VietNamNet Bridge – “People need to hold the government responsible for the services it supplies. And they must have a chance to voice whether they are pleased with these services or not,” said the chief representative of the UK Department for International Development in Vietnam.

Fiona Lappin, chief representative of the UK Department for International Development in Vietnam.

The topic of the contest this year is “Raising responsibility and transparency, reducing corruption”.

What is the meaning of the responsibility of explanation and transparency for effective public services?

The responsibility of explanation is a two-way process. The people have needs that only government services can satisfy. On its side, the government has to provide these services most effectively. People need to hold the government responsible for the services it supplies. And they must have a chance to voice whether they are pleased with these services or not.

What tool do the people need to supervise public services and how do we improve the people’s dynamism in supervising public services?

Information plays an extremely important role in this process. The people should use questionnaires as a mechanism of feedback. Questionnaires should be used more widely and the results of surveys need to be made public periodically as a part of the wider information sharing process.

Occupational associations have a certain role in supervising state officials and their responsibility. I see very good examples in Vietnam, which are noted in the report “Forms of combination between state agencies and civil social organisations in Vietnam”, which is funded by international donors, including DFID.

One example is the Association for the Protection of Consumers and Measurement-Standards. This is Vietnam’s effort to bring to light wrongdoings in the power supply of state-owned enterprises. The power supplier installed low-quality metres which made the volume of electricity used by some households in HCM City increase.

Strengthening and officialising the role of civil social organisations in supervising the quality of public services will help Vietnam make great strides in improving the responsibility of explanation and transparency.

Related to supervision, in Vietnam, the National Assembly is the people’s highest-level representative body, but up to two-thirds of deputies assume two roles: people’s representative and executive official. They have the responsibility of explaining and are the ones who ask for explanations. What is your suggestion for these people so they can effectively carry out their dual responsibilities?

This is a difficult question. The community of international donors is content to see the more important role of the National Assembly in supervising the government’s decisions and activities. Increasing the role of the auditing agency in supervising and controlling the state budget is progress. Perhaps the long-run solution is NA deputies should work as NA deputies only to avoid unnecessary conflicts of interest.

Vietnam has exerted efforts to complete the legal institution, to build and amend many bills on economics and corruption fighting. What is your comment?

Vietnam has obtained remarkable achievements in perfecting its legal system. However, bills don’t only need to be approved, it is very important that they be implemented effectively.

The law combating corruption requires the harmonious combination of many government bodies in applying sound measures and non-governmental organisations, including the media, civil social organisations and the public in supervising the implementation and reporting on the outcomes.

There are always inherent interests hindering the effectiveness of implementation. The issue is how the government is able to most effectively mobilise its resources to surpass hindrances of the above interests and to create an intolerant attitude towards corruption in Vietnam.

Could you tell us the UK’s experience in initiating the responsibility of explanation and transparency in public services?

I would like to share with you three aspects from our experience in the UK. There is the significant role of the media, the contribution of lobbying organisations, which represent some groups of interests, and finally, the operation of inspectors.

The media has been playing a very important role in the UK. In the past, printing newspapers and the television were major channels through which the government and other public bodies had to take responsibility to the people and transparency was highlighted. Today, the electronic media assumes a positive role and blogs have become effective channels.

Lobbying organisations are working very effectively to lobby for normal interests in society, for example groups of disadvantaged people.

I’m glad to see the appearance of such organisations in Vietnam, for example the “For the Bright Tomorrow” of HIV/AIDS patients.

The last example of mine is the organisation of inspectors. In the UK, we have technical staff appointed by the government to supervise the operations of health stations. We also have inspectors in other fields, including those for the private sector.

To deal with people’s complaints about long waits in emergency wards, the UK government set norms for hospitals. Reports showed that these norms were achieved and the examination process was shortened remarkably. Nevertheless, when a civil organisation joined, they discovered that patients were immediately examined but they were then moved to the waiting room for treatment.

The total time for being treated was not shortened at all. This civil organisation was invited to supervise hospitals’ activities to provide the government with updated information about the waiting time of patients through unannounced checks at hospitals.

Xuan Linh