Dropped in the standings, lost points.
On April 2, 2024, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced the Provincial Public Administration and Governance Performance Index (PAPI) for 2023.
Accordingly, Quang Nam only achieved 40.596 points, ranking 48th out of 61 provinces and cities (Binh Duong and Quang Ninh do not have this data). Compared to the 2022 PAPI index, this index decreased by 1.64 points, dropping 17 places, placing it in the group of 16 provinces and cities with low average scores.
According to the analysis, Quang Nam province saw an increase in scores for 3 out of 8 component indicators (citizen participation at the grassroots level (0.02 points), control of corruption in the public sector (0.05 points), and environmental governance (0.09 points)); and a decrease in scores for 5 out of 8 indicators (transparency and openness (0.63 points), accountability to the people (0.51 points), public administrative procedures (0.22 points), public service delivery (0.36 points), and e-governance (0.09 points).
In terms of scores, only the public service delivery index was in the group of indices with high average scores (7.6957 points). The indices for citizen participation at the grassroots level and environmental governance were in the group with low average scores (4.803 and 3.309 points, respectively).
The remaining five indicators (transparency (4.5627 points), accountability to the people (3.8587 points), control of corruption in the public sector (6.5458 points), public administrative procedures (6.901 points), and e-governance (2.9199 points) are in the lowest group of indicators.
PAPI data shows that, after 15 years of participating in the ranking of public administration and governance efficiency, Quang Nam's competitiveness map has consistently followed a sinusoidal curve, fluctuating irregularly.
Statistics from the past 8 years (2016 - 2023) show that the locality's PAPI ranking has consistently been low. It rose from 30th place in 2016 to 27th in 2017, only to fall back to 44th place in 2018.
Government directives such as including the implementation of tasks to improve the PAPI index in the annual administrative reform assessment and ranking of departments, agencies, and localities, or appropriately integrating the inspection of the implementation of this index improvement into the administrative reform inspection... have led to Quang Nam's continuous rise in rankings for two consecutive years (2019, it rose 22 ranks to 22nd place, and 2020, it rose 1 rank to 21st place).
Surprisingly, in 2021, Quang Nam's PAPI ranking dropped 14 places, placing it 35th out of 63 provinces and cities, then rose 4 places in 2022 (31st out of 63 provinces and cities), only to plummet again after the 2023 survey, falling 17 places to 48th.
Even the scores showed unusual fluctuations. The scores for the years (2018 - 2023) were recorded as follows: 43.14 points (down 1.09 points), 44.33 points (up 1.19 points), 43.28 points (down 1.05 points), 42.1 points (down 1.18 points), 42.24 points (up 0.14 points), and 40.596 points (down 1.64 points).
The plan to be among the top 20 provinces nationwide in the PAPI ranking since 2021, or to strive for a higher score in 2023 than in 2022, could not be achieved.
Recognizing the need for reform
According to Do Thanh Huyen, a public policy analyst at UNDP, PAPI serves as a mirror for localities to assess the effectiveness of their governance.
The government should not be overly concerned with rankings. Instead, it should focus on the year-on-year reforms implemented by public agencies, ensuring they correctly execute directives, resolutions, and consistent commitments regarding "the people know, the people discuss, the people supervise." It should seek innovative solutions to improve local governance and public administration.
However, the published results regarding Quang Nam's PAPI score and ranking place it among the provinces and cities with low scores, with very few component indicators having high average scores—these statistics speak for themselves.
This reflects the reality that reform efforts, under the supervision and measurement of citizens' experiences in governance, policy implementation, and public service delivery by the government and management agencies, still face many unresolved bottlenecks. Five key indicators in the lowest group show that citizens' suggestions and recommendations have not been adequately considered or addressed.
The decline in PAPI in 2023 was a real surprise. The Quang Nam Department of Internal Affairs actively advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue a plan to improve and enhance PAPI, developed a communication handbook for officials and civil servants, and organized 16 training courses (with 516 officials and civil servants attending).
Regular and unscheduled inspections should be conducted to monitor compliance with administrative discipline, workplace culture, and public service ethics at agencies and units. The quality of administrative procedures should be improved, and regulations that are inconsistent with the law should be abolished.
Electronic portals/websites are increasing the use of public services and online payments. Inspections and thorough resolution of complaints and denunciations are being carried out, and measures to prevent and combat corruption in the provision of public services are being strengthened. Communication and sharing of PAPI data are being expanded to reach citizens and local authorities...
This information reveals that there is no shortage of resolutions, decisions, plans, and projects, yet the more reforms are implemented, the more "regression" occurs. Why haven't reform efforts aimed at satisfying the people and building a transparent and efficient administration been able to yield results?
According to Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ho Quang Buu, the decline in PAPI was quite surprising, astonished, and concerning. The local administrative reform plan is currently being evaluated quite positively.
The overall score didn't drop much, but the ranking fell sharply. This shows that in this "race," localities are implementing reforms more strongly and faster.
The public service system, which serves the people with dynamism and creativity at all levels, has not yet been able to meet the needs or bring satisfaction to the people. PAPI relates to many issues.
The government and regulatory agencies will evaluate, analyze, and measure in detail, gaining a clearer understanding of the decline in scores, rankings, or increases and decreases in the component indicators of PAPI 2023 in order to propose more effective and practical reform solutions.
The government is open-minded and willing to accept feedback from everyone, promptly recognizing shortcomings and correcting mistakes to best serve the people and gain their satisfaction.
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