Roundtable discussion with the experts
The national average score on the Provincial Open Budget Index (POBI) for 2021 shows a modest increase of only 0.44 points compared to the previous year, reaching a total of 69.53 points. Ba Ria-Vung Tau takes the lead, followed by Khanh Hoa and Lai Chau.
The survey reveals that provinces are still lacking sufficient conditions for citizen participation in the budget process as a whole.
In 2021, the POBI assessment includes the monitoring and accountability of provincial People's Councils for the first time. However, the results remain low on average. For instance, out of 48 provinces with question-and-answer directories on their portals, 7 are unusable, and 15 provinces do not have one at all.
The report suggests the following measures:
- Fix and publicize the publication of documents required by the 2015 Budget Law and the 2016 Law on Access to Information.
- Enhance the proactive reception and response to people's questions and concerns.
Ms. Nguyen Thu Huong, Senior Program Manager of Good Governance at Oxfam in Vietnam, believes that the POBI index will not only support the Finance and Budget Committee of the National Assembly and the Ministry of Finance in supervising and guiding provincial budget management but also aid People's Councils and People's Committees in improving their handling of provincial budgets.
The POBI survey, covering budget transparency, citizen participation, and accountability, has been conducted annually since 2017. It is independently carried out by two organizations, the Center for Development and Integration (CDI) and the Vietnam Center for Economic and Strategic Studies (VESS), with support from Oxfam in Vietnam.
