Vietnam's Digital Administration Reforms Enhance Citizen Services

Vietnam's administrative procedures are undergoing significant digital transformation, enhancing citizen services. A recent personal experience highlights how citizens, even when living far from their hometowns, can now complete necessary applications like national ID cards and passports online. The author, residing in Ho Chi Minh City, successfully applied for his 8-year-old son's ID card and passport by communicating with a police officer in his rural hometown of Nông Sơn, Quảng Nam province, via social media. Previously, such a process would have required multiple trips between different locations. This time, the entire procedure, including submitting information, supplementary documents, and addressing queries, was managed through online interactions. This development aligns with the government''s recent Resolution 22, which aims to simplify, decentralize, and streamline administrative procedures and business conditions under the Ministry of Public Security's purview. Many procedures related to ID cards, electronic identification, seals, public order, traffic safety, and cybersecurity are being reduced, delegated, or abolished. However, the author emphasizes that true administrative reform is measured not just by the number of procedures eliminated, but by whether citizens' burdens are genuinely reduced. A procedure labeled 'online' is ineffective if citizens still need to print documents, make repeated visits, receive no answers to their questions, or lack support for system errors. In contrast, a local official who can utilize a smartphone to guide citizens, access system data, track applications, and explain issues represents real progress. This shift transforms 'digital government' from a concept discussed in conferences to a tangible dialogue between citizens and officials. In the current two-tiered administrative model, commune-level offices are becoming the primary and most crucial point of contact for citizens with the state apparatus. The public's perception of the government is shaped by the attitude, skills, and responsibility of these local officials. Digital transformation, therefore, hinges on people who can operate systems, explain processes, and patiently assist citizens, not just on software. While digitalization enhances transparency by allowing citizens to track their application status, it is the human element that fosters trust. The author's interactions provided clarity on necessary steps, reasons for delays, and timelines for resubmission. An ideal administration ensures citizens' data is processed correctly, provides guidance for corrections when errors occur, and demonstrates officials working alongside citizens to resolve issues, rather than being positioned across a counter. The author acknowledges that a single positive experience does not signify universal improvement. Challenges remain for citizens unfamiliar with digital applications, the elderly who are not tech-savvy, those in remote areas with poor connectivity, and local officials burdened with multiple new tasks. Digital transformation must not leave these groups behind. Therefore, alongside procedural simplification, enhancing local support capacity is crucial. Each commune and ward needs officials with adequate digital skills, processing authority, and patience to guide the public. Hotlines, online support groups, and public service guidance centers must operate effectively, not merely for show. Furthermore, the accuracy, completeness, cleanliness, and currency of citizen data are paramount. A minor error in an identification number delayed the author's family for nearly two months. For businesses, patients, aid recipients, or those with urgent applications, such discrepancies can lead to far greater losses. Clean data forms the foundation of modern administration. Administrative reform should be measured by the reduction in citizens' travel effort, not just the number of applications created. The ultimate outcome, not just the number of apps, is what truly matters. From this experience, the author concludes that when data is accurate, systems are smooth, and officials are accessible, administrative procedures cease to be a source of anxiety and can become a civilized, even warm, experience. The 'chat' with the local officer provided not just guidance, but confidence in the ongoing effort to build a service-oriented administration, starting with small, local actions. Source: VnExpress