providing at least 50% of new public services; 100% of civil servants will be assigned digital identifiers; 100% of the city's public agencies participate in opening data and providing open data for developing digital government, digital economy and society.

Moreover, all  civil servants in charge of information security and technology and employees in the city’s public agencies will be trained in cyber security knowledge, skills and techniques in accordance with professional requirements.

Regarding digital infrastructure development, Hanoi has formed a smart operation center to effectively exploit applications on shared platforms that have been widely deployed to save time and costs.

To enhance transparency in public agencies' operation, the municipal People's Committee has proposed six solutions including preparing information technology human resources, raising people’s awareness, cooperation between public agencies and enterprises, administrative reform, standardizing processes and operations; domestic and international cooperation.

Vo Hai Long, deputy director of the Hanoi Institute for Socio-Economic Development Studies, said to secure people’s higher satisfaction with public administrative agencies, the city should keep promoting its  civil servants’ awareness, discipline, and professional  ethics while enhancing the transparency of state agencies’ operations.

"It is necessary to strengthen agency leaders’ sense of responsibility and seriously deal with those whose agencies show signs of bureaucracy and corruption, especially in licensing, business registration and handling export - import, taxation, customs, and land use right certification procedures," he said.

It also needs to ensure that civil servants who directly meet citizens or handle complaints and denunciations have sound legal knowledge, as well as good communication and problem-solving skills, according to Long.

As part of measures to improve public services, Hanoi puts a strong focus on ensuring transparency in the policymaking and explanation to the public, while raising the people’s awareness of their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

With authorities at the grassroots level playing a key role in ensuring greater public satisfaction with public services, Hanoi noted that there would be more supervision efforts and strict punishments for offenses committed by public officials in fields deemed sensitive, including issuing construction permits, land use rights certificates or other certifications.