Quang Ninh continues to break through on PAPI rankings

On April 15, 2025, at the announcement ceremony of the Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) 2024, Quang Ninh once again affirmed its leading position in the country when it achieved the top position with a total score of 47.82. This is the third year Quang Ninh has achieved this achievement after 2020 and 2022. This result is not only a testament to the effectiveness of management and governance capacity, but also demonstrates the deep consensus between the government and the people, where people's satisfaction is the highest measure of the quality of governance and public administration of the province.

Quang Ninh province leads the PAPI index in 2024.

PAPI is an index built on the feedback of nearly 19,000 people from 63 provinces and cities nationwide, reflecting the actual experience of the effectiveness of the government in governance, service provision and policy implementation. In 2024, Quang Ninh led the country with an average score of 47.82/80 points, far exceeding the national average of 41.43 points. Notably, Quang Ninh has 7/8 content axes in the highest scoring group nationwide, including: People's participation at the grassroots level (5.43 points), publicity and transparency (6.52 points), accountability to the people (5.09 points), control of corruption in the public sector (7.36 points), public administrative procedures (7.66 points), public service provision (8.42 points, the highest in the country) and e-governance (4.08 points).

One of the important factors contributing to this success is the consistency in the province's motto: "Taking people as the center, as the subject, as the object of service". This governance philosophy does not stop at slogans but is realized through a series of specific policies and models, implemented synchronously and continuously at all levels of government.

People in the mountainous areas of Tien Yen district are proficient in using mobile devices with Internet connection to make cashless payments using QR codes when shopping at Ha Lau market. *Photo: Ngoc Tram*

First of all, Quang Ninh is a pioneer in implementing grassroots democracy and promoting the role of people in monitoring and criticizing policies. With 5.43 points on the axis of "Participation of people at the grassroots level", the province is highly appreciated for organizing regular meetings with voters, collecting people's opinions on development plans, land use planning, and new rural construction. Many localities such as Uong Bi, Mong Cai, and Quang Yen have implemented the model of "People's Forum for giving opinions on Party building and government building", "Great Unity Festival" associated with listening, dialogue and public explanation. People not only know and discuss but also reflect, monitor and participate in the implementation of development programs in their localities.

The pillar of “Publicity and Transparency” achieved 6.52 points, among the highest in the country. This is the result of the persistent process of building a multi-channel information disclosure system from posting at the headquarters of the People's Committees of communes and wards, to the Provincial Electronic Information Portal platform and official media channels. Contents such as budget estimates and settlements, land use planning, lists of poor households, and socio-economic development plans are periodically disclosed and highly updated.

Typically, in Ha Long City, immediately after the Prime Minister approved the city's Master Plan to 2040, the government held a conference to announce the plan to all communes and wards in a direct and online format, and at the same time fully publicized the documents on the electronic information system. This approach not only makes the decision-making process transparent but also encourages people to proactively learn, contribute ideas, and criticize.

Staff of the Ha Long City Public Administration Service Center Branch guide people to use VNeID accounts to perform online public services.

Quang Ninh's "Accountability to the People" index reached 5.09 points - one of the highest in the country. The survey showed that 71% of people felt it was easy to meet with the village chief or head of the residential group when problems arose; 64% could contact the commune-level People's Committee officials; 55% trusted the ability of the local government to resolve disputes. These figures not only reflect the quality of officials but also clearly demonstrate the administrative culture of being close to and respecting the people that Quang Ninh has worked hard to build. Regular meetings with people are held seriously, in which the heads of the Party Committee and government directly listen and commit to thoroughly resolving the issues reflected.

In the field of administrative reform - one of the three strategic breakthroughs, Quang Ninh continues to lead with a score of 7.66 points in the "Public administrative procedures" axis. Quang Ninh is the first locality in the country to establish a provincial-level Public Administration Service Center, and at the same time deploy this model to all districts, towns and cities. Digitization, process simplification, and data interconnection between sectors and fields have helped to significantly reduce the time and cost of administrative procedures. By 2024, 94% of records were resolved on time or earlier, 92% of people rated the staff as enthusiastic, providing complete and professional guidance. Many new models and good practices of Quang Ninh in the task of receiving and resolving administrative procedures to serve the people have become typical highlights, learned by many other localities.

The standing departments of the Industry and Trade and Agriculture and Environment sectors are on duty at the Provincial Public Administration Service Center to receive and process administrative procedures for citizens on the province's online public service portal system.

The most prominent is the "Public Service Provision" axis - the field in which Quang Ninh ranks first in the country with 8.42 points. The province not only invests in infrastructure and equipment but also focuses on improving the quality of staff, standardizing processes and strengthening independent supervision. In the field of education, 90% of people are satisfied with public primary schools, most students study in solid classrooms with full equipment. The province has issued a policy to support 100% of tuition fees for preschool and primary school students in both public and private schools, and at the same time implemented a subsidy mechanism for children of workers in industrial parks - a rare humane policy in the country.

In the health sector, 88% of people rated the quality of district hospitals positively. The province currently has 14.85 doctors, 2.6 pharmacists and 55 hospital beds per 10,000 people, much higher than many large provinces and cities. 100% of commune health stations meet national standards; 80% of upper-level technicians are mastered at the district level; the referral rate is only 0.85%. This is the result of a series of synchronous investment programs in health infrastructure, human resource training and incentive mechanisms for young doctors to work in disadvantaged areas.

In addition, the quality of public services has also improved significantly. According to the PAPI Index 2024, 76% of people rated the residential road system as good; 81% were satisfied with the waste collection service. This is the result of social mobilization, decentralized management and transparent supervision in service provision.

Staff of the Reception and Results Department of Thong Nhat Commune (Ha Long City) enthusiastically serve people in resolving administrative procedures.

Quang Ninh's "Control of corruption in the public sector" index reached 7.36 points - ranked among the highest in the country. The rate of people having to "pay bribes" when doing land procedures was only 8%, much lower than the national average of 17%. The number of people who said they needed "personal connections" to get a job in the public sector was only 39% (the national average is 48%). These figures reflect the province's political determination in building an "integrity and action" apparatus, where all negative behaviors are detected and strictly handled. Quang Ninh has made public the entire process of recruiting civil servants and public employees, and included performance evaluation in the criteria for emulation, rewards and appointment of officials.

The “E-Governance” axis achieved 4.08 points - higher than the national average (3.51 points), affirming the effectiveness of the comprehensive digital transformation that the province has implemented. The rate of people using the province's online public service portal is up to 41%, showing the friendliness, efficiency and accessibility of the digital platform. The province has integrated population, resource, investment and labor data into a centralized management system, allowing for quick processing and interconnection of many types of procedures.

However, the “Environmental Management” axis still needs improvement with only 3.26 points, in the high average group. Although the province has many policies on waste treatment, environmental monitoring and improving the quality of domestic water, the rate of people satisfied with clean water is only 66% and 59% do not have to wear masks regularly to prevent air pollution. This is an important reminder for the province to strengthen inspection and handling of environmental violations, especially in industrial parks, coastal urban areas and mineral exploitation areas.

The inspection team of the Department of Home Affairs inspected the professional activities and the spirit and attitude of serving the people of the staff at the Quang Yen Town Public Administration Service Center Branch.

Based on the results of PAPI 2024, Quang Ninh has identified key groups of solutions for the next phase. The first is to promote administrative reform, especially substantive decentralization coupled with accountability. The second is to continue digitizing public services, ensuring easy access for people in all regions. The third is to strengthen the monitoring and feedback mechanism from the people, building a truly serving administration. The fourth is to focus on training a team of officials and civil servants in a professional, ethical and close-to-the-people direction. The PAPI index is an objective tool, truly reflecting the voice and expectations of the people towards the government.

Quang Ninh’s continuous maintenance of its leading position is not only the result of drastic, creative and consistent actions, but also a clear demonstration of the consensus between the Party, the government and the people. This will be an important foundation for the province to continue its journey of building a creative and serving government, aiming to become a model, modern, civilized and most livable province in the country.

Song Ha

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