Openness and transparency of state budget in Vietnam today

In o de to efo m fiscal policy and the behaviou of gove nment agencies, Vietnam has enacted the State Budget La (20 5), moving close to inte national p actices on t anspa ency and fiscal[r]

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OPENNESS AND TRANSPAREN Y OF STATE B DGET N VETNAM TODAY

Dr o uo 1-LLA f uye Qua T uo

I troduct o

Like othe count ies, Vietnam needs gove nance that is t anspa ent and that enables pa ticipation by citizens To achieve those goals, the state needs to st engthen its institutions and change la s to ensu e fiscal t anspa ency hilst o king out mechanisms that enable citizens to kno about and pa ticipate in budgeting p ocesses In Vietnam, su veys on open Budget Index (OBI) (2008)> P ovincial Open Budget Index (POBĨ) (20 7) and the Minist y open Budget Index (MOBI) (20 8) have sho n that assessment tools a e needed to p omote budget t anspa ency as a ay to c eate competition fo funding and to mo e effectively manage public esou ces Any agency using esou ces f om the state budget must ensu e t anspa ency and accountability in expenditu es In addition, a mechanism that allo s citizens to kno about and pa ticipate in the budgeting p ocess is essential to ensu e the best use of gove nment funds

This pape int oduces some concepts and p inciples of budget t anspa ency in elation to gove nance The pape then summa ises the esults of applying tools designed to p omote and measu e budget t anspa ency in Vietnam, including OBI, POBI and MOBI Related changes in institutions, la s and the oles of functional agencies in ensu ing budget t anspa ency a e documented It sho s the changes to a ds good gove nance goals in Vietnam

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Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

Budget tra spare cy a d gover a ce

ransparency is a fundamental cha acte istic of good gove nance It can be defined as a ay of making and implementing decisions in compliance ith la s and egulations It also means that info mation about the p ocesses of p omulgating and implementing decisions must be made public, pa ticula ly to the beneficia ies of (o affected people f om) decisions T anspa ency also equi es that info mation be fully disclosed and be delive ed in easy-to-unde stand fo mats, including in the media so that people can di ectly access it

T anspa ency has a close elationship ith the ule of la and accountability State- un agencies a e accountable to those ho a e affected by thei decisions o actions Accountability cannot be ensu ed ithout espect fo and implementation of the ule of la and t anspa ency

The focal point ofthe elationship bet een citizens and state is seen in decisions on ho public esou ces a e mobilised and spent The budget is he e the most impo tant questions about the ole of the state a e implicitly aised and ans e ed Inc easing o dec easingbudget spenđingmaydi ectlyo indi ectìyaffectthelivesofpeople,pa ticula ly disadvantaged g oups such as omen, the poo , child en and ethnic mino ities

tate budgets eflect the state's p io ities in its policies and p og ams The state budget is the most po e ful economic tool fo the state to meet the needs of the people, pa ticula ly the poo and the disadvantaged T anspa ency in the budget cycle ill p ovide oppo tunities fo people to pa ticipate in the policy-making p ocess and esou ce allocation

Budget transparency is defined as the full disclosu e of all elevant fiscal info mation in a timely and systematic manne If the state budget is not made public and t anspa ent, budget info mation is difficult to access, available data may not be eliable and cannot be used to monito and assess the ta geting and effectiveness of expenditu es When people have access to info mation on the state budget and a e p ovided ith skills and the oppo tunity to pa ticipate in the budgeting p ocess by the state, they ill heip to imp ove the quality ofpublic se vices and gove nance efficiency Budget t anspa ency is a tool that empo e s people to influence policies, p og ams and esou ce allocation Budget t anspa ency equi es the state to be p oactive in its

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budgeting p ocess and to p ovide budget documents The info mation mentioned in budget documents should be p esented in a simple, easy to unde stand manne fo the people Budget info mation also needs to be p ovided in a timely manne so that people can effectively pa ticipate in the budget cycle

eople participation in the budget p ocess b ings about many benefits and is impo tant fo the efficiency of state gove nance Resea ches have sho n that hen people have access to info mation on the state budget and a e p ovided ith skills and the oppo tunity to pa ticipate in budgeting ith the state and local autho ities, this has esulted in significant imp ovements on the p ovision of public se vices and gove nment efficiency2 Citizen pa ticipation is closely linked to budget t anspa ency and accountability

The influence of budget t anspa ency on state gove nance is evident in fou espects

First, budget t anspa ency helps to educe co uption and esults in mo e efficient use of public esou ces3 If the state budget is fully and p omptly disclosed to the people, they ill be bette able to monito budgeting and spending p ocesses National, p ovincial and local gove nments in Vietnam ill be less likely to manipulate budgets fo political and c iminal ends and ill give employees fe e oppo tunities to commit co upt acts A budget lays out a gove nments p io ities in te ms of policies and p og ams Ho eve , even hen a budget is allocated to specific p og ams, including those ta geting disadvantaged and vulne able g oups, poo management, misallocation and co uption can esult in beneficia ies not being eached as expected

econd, budget t anspa ency is a tool to inc ease citizen t ust in gove nment In many places in the o ld, people's pe ceptions and attitudes to a ds gove nment a e often negative In the eyes of the people, the gove nment is often associated ith co uption, poo public se vice quality, inadequate inf ast uctu e and asteful use of public esou ces Ifbudget allocations fo policies and p og ams a e made public, policy implementation ill be imp oved, the eby inc easing people’s t ust in gove nment

Inte national Budget Pa tne ship (20 2), The Po e of Making Simple: A Good Gove nment Guild to Developing citizen budget See mo e: https:// inte nationalbudget o g/publications/the-po e -of-making-it-simple-a-gove nment-guild-to-deveỉoping-citizens-budgets/

2Bellantoni, A , 20 Citizens’ Pa ticipation in Public Policy-Making Pa is: OECD Tại https://site esou ces o idbank o g/EXTSOCIALDEVELOPMENT/Resou ces/244362- 504055/4348035- 3527366 8664/ BT_What_ Why_Ho pdf

3 Wo ldbank, Budget t anspa ency: What, Why and Ho ? See mo e: https://site esou ces o ldbank o g/ EXTSOQALDEVELOPMENT/Resoii ces/244362- 504055/4348035- 3527366 8664/BT_What_Why_Ho pdf

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Openness> ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance

hird, budget t anspa ency is a tool to gene ate highe evenue fo state budgets When budgets a e t anspa ent, pa ticula ly in the allocation of funds, citizens ill be enabled to monito ho thei taxes a e being used The efo e, they ill be mo e likely to pay mo e taxes so that the gove nment can pe fo m its functions if they t ust that thei money ill be ell spent

Fourth, openness and t anspa ency in state budget also cont ibute to the sustainable development goal (SDG) No 6: Access to Info mation, T anspa ency, Pa ticipation and Accountability

2 Regulations on budget t anspa ency in Vietnam

The Gove nment of Vietnam has set a goal to p omote t anspa ency and accountability, namely: (i) By 2020, complete basically the task of building the Vietnamese legal system in a synch onized, unifo m, and feasible manne ; embodying openness, t anspa ency, stability, accessibility, ith lo compliance costs; and based on a set ofpolicy systems that have been planned in each secto that a e consistent ith socio-economic development goals, (ii) Institutionalize the p inciples of assignment, coo dination and cont ol of state po e ; p event and combat co uption; st engthen the effectiveness of gove nance; enhance openness, t anspa ency, accountability in the o ganization and ope ation of state agencies, institutions in the political system,

Vietnam has oined the United Nations Convention Against Co uption (ƯNCAC) This sho s that Vietnam has a st ong commitment in this a ea That commitment is clea ly eflected in evisions ofthe Anti-co uption La 2005 (amended and supplemented in 2007,20 2) and 20 La on Anti-Co uption

Vietnam has committed to the implementation of sustainable development goals (VSDG 6) focusing on peace, fai ness and equality, including combating co uption and ensu ing t anspa ency and efficiency

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Budget 2015 p omoted mo e t anspa ent mechanisms in national and local finance In addition, Vietnam has also enhanced the efficiency of public debt management ith the adoption of Law on ublic Debt Management, 2017

In o de to efo m fiscal policy and the behaviou of gove nment agencies, Vietnam has enacted the State Budget La (20 5), moving close to inte national p actices on t anspa ency and fiscal quality, including disclosu e equi ements on state budget documents in budgeting p ocesses and medium-te m fiscal f ame o k plans2 Hie ove -a ching legal f ame o k fo the disclosu e of state budget info mation is the La on State Budget (20 5) Clause , A ticle 5, La on State Budget (20 5) details info mation that must be disclosed, and the content, fo m and timing ofbudget publication Documents that must be made public include: (i) Executive budget p oposal submitted to the National Assembly and People’s Councils; (ii) Enacted budget decided by the competent autho ities; (lii) Repo t on the implementation of the state budget; (iv) Final statement of the state budget app oved by the National Assembly and People's Councils

Content ofopenness: (i) Figu es and notes ofExecutive Budget P oposal submitted to National Assembly and People’s Councils, (ii) Enacted budget decided by competent autho ities, (lii) situation of implementation of state budget and settlement of state budget; (iv) esults of implementing State Audit p oposals; except fo detailed figu es and notes in the fields of defence, secu ity and national ese ve Clause 3, A ticle also states that the content of openness must meet the c ite ia and fo ms p esc ibed by the Minist y of Finance

Form of openness: Hie disclosu e of the state budget must take seve al fo ms: announcement at a public meeting; posting in offices of agencies, o ganizations and units; p inted mate ial; notifications to elevant agencies, o ganizations, units and individuals; posting on ebsites; notices in the mass media

ime ofpublication: The Enacted Budget epo t must be publicized ithin five (5) o king days f om the date the Gove nment submits to the National Assembly deputies and People’s Committees and People’s Council deputies The Budget estimation epo t al eady decided by competent autho ities, state budget statement

State Budget La 20 (A ticle 5) and Ci cula No 343/20 6/TT-BTC

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epo ts al eady app oved by competent autho ities, esults of state budget audit, esults of the implementation of ecommendations ofthe State Audit Office of Vietnam must be made public no late than 30 days afte the date it is issued In-yea epo ts, including qua te ly, and mid-yea epo ts, must be made public ithin days of the end of qua te s and mid-yea The annual state budget implementation epo t is publicized hen the Gove nment submits to the National Assembly at the next mid-yea meeting

3 Level of ope a d Tra spare t Budget V et am

In o de to measu e the level of openness and t anspa ency ofthe state budgets in Vietnam, some of tools have been deployed th ough su veys, such as: (i) open Budget Index (OBI); (ii) Minist y Open Budget Index (MOBĨ); and (iii) P ovincial open Budget Index (POBI) OBS, MOBS and POBS su veys aimed to assess the availability, completeness and timeliness of budget documents made available on ebsites of National and P ovincial Gove nments, Minist ies and othe gove nment agencies Minist ies and cent al autho ities can efe ence and measu e the level of openness and t anspa ency in state budget management and the implementation of the 20 State Budget La Use of these tools can help in inc easing the confidence of the people and stakeholde g oups in budget management and implementation

In gene al, OBS, MOBS and POBS su veys sho that Vietnam has still little o no full disclosu e of state budget info mation in acco dance ith the p ovisions of Vietnamese La and inte national p actices The OBI 20 index of Viet Nam as 5/ 00 points, the ave age POBI 20 index of 63 p ovinces and cities as 50 / 00 points and the ave age MOBI 20 index of minist ies and cent al agencies as / 00 points Details of level disclosu e and t anspa ency of Vietnam’s budget ith each specific index belo :

3'L Ope Bud et I dex (OBI)

The Open Budget Su vey (OBS) is an initiative to p omote budget disclosu e, coo dinated by the Inte national Budget Pa tne ship (IBP) and ith independent civil society o ganizations in mo e than 00 count ies a ound the o ld In Vietnam, the

Inte national Budget Pa tne ship, Open Budget Su vey: http:// inte nationalbudget o g/open-budget-su vey/methodology/

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Cente fo Development and Integ ation (CDI) has been an IBP pa tne fo OBS since 2006 This is the only study in the o ld to evaluate and compa e budget t anspa ency, public pa ticipation in budget management and monito ing at the count y level

The 20 OBS su vey also sho ed that Vietnam has yet to fully, and in a timely manne , disclose budget documents in alignment ith inte national best p actices (IBP, 20 0) Of the eight (8) budget documents that must be disclosed acco ding to ORS2>Vietnam has published only fou (4) budget documents, including: p e-budget statement, enacted budget, in yea epo t and end yea epo t Othe budget documents a e not public o fo inte nal use only

Vietnam has made significant effo ts to imp ove the level of openness and t anspa ency of the state budget by enacting La on State Budget 2002 and 20 but these have been insufficient to imp ove Vietnam's OBI agg egate sco e Vietnam’s OBI inc eased ove the pe iod 2006-20 2, but slightly dec eased in 20 5-20

3 Ope ess a d tra spare cy of m stry a d ce tral a e cy bud ets

CDI and the Institute fo Economic Policy and Resea ch (VEPR) conducted the Minist y Open Budget Index su vey (MOBI)3 The su vey sho ed that 37 minist ies and cent al agencies disclosed less than equi ed budget info mation The e a e out of 37 minist ies and cent al agencies had MOBI sco es in 20 8, accounting fo 45 5%, including minist ies and cent al agencies disclosed at least one of the six (6) documents equi ed to be publicly available on thei ebsites The e a e agencies only sco e on accessibility (ho eve , it is noted that these agencies c eated a folde fo documents on the ebsite but the folde is empty) The e a e 20 minist ies and cent al agencies disclosed no budget info mation4

Inte national Budget Pa tne ship, op en Budget su vey (20 7) Read mo e at https:// inte nationalbudget o g/open-budget-su vey/ esults-by-count y/count y-info/?count y=vn

2 Inte national Budget Pa ne ship, Guild to T anspa ency in Gove nment Budget Repo t: Why A e Budget Repo ts Impo tant, And What Should They Include? Read mo e: https:// inte nationalbudget o g/ publication/guiid-to-t anspa ency-in-gove nment-budget- epo t- hy-a e-budget- epo ts-impo

tant-and-hat-should-they-include/

3CDI (20 ), Minist y Open Budget Index epo t 20 (MOBI20 8) Minist y Open Budget index Su vey 20 (MOBĨS 20 8) is the fi st independent su vey in Vietnam assessing the level ofbudget disclosu e of37 minist ies and cent al agencies, of hich minist ies and cent al agencies a e estimate units and cent al agencies and o ganizations suppo ted by the state budget The 20 MOBI su vey assesses the level of budget disclosu e based on the availability, timeliness, completeness and accessibility of 6types of budget documents that must be disclosed unde the 20 State Budget La and Ci cula No /20 7/TT-BTC

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Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance

The MOBI20 su vey as based on the fou (4) c ite ia ofavailability, timeliness, completeness and accessibility The main esults a e p esented belo

Accessibility of budget documents The esult of MOBI 20 su vey found that: only of agencies and o ganizations made public at least one of thei budget documents (accounting fo 32,43%); 25 minist ies and agencies had not published any budget documents at the time of the su vey (accounting fo 67,57%) Enacted Budget 20 as the most commonly published document - of the 37 agencies evealed this (accounting fo 27%) Ranked second as the 20 End yea epo t on budget implementation ith six (6) of the 37 minist ies/agencies publishing (accounting fo

6,2%) Only the Minist y of Finance disclosed a -month implementation epo t as ell as End yea epo t 20

Table Numbe / pe centage of Minist ies and cent al agencies that publish thei budget documents

Type of document pe centageNumbe / I Estimated evenue - expenditu e of the unit budget in 20 (27%) II Repo t on implementation ofbudget fo the st qua te of 20 (0%) III Repo t on implementation ofbudget fo the fi st months of 20 (0%) IV Repo t on implementation ofbudget fo the fi st months of20 (2 7%) V Repo t on implementation ofbudget fo the hole yea 20 (2 7%) VI Final settlement of state budget evenues and expenditu es in 20 ( 2%)

imeliness o f budget documents MOBI 20 found that minist ies and cent al agencies had gene ally not disclosed budget documents on time as p esc ibed Out of the units that published Budget Estimates 20 , only one ( ) published on time, as p esc ibed, ithin days of Decembe , 20 Rega ding the 20 budget finalization document, out of units evealed info mation in due time as p esc ibed The emaining documents, including implementation epo ts at 3-months, 6-months,

-months and yea -end e e eithe not published at all o e e published late than deadlines

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Openness> ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance

Compre e s ve ess o ft e bud et docume ts Othe public documents disclosed by minist ies and cent al agencies su veyed a e often lack ofexplanato y epo ts hich a e disclosed documents o incomplete tables to be disclosed, hile explanato y epo t of budget documents is an impo tant document to explain to the people about the budget p ocess and implementation in each o ganization

33 Prov c al ope Bud et I dex (POBI)

Simila ly to MOBI20 8, the P ovincial open Budget Index (POBI) as the fi st independent su vey in Vietnam to evaluate the level of budget t anspa ency ac oss 63 p ovinces and cities The POBI su vey as conducted by GDI and the Institute fo Economic and Policy Resea ch (VEPR) The POBI Su vey 20 assessed the level of budget t anspa ency based on the availability, timeliness, completeness and accessibility of nine ( ) budget documents, including seven (7) “must be disclosed” budget documents unde the La on State Budget, 20 5, and t o (2) “need to be disclosed” budget documents unde good inte national p actice

The esults of POBI 20 sho ed an ave age index of p ovincial budget t anspa ency of 50 / 00 points, significantly highe than the POBI 20 ave age of 30 points It sho s that the level of publicity in the 63 p ovinces / cities in 20 has imp oved compa ed to 20 In 20 8, six (6) p ovinces disclosed budget info mation SUFFICIENT manne and none of the p ovinces sco ed In cont ast, in POBI 20 7, fou (4) p ovinces sco ed and none of the p ovinces sufficiently announced info mation on thei budgets (Table 2)

Table POBI k gs (per od 20 7-20 8) ea SUFFICIENT

75" 00 sco es

RELATIVEL SUFFICIENT

50 - unde 75 sco es

INADEQUATE 25- unde 50

sco es

SCANT - unde 24

sco es

20 6/63 p ovinces 27/63 p ovinces /63 p ovinces /63 p ovinces 20 0/63 p ovinces 2/63 p ovinces 26/63 p ovinces 25/63 p ovinces

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Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance T mel ess of bud et docume ts

Vietnam’s p ovinces/cities have gene ally yet to publicized thei budget documents on time in acco dance ith p ovisions of the La of State Budget (20 5) P ovincial Budget P oposal 20 , app oved by the People’s Council, and P ovincial Budget Final Settlement 20 e e the timeliest published documents, at % and 2% (Table 3)

The equi ement fo the timeliness of budget documents published in 20 sa imp ovements f om 20 Ho eve , p ovinces did not disclose these documents in the time f ames mandated in the La on State Budget 20 (Table 3)

Table 3: Numbers a d perce tatges of prov ces d sclos g budget docume ts due t me (F scal Year 20 7-20 8)

Documents POBI20 POBI20

D aft of the P ovincial Budget P oposal submitted to the

P ovincial Peoples Council ( 3%) (46%)

P ovincial Budget P oposal app oved by People’s Council 35 (55 6%) (6 %)

P ovincial Budget Implementation Repo t - Qua te N/A (30 2%) P ovincial Budget Implementation Repo t - Qua te N/A 27 (42 %) P ovincial Budget Implementation Repo t - Qua te ( 5%) 23 (36 5%) ea End P ovincial Budget Implementation Repo t (33 3%) (23 8%) P ovincial Budget Final Settlement 30 (47 6%) (4 2%)

Citizen Budget N/A N/A

Public Investment Plan N/A N/A

ource: OBI Report 2018 Complete ess of bud et docume ts

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Table 4: Number a d perce tage of prov ces publ s g all forms of t e budget docume ts (F scal Year 20 7-20 8)

Documents POBI20 POBI20

D aft of the P ovincial Budget P oposal ith disclosu e ith all fo ms

2 (3 2%) 0( %)

P ovincial Budget P oposal app oved by People’s Council ith disclosu e all fo ms

0( %) (25 4%)

P ovincial Budget Implementation Repo t - Q ith disclosu e all fo ms

N/A 37 (58 7%)

P ovincial Budget Implementation Repo t -Q2 ith disclosu e all fo ms

N/A (65 %)

P ovincial Budget Implementation Repo t - Q3 ith disclosu e ofall fo ms

22 (34 %) (65 %)

ea End P ovincial Budget Implementation Repo t ith disclou e of ail fo ms

( 5%) 25 (3 7%)

P ovincial Budget Final Settlement ith disclosu e of all fo ms

N/A 38 (60 3%)

ource: OBI Report 2017, 2018

Availability o f budget documents

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Table 5: Numbe and pe centage of p ovinces that published budget documents ill 20 7-20

Documents PO B I20 POBI 20

D aft of the P ovincial Budget Estimate Repo t

submitted to the p ovincial People’s Council 27 (42 %) 47 (74 6%) P ovincial Budget Estimate Repo t as decided by the

People’s Council (8 %) ( 7%)

Repo t on Implementation of P ovincial Budget Q N/A 46 (73 0%) Repo t on Implementation of P ovincial Budget Q2 N/A 53 (84 %) Repo t on Implementation of P ovincial Budget Q3 28 (44 4%) 46 (73 0%)

ea ly Repo t on Implementation of P ovincial

Budget 25 (3 8%) 35 (55 6%)

P ovincial Budget Final Settlement (77 7%) 54 (85 7%)

Citizen budget N/A ( 6%)

Public Investment Plan N/A 46 (73 0%)

ource: OBI Report 2018

Acco ding to the equi ements of budget t anspa ency, budget documents should be t anslated into eade -f iendly epo ts This document is called the Citizens Budget Citizens Budgets need to be p epa ed and disclosed along ith othe budget documents In 20 7, none of the 63 p ovinces/cities developed and published a citizen budget In 20 8, only Da Nang had developed and published this epo t

3 eople articipation

Citizens a e the beneficia ies of public p og ams, policies and se vices p ovided by the gove nment at all levels Citizens also p ovide esou ces fo implementation th ough taxes and fees The efo e, they have the ight to pa ticipate in,the budget cycle Citizen pa ticipation ill help imp ove state budget efficiency

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social supe vision and c iticism activities of the Vietnam Fathe land F ont and socio-political o ganizations Citizens have the ight to pa ticipate in the budget p ocess In cont ast, The legislative and executive agencies must c eate oppo tunities fo people to exe cise thei ight in state budget management People's pa ticipation is closely linked to budget t anspa ency and accountability

A p oblem, ho eve , is that citizens typically have limited inte est in budget issues In fact, in 20 6, seve al non-gove nment o ganizations aised thei conce ns about tax, public debt and state budgets, but the e as little esponse People's equests in vote meetings have included a fe questions o suggestions about the state budget Many people also epo ted that they had expe ienced inadequate esponses du ing budget development and monito ing p ocesses so they did not ant to submit thei questions

The fi st P ovincial open Budget Su vey in 20 (POBS 20 7) p ovided an oppo tunity to assess hat count ies e e doing to facilitate public pa ticipation th ough fo mal mechanisms in national budgeting p ocesses The questionnai e that assessed people’s pa ticipation in the OBS 20 budget cycle as based on the public pa ticipation p inciples of the Global Initiative on Fiscal T anspa ency (GIFT)2 This app oach emphasizes the impo tance of states p oviding oppo tunities to pa ticipate in each of the stages of budget cycles, p oviding info mation, ensu ing comp ehensive inte action bet een the state and citizens, and p oviding feedback to the citizens conce ning thei ep esentations C ite ia fo pa ticipation also include the state effo ts to encou age people to aise thei voices and to c eate oppo tunities fo the public, including vulne able g oups, to pa ticipate in discussing a ide ange of budget topics OBS 20 assessed fo mal oppo tunities fo citizen pa ticipation in the national budget p ocess, in hich citizens can di ectly o k ith officials (especially ith The Minist y of Finance o cent al coo dinating agency), membe s of pa liament (legislative) and audito s

OBS 20 evaluates types of pa ticipation mechanisms, including: mechanisms fo public pa ticipation in budget fo mulation and implementation, legislative mechanisms to engage the public in budget app oval and monito ing ( hen the Audit Repo t is evie ed), and mechanisms to facilitate pa ticipation in the audit p ocess,

Oxfam, BTAP - Colunm on the state budget on Vnexp ess in 20

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including the identification of audit plans and the actual implementation of audits The questions in the su vey aimed to dete mine both the capacity and the ole of these mechanisms in egulation and in p actice

OBS 20 sho s that Vietnam has not had effective mechanisms in place to facilitate citizen pa ticipation in budget cycles Vietnam only has an indi ect mechanism th ough constituency’s meetings ith elected ep esentatives

Not only at the national level, people also have fe oppo tunities to pa ticipate in the budget p ocess at the p ovincial level Notably, ho eve , only five (5) of 63 p ovincial/municipal Depa tments of Finance esponded to the esea ch team’s questions and equests fo info mation sent via email as ell as the public Q&A column on the p ovincial po tal This sho s that the accountability of agencies to the people is quite lo

In o de to imp ove good gove nance, it is necessa y to take measu es to change the mechanism to ensu e the pa ticipation and access of people, especially disadvantaged g oups in the state administ ation and ustice; imp ove the t ust of people in autho ities Mechanisms fo people to pa ticipate in the budgeting p ocess, including socio-economic development plan, need to be st engthened

4 Impacts of budget tra spare cy o V et am gover a ce

he State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a socialist state uled by la and of the People, by the People, fo title People (A ticle Constitution 20 3) Thus, people ant to live in a society gove ned by the ule of la ith accountability at all levels of gove nment

T anspa ency, accountability and u isdiction a e inext icably linked togethe to p omote good gove nance P omoting openness and t anspa ency of state budget th ough OBI, MOBI, and POBI indicato s also means p omoting accountability and the ule of la in Vietnam

Fi st of all, OBI, MOBI, and POBI helps p omote Gove nment, p ovinces, minist ies, and cent al agencies to efe and measu e the level of openness and t anspa ency in state budget management They also help p omote Gove nment, minist ies, cent al agencies, and p ovinces st ictly comply ith the p ovisions of La

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on State budget 20 5, La on public investment 20 , La on Access to info mation and othe elevant legal documents

Afte mo e than yea s of OBI su veys, since 2008, and seve al yea s of POBI su veys, since 20 7, have mainly focussed on level openness and t anspa ency of budget ith an open method allo ing fo feedback and co ection of the budgeting p ocess Ove that pe iod, the e have been many changes in a a eness, attitude and capacity of cent al state agencies, p ovinces, cities and the e seems to be competition bet een agencies and p ovinces hen applying the budget t anspa ency index as a measu e to imp ove local gove nance

The Gove nment ofVietnam (The Minist y of Finance) has taken specific actions to make state budgets published and t anspa ent The La on State Budget (20 5) and its guiding documents make specific p ovisions fo the publication of budgets by budget-using units In 20 and 20 , the state budget epo t fo citizens, the p oposal state budget estimate submitted to the National Assembly and the state audit epo t e e published on time in acco dance ith La on State Budget2 As such, Vietnam has fully, and in a timely manne , published eight (8) types of budget documents equi ed by OBS

Afte POBI 20 on p ovincial budget t anspa ency anking as made, p ovincial gove nments become mo e a a e of the need fo budget t anspa ency and disclosu e has also significantly imp oved Local gove nments a e also a a e of thei

esponsibilities in p omoting budget disclosu e and t anspa ency As noted above, the ave age POBI sco e inc eased f om 30 in 20 to 50 in 20 The numbe of p ovinces esponding to POBI su veys inc eased f om 28 in 20 to 55 in 20 83 These numbe s fu the demonst ate the impact of POBI on budget openness and t anspa ency in Vietnam

In 20 8, The Minist y of Finance esponded to Budget T anspa ency, Accountability and Pa ticipation (BTAP) equests Fo the fi st time the Minist y announced on its official eb po tal an invitation fo citizens to cont ibute to the Executive’s State Budget P oposal of 20 The Minist y also invited BTAP

' CDI and VEPR (20 and 20 ) P ovincial Open Budget Su vey epo t POBI in 20 and 20

2 See mo e: https://mof gov vn/ ebcente /po t al/btc/ /lvtc/slnsnn/sltn?_af Loop=456 0582657865 and http://hoatdongkiemtoan sav gov vn/Pages/ket-qua-kiem-toan aspx

3CDI and VEPR (20 ) POBI Repo t 20

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ep esentatives to explain and discuss BTAP ecommendations to the Minist y to p omote budget disclosu e and t anspa ency in Vietnam

National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels play a c ucial ole in p omoting openness and t anspa ency of State budgets The legislatu e is esponsible fo issuing policies and egulations to p omote the openness and t anspa ency of the State budget ega ding hich documents need to be disclosed Good inte national p actice suggests that legislatu es should hold budget hea ings, media confe ences, and p ovide othe oppo tunities fo citizens to pa ticipate in budgeta y discussions of legislative bodies as a means of p omoting budget t anspa ency

Ho eve , the e is no mechanism fo citizens to be involved in decision-making p ocesses at the g ass oots level, fo mulation and monito ing of policies, including budgeting, planning, and unde taking on inf ast uctu e const uction and public inte est Hie implementation of g ass oots democ acy egulations to ensu e pa ticipation and monito ing of people in localities is still limited and not eally effective The supe vision of the people th ough the Fathe land F ont in exe cising democ acy in o k elated to State budget and assets is still not qualitative Follo ing the 20 La on Reception of Citizens, the 20 La on Complaints and 20 La on Denunciations and elated legal documents, the Standing Committee of the Cent al Committee of Vietnam Fathe land F ont has implemented the eception of citizens and handling of complaints, denunciations and ecommendations of citizens Ho eve , many opinions and ecommendations of the F ont and othe socio-political o ganizations have not conce ned, eceived o esponded to by elevant state agencies positively

P ovinces and cities pa ticipating in the POBI su vey also said that it is necessa y to update budget info mation on p ovincial po tals Many p ovinces still not make thei budgets available because they a e not a a e of the need and local people not evince much inte est in budget info mation In many p ovinces, the e is a lack of staff and capacity fo updating budget info mation via po tals

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Bypa ticipating in the budget cycle, social and civil society o ganizations can p omote budget t anspa ency by: (i) P oviding impo tant info mation about community needs and p io ities that can lead to st onge policy options; (li) Engaging stakeholde s, especially people pa ticipation in budget p ocesses by p oviding simple and easy to unde stand budget info mation; (iii) Imp oving people's capacity, c eating oppo tunities and space fo them to unde stand and analyze budget documents; (iv) P oviding independent opinions on the p ocesses of State budget allocation, app oval and implementation

Media agencies also play an impo tant ole in the budgeting p ocess by info ming citizens and othe stakeholde s about updates on hat is happening ạt diffe ent stages of the budgeting p ocess, (e g epo ts on the elease of va ious budget documents, debates and policy changes du ing the budgeting p ocess), including suggestions and

esponses f om social o ganizations and othe inte ested pa ties Co clus o

Vietnam in the past, ega ded state budgets and info mation a ound budget p ocesses as being confidential In the efo m p ocess, inc easing budget efficiency and the need to mobilize the pa ticipation of all pa ties in managing esou ces fo development, including people’s pa ticipation has meant that budget t anspa ency has become necessa y Budget info mation and budgeting p ocesses need to be disclosed to match global open budget t ends The question emains, ho eve , as to hethe uploading budget info mation and elated documents to po tals of gove nment, local gove nment, secto al minist ies, agencies a e sufficient to ensu e t anspa ency aiming to enhance bette public se vices Su vey tools ith budget t anspa ency indicato s have p ovided an effective method to p omote t anspa ency among entities holding and using public esou ces f om the state budget

Budget t anspa ency is a tool that empo e s people to influence policies, p og ams and allocations, the eby cont ibuting to the imp ovement of public se vices and gove nance efficiency of the state Budget t anspa ency ill help educe co uption, inc ease the efficient use of public esou ces, enhance people's confidence in gove nment, as ell as cont ibute to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on t anspa ency and accountability ith public pa ticipation

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P omoting budget t anspa ency equi es the pa ticipation of all stakeholde s including the National Assembly and the People’s Councils at all levels, auditing agencies, media agencies, social o ganizations, and people

P omoting budget t anspa ency should be based on inte national p actices and La on State budget 20

In o de to enhance the t anspa ency of the state budget in Vietnam, in addition to having consistent legal egulations, sc utiny should be imposed hen public bodies a e not accountable and t anspa ent hen using state budget in acco dance ith A ticle ofthe La on State budget The National Assembly should impose sanctions against budget agencies and units that fail to publicize budgets as p esc ibed

REFERENCES

Beỉlantoni, A , 20 4, Citizens’Pa ticipation in Public Policy Making, Pa is: OECD CDI,VEPR,BTAP,VietnamPOPIRepo t20 7,Readmo eonhttp://ngansachvietnam net/index php/chi-so-cong-khai-ngan-sach-obi-cua-viet-nam/ 2-obi-vietnam-20

3 Global Civil Society Movement fo Budget T anspa ency, Accountability, and Pa ticipation, http://inte nationalbudget o g/ hat- e-do/ma o -ibp-initiatives/ inte national-advocacy/globalbudget-movement/

4 GIFT (20 4), Public Pa ticipation in Fiscal Policy: P inciples and P actices Open Gove nment Pa tne ship, http:// opengovpa tne ship o g/ GIFT (20 2), High-leveỉ p inciples onfiscalt anspa ency

7 Wo ld Bank (20 5), Open Budget Po tal, Washington: The Wo ld Bank

8 Inte national Budget Pa tne ship (IBP), open Budget Index (OBI) epo t ofVietnam, See mo e detail at: https:// inte nationalbudget o g/open-budget-su vey/ esults-by-count y/esults-by-count y-info/?esults-by-count y=vn

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A A CY A D ACC U ABILI Y

VI AL C I I VI A LA

Prof Dr P a Tru Ly1,

- LL uye Tru T a - LL uye D P uc

-I troduct o

Openness, t anspa ency and accountability a e essential qualities of the public se vices in most of developed count ies, besides othe qualities such as effectiveness, efficiency, and integ ity, etc Ensu ing of accountability is accompanied ith concepts, mechanisms and la s on openness, t anspa ency and democ acy in gove nmental autho ities, pe fo mance In the ecent time, ensu ing t anspa ency of state administ ative agencies has been ecently conside ed as one ofthe u gent equi ements fo imp oving the efficiency of state management agencies, ensu ing democ acy in the State’s pe fo mance as ell as indispensable equi ements in the implementation of inte national commitments

Rega ding the envi onment, the application of p inciples of oppenness t anspa ency and accountability is an impo tant p e equisite fo the exe cise ofhuman ights The Decla ation of the United Nations Confe ence on the Human Envi onment (Stockholm Decla ation, 72) identifies that living in the clean envi onment is one of the co e p inciples in the elationship among count ies P inciple specifies that “Man has thefundamental right tofreedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being, and he bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environmentfor present and future

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generations>n P inciple of the Rio Decla ation on Envi onment and Development (Rio đe Janei o, 2) adopted ith 78 app ovals of 78 gove nments in the o ld states that “Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development hey are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature3’2 Living in a healthy envi onment is one of the key p inciples and natu al ights ecognized by the inte national community and is di ectly elated to the quality of life Humans a e entitled to the clean envi onment ith pe missible standa ds and mony ith natu e; o in othe o ds, this is the ight to live in the a ea ithout polluted o deg aded envi onment

Rio Decla ation on Envi onment and Development in sho s the a a e of the impo tance of the application of the p inciples of openness, t anspa ency and accountability, specifically, P inciple affi ms that “At the national level each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes tates shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available”3 Count ies in the o ld have eaffi med thei commitment to these p inciple at Johannesbu g Summit 2002 - the Wo ld Summit on Sustainable Development Convention on Access to info mation, Public Pa ticipation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Envi onmental Matte s (Aa hus Convention) as adopted by count ies and Eu opean Community in in the city of Aa hus at the Fou th Ministe ial Confe ence on “Envi onment fo Eu ope” The ob ective of the Convention is “to contribute to protection of the right of every person ofpresent andfuture generations to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being”

To effective implement inte national commitments as ell as to meet u gent equi ements in the innovation and development p ocess, the Vietnam’s Communist Pa ty and State have had many significant steps fo a d in the p ocess of finalizing the institutional f ame o k and policies on implementation of the p inciples of

United Nations Confe ence on the Human Envi onment - ƯNCHM ( 72), The Decla ation of the United Nations Confe ence on the Human Envi onment (Stockholm Decla ation), Stockholm, June 6, 72

2 United Nations Confe ence on Envi onment and Development - ƯNCED ( 2), Rio Decla ation on Envi onment and Development, Rio de Janei o (B azil), 3- June,