The streamlining revolution is not an easy task, but it is an inevitable step for Vietnam to improve its national governance capacity and meet the requirements of the times.
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| Dr. Nguyen Si Dung believes that streamlining the apparatus will not only solve internal problems but also create a driving force for sustainable development for the country in the future. (Photo: NVCC) |
In the context of an increasingly complex and volatile world, building a streamlined and efficient administrative apparatus is not only an urgent requirement but also a driving force for national development. For Vietnam, the revolution of streamlining the apparatus has been strongly initiated in recent years, but to be successful, we need to learn valuable lessons from countries around the world.
Lessons from around the world on streamlining the administrative apparatus are extremely important and useful, helping us shorten the path, avoiding the mistakes that other countries have had to pay the price to learn. New Zealand faced a cumbersome apparatus before moving to results management. Singapore built e-government from the ground up to overcome corruption. Japan had to adjust after decades of centralizing power.
These experiences are the "price" they paid in time, resources and failures. Applying these lessons, Vietnam not only saves reform time but also speeds up the construction of a more effective apparatus, better serving national development.
A cumbersome administrative apparatus not only consumes national resources but also slows down the decision-making process and makes it difficult to implement policies. The result is inefficiency, lack of transparency and loss of public trust in the government.
In Vietnam, the Party and State have clearly identified this problem and set out the requirement to reform the administrative apparatus, focusing on "reducing but strong, compact but effective". However, to realize this goal, Vietnam needs to learn from the experiences of previous countries.
First of all, there is the New Zealand experience: Management by results. New Zealand is famous for its results-oriented public sector management model, focusing on achieving goals rather than just following procedures.
This country has implemented: First, performance contracts between the government and agencies, requiring periodic reporting of results. Second, merging agencies with overlapping functions, significantly reducing the number of public organizations. Third, defining key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor activities.
New Zealand's lesson for Vietnam is that the administrative apparatus needs to be evaluated based on specific results, rather than just on the amount of work or completion time.
Second is Singapore's experience: Digitalization and high-quality human resources. Singapore is an ideal model of a small but effective government. This country has implemented: Digitalization of the entire administrative process, allowing citizens to perform public services through online platforms; recruiting personnel based on competence and high competitiveness, combined with an attractive salary and bonus regime; applying strong anti-corruption measures, such as financial transparency and strict control.
Singapore's lesson for Vietnam is: Vietnam needs to promote digitalization, automate administrative procedures and improve civil servant recruitment standards.
Third is Japan's experience: Decentralization to reduce the burden. Japan has been successful in strongly decentralizing to localities, reducing management pressure from the central government.
Specifically: Many administrative functions are transferred to the provincial and municipal levels, significantly reducing the number of central civil servants; Local governments are given greater autonomy in socio-economic development.
Japan's lesson for Vietnam is to give greater autonomy to provinces and districts, coupled with clear accountability, thereby reducing the burden on central agencies.
Fourth is the Swedish experience: Digitalization to reduce human resources. Sweden is one of the pioneering countries in the comprehensive digitalization of public services. Thanks to that, government agencies use a shared database, avoiding duplication of information. Many administrative tasks are automated, greatly reducing the need for human resources.
Sweden's lesson for Vietnam is that building a national database and sharing data among agencies will help save resources and speed up work processing.
Fifth is the German experience: Restructuring agencies. Germany focuses on restructuring administrative agencies to eliminate duplication and enhance coordination. Measures include: Merging agencies with similar functions; reviewing the functions and tasks of each agency, eliminating unnecessary tasks.
Germany's lesson for Vietnam is to review the entire system of agencies and boldly cut down inefficient or duplicate departments.
From world experience, to streamline the apparatus for Vietnam, we need to pursue the following strategies:
One is comprehensive digitalization. Invest heavily in information technology to build a modern e-government. Two is decentralization. Give greater power to localities, while applying transparent inspection and supervision mechanisms.
Third, focus on efficiency. Measure work performance based on results rather than volume. Fourth, train and screen personnel. Select and train competent staff, and apply attractive remuneration.
Fifth, strong political commitment. The Party and State need to demonstrate strong determination in leading the revolution to streamline the apparatus.
The revolution of streamlining the apparatus is not an easy task, but it is an inevitable step for Vietnam to improve its national governance capacity and meet the requirements of the times. Learning from advanced countries will help Vietnam build an effective, transparent and truly people-oriented administrative apparatus.
If implemented systematically and decisively, streamlining the apparatus will not only solve internal problems but also create a driving force for sustainable development for the country in the future.
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