Hanoi would focus on improving the performance of grassroots-level agencies to lift the city’s ranking in the Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI), a policy monitoring tool assessing citizens’ satisfaction with local administrative services.

Locals are queuing up for making administrative procedures at Hoang Mai District, Hanoi. Photos: The Hanoi Times

Hanoi scored 43.90 out of 80 in the newly released 2022 PAPI of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam, placing it in 12th out of 63 provinces and cities, compared to the 9th in 2021. However, it is noteworthy that for the second year in a row, Hanoi maintained its position in the best-performing group or Group 1 (consisting of the top 15 provinces/cities), showing a significant improvement compared to the previous five years when it was in the underperforming group or Group 4.

In 2022, UNDP surveyed more than 1,080 people in 24 villages and residential groups in 12 communes, wards, and townships in six district-level administrative units in Hanoi, including Hoan Kiem, Dong Da, Cau Giay, Nam Tu Liem District, Phuc Tho District, and Son Tay Town.

The PAPI comprises eight dimensions and 28 sub-dimensions, spanning various industries and fields. In plan No.179/KH-UBND, departments, and sectors have been assigned to lead in advising, monitoring, and taking responsibility for the indicators and component contents and have actively implemented integrated programs, proposals, projects, or tasks aligned with annual and 5-year plans in their respective fields.

As of 2022, Hanoi has achieved 23 out of 32 targets, exceeding the ranking target set by Plan 179/KH-UBND. However, according to the City People's Committee, some content indicators and components did not meet the ranking criteria or were reduced.

A supervision team checks the citizens' recommendation box at Thuong Tin District, Hanoi.

The PAPI primarily focuses on issues related to people's daily lives at the grassroots level, which are the responsibility of commune-level people's committees. Therefore, the solutions recommended by departments and sectors to improve Hanoi's PAPI in the coming year should prioritize investment and attention at the grassroots level, with clear assignments to Party committees, district people's committee heads, and commune people's committees for implementation, while departments and sectors provide guidance, monitoring, and inspection.

A representative of the city's Department of Home Affairs pointed out that the Hanoi People's Committee has issued Plan No.179/KH-UBND dated August 4, 2021, which focuses on improving and raising Hanoi's PAPI scores from 2021 to 2025.

"This plan shows the city's firm commitment to improving the quality of services for citizens and businesses, and it has yielded positive results in the first two years of implementation [2021, 2022]," he said, noting that the results have surpassed the ranking target set for the end of the 2021-2025 term, which was to achieve the Group 3 (low-middle level) ranking at 23rd place.

This achievement confirms that the tasks and solutions outlined in the plan are in the right direction, he continued.