Why did Hai Phong decide to choose the year 2006 to focus on administration reform while the Government called for reform to be accelerated nationwide in 2007?

To implement the Politburo's Resolution 32 to develop Hai Phong in the context of the country's industrialisation process, the city has defined the building of human resources and administration reform as our main focus.

Hai Phong City has chosen 2006 to focus on administration reform with a view to making concrete changes for the future, create an attractive environment for investment and enhance the trust of the people and the business community about our systems.

Have you seen many positive changes after the last year's effort?

There have been many positive changes. So far, all 218 communes, wards and towns, 14 districts and 17 of 24 departments in the city have implemented the one-door policy.

Some 11 offices have applied the system management standard IS09001:2000, which ensures the transparency of administration procedures, fees and processing times.

The year 2006's implementation has raised the awareness of people at all levels in Hai Phong and created favourable conditions for people to work directly with authorities.

Does this mean problems in administration services have been rectified?

There have not been any reports on problems so far. The responsibility and the working attitude of administration staff have improved notably. The negatives have really decreased while many good examples of our work have come to light.

Hai Phong was one of the first localities to implement the inter-sectoral one-door policy for enterprises. Can you share some of your experiences with this?

The one-door policy will allow businesses to go to one location to establish a business or obtain a licence, instead of having to go through great amounts of red tape.

The procedures have been simplified and shortened. This means reduced costs and time for the enterprises.

The processing time for business registration, tax code issuing or licenses or chops will now just take five days. This helps a three-step process which will now take between 13 to 15 days down from the 30 days stated by law.

Could you explain the one-door policy?

This policy means that everything can be solved at one office so that people and enterprises don't have to knock on different doors.

At the moment, more than 90% of files submitted for approval of enterprises' export-import plans get a licence within a day, the remainder receive their licence in one or two days, [while the time in the regulations is 15 days]. Some 70% of projects also get investment licences within a day.

At Hai Phong Port, goods can now be unloaded just five to 10 minutes after a ship docks at port. They don't have to wait for lots of troublesome procedures. Registering for fishing activities now only takes a week.

After a very short time, the one-door policy has gained the praise of the public and related organisations. After three years, a survey from the city's centre for social sciences and humanities showed that 65.3% of feedback praised the policy, saying that it had been effective and convenient, it had reduced problems and enhanced the capacity of civil servants.

Hai Phong City still looks at 2007 as the year to do even more in this area. What will be major breakthroughs for the city in 2007?

In the context of Vietnam joining the World Trade Organisation, Hai Phong is required to be ready for new development opportunities and be active in overcoming challenges.

Based on last year's experiences, the city will focus on building a healthy and modern administration system. We will strive to reach our target of modernisation from three to five years prior to 2020.

Source: Viet Nam News