The quality of public services for businesses (to attract investment) is
assessed through the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) while the quality
of public services for citizens is shown through the Provincial Governance and
Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI). This index was made public for
the first time in Hanoi
on March 31.

High PCI, PAPI is
also high?

The central city of Da
Nang topped the PCI list for three consecutive years
and it ranks fourth for PAPI. HCM
City ranked 23^rd
for PCI in 2011, seven grades down from 2010 but it ranks first for the PAPI.

Kon Tum province in the central highlands, Lai Chau, Lang
Son and Yen Bai in the northern mountainous region have the lowest PAPI
indexes. Meanwhile, Yen Bai and Kon Tum have quite high PCI indexes and Lang
Son and Lai Chau have average PCI indexes.

Of 30 provinces and cites that have PAPI indexes, Dong Nai,
Hai Phong, Phu Tho and Hanoi have average levels. These provinces also don’t
have high PCI levels.

Though the gap of the positions of provinces and cities in
the PCI and PAPI lists is not so wide, it still shows the gap between the
quality of PCI and PAPI.

PAPI – not for
ranking

The goal of PAPI, according to the survey organizers, is not
to rank provinces but to help provinces to know how they serve their citizens
and their shortcomings to improve their public services.

Former Deputy Minister of Home Affair Thang Van Phuc, chief
consultant of PAPI project, said that this index is for the reference for
relevant agencies,.the satisfaction of citizens over quality of public services
is assessed through specific operations of public agencies and their awareness
and attitude towards administrative works.

Notably, of 30 surveyed provinces, none of them are perfect.
They have their own weakness and advantages and they can learn from each
others.

UNDP policy advisor Jairo Acuna-Alfaro said that even
provinces with high PAPI have specific aspects that citizens are not satisfied
with while provinces at the bottom of the PAPI list have good aspects that are
highly appreciated by citizens.

The survey results are posted on papi.vn.

Thuy Chung