In the pe iod of 20 -2020, the National Public Se vice Po tal ill p io itize the integ ation of online public se vices at levels 3 and 4 in the field of social insu ance, including egist[r]
(1)IN THE SOCIAL SECURIT SECTOR IN VIETNAM DAY
ran hi huy1
1 An Overview ofreg lations on openness, transparency and acco ntability in Vietnamese Law
Due to the impo tance of openness, t anspa ency and accountability in anti-co uption, these issues a e cu ently mainly egulated in Vietnam’s legal documents on anti-co uption It also means that the sub ects of egulation of Vietnamese la on openness, t anspa ency and accountability a e agencies, o ganizations, units and individuals unde the scope of the La on Anti-Co uption (LAC)
Acco ding to the La on Anti-Co uption 20 8, “Openness and t anspa ency [on o ganization and ope ation of agencies, o ganizations and units] is the disclosu e, p ovision ofinfo mation and explanation on o ganizational st uctu e, the pe fo mance ofduties and esponsibilities and po e s hile unde taking the tasks and esponsivities of agencies, o ganizations and units”2, and “accountability is hat competent agencies, o ganizations, units and individuals cla ify info mation and explain in time and fully about thei decisions and acts hile pe fo ming assigned tasks o official duties”3
Expe ience in the o ld sho s that implementation ofopenness and t anspa ency and accountability in o ganizing and ope ating of the public autho ities a e the most impo tant measu es to p event co uption This isdue to th ough the public, t anspa ent and accountable p actice, it ill enhance the sense of esponsibility, the sense of 1Master tudent on overnance and Anti-corruption chool ofLaw,Vietnam National University, Hanoi
(2)duty pe fo mance of agencies, o ganizations, units and officials Implementation of openness and t anspa ency and accountability equi es agencies, o ganizations, units and civil se vants to al ays consciously comply ith the p ovisions of la , fulfilling thei esponsibilities and public duties in acco dance ith the o de , p ocedu es and autho ization stated by la In addition, openness, t anspa ency, accountability also c eate conditions fo civil as ell as social o ganizations and ente p ises to monito the activities of state agencies Th ough the public and t anspa ent implementation of state agencies’ activities, people ill easily supe vise the ongdoings of officials and civil se vants Th ough the implement ofaccountability, citizens may also equest state agencies to explain actions that a e incompatible ith the functions and autho ities assigned by state agencies The efo e, the violations of la o any illlegal activities hich assing o abusing positions and po e s of state agencies, officials and civil se vants fo self-seeking pu poses may be easily detected and handled
Ackno ledging the impo tance of openness, t anspa ency and accountability in state gove nance, Vietnam’s egulations on this issue a e quite specific since the LAC 2005 (amended and supplemented in 2007 and 20 - he einafte efe ed to as the LAC 2005) Inhe iting the p ovisions of the LAC 2005, the LAC 20 has ese ved a sepa ate section (Section »Chapte II) fo p ovisions on openness, t anspa ency, and accountability in o ganizing and ope ating the agencies, o ganizations, and units The main contents of this section can be summa ized as follo s:
F rstly, about ope ess a d tra spare cy
The gene al p inciple in this matte is: Agencies, o ganizations and units must publicly and t anspa ently disclose all info mation about thei o ganization and ope ation, except fo contents belonging to state sec ets, business sec ets and othe s as p esc ibed by la openness and t anspa ency must ensu e accu acy, cla ity, compieteness and timeliness acco ding to the o de and p ocedu es p esc ibed bycompetent agencies, o ganizations and units, but must comply ith the p ovisions of la
Fo mo e details, acco ding to A ticle ofthe LAC 20 8, agencies, o ganizations and units must publicize and be t anspa ent on the follo ing issues: a) Implementation of policies and la s ith content elated to ights, la ful inte ests of officials,
Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance
(3)public se vants and employees; o ke s; office s and soldie s b) Hie a angement, management and use of public finance, public assets o funds mobilized f om othe la ful sou ces; c) O ganization pe sonnel of agencies, o ganizations and units; codes of conduct of po e ful officials; d) The implementation of policies and la s that not elate to the cases p esc ibed at points a, b and c of this clause but must be t anspa ent acco ding to othe la s In addition, agencies, o ganizations and units that a e di ectly dealing ith affai s of othe agencies, o ganizations, units and individuals beyond the contents of openness and t anspa ency p esc ibed in clause of this A ticle must also be publicized2
Aboutíị malityacco dingto A ticle oftheLAC20 8,thedisclosu ecanbedone via: a) Announcement at the meeting of agencies, o ganizations and units; b) Posting up at the offices of agencies, o ganizations and units; c) Notifying by documents to elevant agencies, o ganizations, units and individuals; d) Announcement on the mass media; f) Posting on elect onic po tals and ebsites; g) Holding p ess confe ences; h) P oviding info mation to the equest of agencies, o ganizations, units o individuals3 In case that openness is p esc ibed by othe la s, the head of an agency, o ganization o unit shall implement one o seve al fo ms of openness specified at points b, c, d, đ, e and g, clause of this A ticle, and the head of the agency, o ganization o unit may choose to implement additional fo ms of openness specified at points a and h, clause of this A ticle4
A ticle of the LAC 20 assigns the esponsibility to the implementation of openness and t anspa ency fo heads of agencies, o ganizations and units5 That esponsibility is eflected specifically in the actions of “di ecting, inspecting, u ging and guiding agencies, o ganizations, units and individuals unde thei management to pe fo m publicly and t anspa ently” And, “in case of detecting violations of the la on openness and t anspa ency, they must be handled acco ding to thei competence o p opose competent pe sons to handle them acco ding to the p ovisions of la ”6
Clause A ticle of the20 8LAC 2Clause A ticle of the20 8LAC
(4)Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance
In fact, one of the most impo tant fo ms of openness and t anspa ency is p ess confe ences, speaking and p oviding info mation to the p ess The LAC 20 sets aside a sepa ate p ovision on this fo m, hich states: “L Agencies, o ganizations and units shall o ganize p ess confe ences, give speeches and p ovide pe iodic o i egula info mation to the p ess on the o ganization and ope ation of thei o n agencies, o ganizations, units, p eventing and fighting against co uption and handling co uption cases acco ding to the la on p ess Agencies, o ganizations and units must hold p ess confe ences, give speeches and p ovide info mation to p ess ext ao dina ily on matte s elated to the o ganization and ope ation of agencies, o ganizations o units that the public ca es about it, unless the p ess la p ovides othe ise”
Conside ing the ight to equest info mation as an indispensable element of the public and t anspa ent implementation [and also accountability], the LAC 20 has a sepa ate p ovision on this issue It states, “ State agencies, political o ganizations, socio-political o ganizations and p ess agencies, ithin the scope of thei tasks and po e s, have the ight to equest agencies, o ganizations and units to p ovide info mation on the o ganization and ope ation of such agencies, o ganizations and units acco ding to the p ovisions of la Within days afte
eceiving a equest, the equested agency, o ganization o unit must p ovide info mation, except in case that the info mation content has been published on the mass media o publicly listed; In case of failing to p ovide, those agencies must eply on iting to the equesting agencies and o ganizations, clea ly stating the eason the efo Citizens have the ight to equest state agencies to p ovide info mation in acco dance ith the la on info mation access The p ovision of info mation by agencies, o ganizations and units to officials, employees, labo e s, soldie s in the a med fo ces o king at agencies, o ganizations and units shall comply ith the p ovisions of la on the implementation of democ acy at the g ass oots level and elevant la p ovisions ”2
Rega ding to openness and t anspa ency, Dec ee No /20 /ND-CP dated July , 20 adds a p ovision on t anspa ency and t anspa ency in o ganization and ope ation of ente p ises and o ganizations outside the state that mobilize people’s
(5)cont ibutions to cha itable activities Acco dingly, based on the p ovisions of the LAC 20 8, this Dec ee and othe elevant ia s, public companies, c edit institutions and social o ganizations that the P ime Ministe , Ministe of Home Affai s o the P esident of the People’s Committee of the p ovince shall decide to establish o app ove a cha te that mobilizes people’s cont ibutions to cha itable activities, on the basis of suitability ith the peculia ities of his / he o ganization o ope ation, have the esponsibility to specify the fo m of openness, content and esponsibility to make it public and t anspa ent in thei businesses and o ganizations Contents of openness and t anspa ency include: a) Implementation of policies and la s elated to the la ful ights and inte ests of o ke s and membe s; sala y and bonus egimes; o king time, est time and othe social elfa e egimes; code of conduct, cha te of ente p ises and o ganizations; pe sonnel a angement and othe contents must be public and t anspa ent in acco dance ith elevant la s, b) Apa t f om the contents specified at point a above, social o ganizations established o app oved by the P ime Ministe , the Ministe of Home Affai s o p esidents of p ovincial Peoples Committees must also be public and t anspa ent the follo ings ules: egulations on mobilization, management and use of cont ibutions fo cha ity activities; ights and obligations of cont ibuto s and beneficia ies; pu pose of mobilizing donations to cha ity; sub ects, fo ms and level of mobilization of cont ibutions; The mobilization esults, including; list of cont ibuto s, sponso s, fo ms and level of cont ibution and sponso ship of each sub ect; esults of management and use of mobilized funds fo cha itable pu poses
Seco dlyy about accou tab l ty
Hie LAC20 p ovides a sepa ate p ovision on accountability, hich clea lystates: i Agencies, o ganizations, units and individuals a e esponsible fo explaining thei decisions and acts in implementing tasks and official duties assigned at the equest of agencies, o ganizations, units o individuals di ectly affected by such decisions o acts The pe son pe fo ming the accountability is the head of the agency, o ganization, unit o pe son assigned, the pe son legally autho ized to pe fo m the accountability, ii In case ofthe p ess publishes info mation on la violations and make a equest to ans e matte s elated to the pe fo mance of assigned tasks, the agencies, o ganizations,
(6)units o autho ized individuals must explain and publicize the contents explained in the p ess acco ding to the p ovisions of la iii The explanation at the equest of a supe viso y autho ity o othe competent autho ity, o ganization, unit o individual shall be implemented in acco dance ith elevant la s ”
Rega ding accountability issues, Dec ee No /20 /ND-CP dated July >20 has a numbe of p ovisions detailing the content of clause , A ticle of the LAC 20 8, specifically as follo s:
F rst, the content of explanation includes:2i) The legal basis of the issuance of decisions and implementation of acts; li) Competence to p omulgate decisions and conduct acts; iii) O de and p ocedu es fo p omulgating decisions and conducting acts; iv) Contents of decisions and acts
econd, conditions for eceiving the due diligence equests3: i) Individuals ho equest fo explanation have full civil act capacity o have a ep esentative as p esc ibed by la ; agencies, o ganizations and units equesting explanations ith legal ep esentatives of thei agencies, o ganizations and units; ii) Decisions and acts of agencies, o ganizations and units equested fo explanation di ectly affect the la ful ights and inte ests of agencies, o ganizations, units and individuals that equest explanations
hirdy the cases a e denied equest fo explanation4: i) Not being eligible to eceive the equest fo explanation as p esc ibed in A ticle of Dec ee No /20 / ND-CP; ii) The contents of explanation equest fal! into the cases specified in A ticle of Dec ee No /20 /ND-CP, the contents have been explained o have been accepted by the competent agencies, o ganizations, units and individuals, except in the case of the equesting pe son fo good eason; iii) The equeste s fo a e in a state of not being able to cont ol acts due to the use of stimulants o commit acts of dis upting o de , th eatening o insulting the hono and dignity of the eceive s; iv) Autho ized pe son, ep esentatives ithout legal pape s as p esc ibed by la
Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance
A ticle of the 20 LAC
(7)Fourth, the contents a e not ithin the scope of explanation : i) Hie content belongs to state sec ets, sec ets of pe sonal life, pe sonal sec ets, business sec ets as p esc ibed by la ; ii) Contents of command, administ ation and o ganization of the pe fo mance of tasks and official duties ithin agencies, o ganizations and units hich have not yet been issued, yet implemented, o contents ofcommand and administ ation of the agencies ith subo dinate agencies
Fifth) esponsibilities of heads of agencies, o ganizations and units in the pe fo mance of accountability2: i) specific p ovisions on the pe fo mance of accountability in inte nal ules and o king egulations of agencies, o ganizations, units; ii) An individual o depa tment is esponsible fo eceiving the equest fo explanation; in) O ganize, di ect, u ge and inspect the pe fo mance of accountability and handle violations acco ding to its competence
ixth, ights and obligations ofthe equeste s fo explanation3:i) The equeste s fo explanation have the follo ing ights: a) On thei o n o autho izing othe pe sons ith full civil act capacity to execute the equest explanation; b) Pa tially o holly ithd a ing the equest fo explanation; c) Receiving explanato y documents f om agencies, o ganizations, units and individuals ho a e esponsible fo explanation; d) Complaints and denunciations in acco dance ith la ; li) The equest fo explanation has the follo ing obligations: a) Clea ly stating his/he full name, add ess o p esent identification document, po e of atto ney; b) Complying st ictly ith the o de and p ocedu es fo equesting explanations specified in Section 3, Chapte II of Dec ee No /20 /ND-CP and othe elevant la p ovisions; c) Clea ly and t uthfully p esenting and g ounds fo the contents of the equest fo explanation; d) P ovide info mation and documents elated to the content of equest fo explanation
eventh, ights and obligations of the pe son pe fo ming the accountability task4: i) People ho is esponsible to explain have the follo ing ights: a) Requesting the equeste s to p ovide info mation and documents elated to content of explanation equest; b) Inst ucting the equesto fo explanation to comply ith the o de and
(8)p ocedu es specified in Section 3, Chapte II of Dec ee No /20 /ND-CP and othe elevant la p ovisions; CÌ Refusing the eauest fo explanation in the cases p esc ibed in A ticle of Dec ee No /20 /ND-CP; ii) The pe son pe fo ming the accountability task has the follo ing obligations: a) Receiving the equest fo explanation unde his/he autho ity; b) Inst ucting the equeste s to comply ith the o de and p ocedu es specified in Section 3, Chapte II of Dec ee No /20 /ND-CP and othe elevant la s; c) Handling equests fo explanation in acco dance ith the o de , p ocedu es and time limits p esc ibed in Dec ee No /20 /ND-CP and othe
elevant p ovisions of la
Eighth>the o de and p ocedu es fo making the explanation, a e as follo s: - Request fo explanation : The equest fo explanation is made in iting o di ectly at the agency, o ganization o unit esponsible fo explanation If the itten
equest fo explanation is made, then: a) The itten equest fo explanation must clea ly state the content of the equest fo explanation; specify the full name, add ess, telephone numbe o mailing add ess of the equesting pe son, b) Hie itten equest fo explanation must have the signatu e o finge p int of the equesting equeste If the equest fo explanation is di ect, then: a) The equesto must clea ly p esents the content of the equest to the pe son being assigned to eceive the equest fo explanation (in case many people equest the same explanation fo the same content, they must: appoint the ep esentative to p esent, the appointment of the ep esentative is p esented in iting ith the signatu e o finge p int of the equeste s fo explanation); b) The pe son assigned to eceive the equest fo explanation must t uthfully p esent the content of the equest fo explanation in
iting; specify the full name, add ess, telephone numbe o mailing add ess of the pe son equesting explanation; c) The equest fo explanation must sign o ce tify in the itten equest fo explanation
- Receive the equest fo explanation2: Agencies, o ganizations, units and individuals a e esponsible fo eceiving the equest fo explanation if they meet the eceiving conditions and not fall into the cases of efusing the equest fo explanation p esc ibed in A ticles and of Dec ee No /20 /ND-CP If the
Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance
(9)equest fo explanation is not unde the esponsibility, the ecipient shall guide the equesto to a competent agency in acco dance ith la In case the itten equest fo explanation does not meet the conditions specified in Clause 2, A ticle of Dec ee No /20 /ND-CP, the ecipient shall guide the equesto to supplement info mation and documents In case the content of the equest fo explanation has been explained to othe s befo e, a copy of the itten explanation must be p ovided to the equeste s Within 05 o king days f om the date of eceipt of the equest, the p esente must notify in iting to the equeste about the settlement o non- esolution, clea ly stating the easons
- Implementation of explanations : In cases he e the equest fo di ect explanation is simple, the explanation may be made in the fo m of di ect explanation Hie di ect explanation must be made in a signed eco d o finge p int of the pa ties In othe cases, the explanation is made as follo s: a) Collecting and ve ifying elevant info mation; b) Wo king di ectly ith the equeste s fo cla ification of elevant contents hen necessa y The content of the o k is eco ded in a minute of meeting ith the signatu es o finge p ints of the pa ties; c) Issuing explanato y documents; d) Sending explanato y documents to the equeste s fo explanation The itten explanation must contain the follo ing details: a) Full name and add ess of the equest fo explanation; b) Content of equest fo explanation; c) Results of o king di ectly ith o ganizations and individuals (if any); d) Legal g ounds fo explanation; e) Specific explanato y content
- Time limit fo explanation2: The time limit fo pe fo ming the explanation is days, c ou ntin g f o m th e date o f th e notice o f eceipt o f th e eq uest fo explanation; In case of complicated contents, it may be extended only once; The extended time must not exceed days and must notify in iting to the equeste s fo explanation The pe iod of suspension of explanation as p esc ibed in Clause , A ticle of Dec ee No /20 /ND'CP shall not be included in the time limit fo explanation
- Pausing o suspending the explanation3: Du ing the p ocess of making the explanation, the pe son ho is in cha ge ofthe explanation has the decision to suspend
(10)Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance
the explanation in the follo ing cases: a) The pe son equesting the explanation is an individual ho has died ithout having inhe ited the ie hts and obligations: agencies, o ganizations have been sepa ated, me ged o dissolved ithout any individual o o ganization inhe iting thei ights and obligations; b) The equest fo explanation is an individual ho has lost his/he civil act capacity but has not yet been identified as a legal ep esentative; c) The individual ho equests the explanation is sick o because of othe ob ective easons, the assigned task pe son is unable to pe fo m the explanation, the pe son pe fo ming the accountability task continues to make explanation hen the eason fo the suspension no longe exists The pe son pe fo ming the accountability decision shall suspend the explanation in the follo ing cases: a) The equesto fo explanation is an individual ho has died ithout an hei ofthe ights and obligations; agencies, o ganizations axe sepa ated, me ged o dissolved ithout any individual o o ganization inhe iting thei ights and obligations in the case equesting explanation; b) The equest fo explanation is an individual ho has lost his/he civil act capacity ithout a legal ep esentative; c) The equest fo explanation ithd a s all of the equest fo explanation
2. Performing openness, transparency, and accountable responsibility in the socialsecurity sectorin Vietnam
2 he legalframework of openness, transparency and accountability in the social security sector in Vietnam
Vietnam Social Secu ity (VSS) is a gove nment agency, hich is esponsible fo implementing policies, social insu ance, health insu ance policies and managing the Social Insu ance Fund in acco dance ith the la
Vietnam Social Secu ity is unde the management of the Minist y of Labo , Wa Invalids and Social Affai s (Minist y of Labo , Wa Invalids and Social Affai s) on social insu ance, the Minist y of Health on health insu ance, and the Minist y of Finance on egimes and policies fo social insu ance and health insu ance funds
(11)Ho eve , conside ing the pa ticula ity of a policy implementation secto , this pape only analyses the issues of openness, t anspa ency and accountability in the social secu ity secto in Vietnam elated to the p ovisions of policies and egimes on social insu ance, health insu ance and management of Social Insu ance and Health Insu ance Funds Mo e specifically, the issue of openness, t anspa ency and accountability in the social secu ity secto in Vietnam is linked to the follo ing:
» Conditions, ights and obligations of pa ticipants and beneficia ies of social insu ance and health insu ance policies
• Administ ative p ocedu e, o k settlement p ocess, components of application fo egist ation ofpayment ofsocial insu ance and health insu ance cont ibutions and p oposals fo settlement of social insu ance and health insu ance benefits
• Implementation of policies, la s and management of social insu ance and health insu ance funds
In o de to implement openly and t anspa ently in the above issues, in ecent yea s (20 - 20 pe iod), the social secu ity secto has issued many documents guiding the implementation of legal p ovisions elated to the egime and social insu ance and health insu ance policies, o de and p ocedu es fo egist ation of payment and entitlement of social insu ance and health insu ance The fact that the la s a e clea ly specified and implemented ill limit the a bit a y situation in applying policies, and on the othe hand, help people - the pa ticipants and beneficia ies of social insu ance and health insu ance policies to unde stand and kno thei ights and obligations in the State's social secu ity policies, specifically, impo tant documents include:
- Fo the fieldofcollection ofsocialinsu ance, healthinsu ance and unemployment insu ance, issuance ofsocial insu ance books and health insu ance ca ds: Decision No
(12)Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance
ights and obligations of pa ticipants, dossie s, and p ocedu es fo egist ation of pa ticipation in social insu ance, unemployment insu ance and health insu ance; decent alize the management of collection and issuance of social insu ance books and health insu ance ca ds of social secu ity agencies;
- Settlement and payment of social insu ance and health insu ance egimes: Decision No /QD - BHXH issues egulations on o ganizing the implementation of health insu ance in medical examination and t eatment ith health insu ance (in 20 5) Decision No 636/QD-BHXH p esc ibes the dossie s and p ocedu es fo settlement of social insu ance egimes; Decision No 828/QD-BHXH egulates management of payment of social insu ance and unemployment insu ance (in 20 6); Decision No 6/QD-BHXH dated Janua y » 20 p omulgates the p ocess of settling social insu ance egimes and settling payment of social insu ance and unemployment insu ance egimes These a e specific p ovisions on the composition of dossie s, p ocedu es fo eceiving, o de , time limit fo settlement and payment of each social insu ance and health insu ance egime
In addition, to help people and businesses easily and conveniently t ansact in pa ticipating and en oying the policies of social insu ance, unemployment insu ance and health insu ance, and also ensu ing the openness and t anspa ency in ob settlement, cont ibuting fo the effective anti-co uption among officials and employees, Vietnam Social Secu ity has issued many othe legal documents to idely publicize administ ative p ocedu es unde the u isdiction of the social insu ance agency , including administ ative p ocedu es that a e abolished,
eplaced annually
With the ob ective of t anspa ency in each stage of ope ation, people and businesses can monito and supe vise the p ocess of handling p ocedu es and documents hen dealing ith social insu ance autho ities In 20 7, Vietnam Social Secu ity has implemented comp ehensive elect onic t ansactions in all ope ational stages, and has issued documents guiding the p ocess of conducting elect onic t ansactions in all a eas: collection and issuance social insu ance books and health insu ance ca d; settlement of social insu ance egimes
(13)In gene al, in ecent yea s, the social insu ance secto has been g adually solving the p oblem of openness, t anspa ency and accountability in pe fo ming assigned functions and tasks Many contents and methods pe fo ming openness, t anspa ency and accountability is dete mined in acco dance ith the specific cha acte istics of the secto , aside ith the contents and ays to be implemented acco ding to the gene al p ocess and egulations such as p omulgating egulations on speech and info mation p ovision fo the p ess ; p ocess of settling complaints, denunciations and eceiving citizens 2The specific contents a e ve y dive se, including the annual p omulgation of documents guiding local depa tments, focusing on the dialogue ith the employe s and o ke s The clea guidance on eco ds, p ocedu es, p ofessional p ocesses has had a g eat impact in c eating openness and t anspa ency in the activities of the social insu ance secto This is consistent ith the basic goals of the la on anti-co uption
2.2 T e curre t s tuat o of ope ess, tra spare cy a d accou tab l ty t e soc al secur ty sector V et am
2 Current situation of openness, transparency implementation
In ecent yea s, the social secu ity secto has focused esou ces to implement the administ ative p ocedu e efo m p og am ith contents such as cutting time, simplifying and imp oving the quality of administ ative p ocedu es, especially administ ative p ocedu es elating to people, businesses; st ictly cont olling the issuance of ne p ocedu es; pe fo ming openness and t anspa ency of all administ ative p ocedu es in app op iate fo ms The goal is to cont ibute to educe the numbe of t avel and aiting hou s of people and businesses, c eating favo able conditions fo o ganizations and individuals hen dealing ith the social insu ance agency In addition, the openness and t anspa ency of all administ ative p ocedu es also limits the ability of officials, public se vants and public employees to commit acts of assment, exto tion, and b ibe y in public se vice activities
In the state appa atus, social secu ity is one of the ea liest agencies implementing administ ative efo ms, eflected in the p omotion ofIT application, building a national database on insu ance, info mation sha ing, supe vision of insu ance payment These things have cont ibuted to c eating t anspa ency and cla ity in management
(14)Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance
and administ ation of se ving people and pa ticipants of social insu ance policies, and hetoinc to solve loopholes that can be taken advantage of f om payment of social insu ance expenses, especially in medical examination and t eatment unde health insu ance
In the ecent yea s,the numbe ofadminist ativep ocedu es ofthe socialinsu ance secto has dec eased f om to 28 (the eduction ate is ove 75%) In te ms of othe c ite ia, the e is a 38% eduction in the composition of documents, 42% of standa d items on decla ations, fo ms, 54% ofp ocesses and ope ations, and sho tening the time limit fo issuing social insu ance books f om 20 days, health insu ance ca d f om days to days The numbe of implementation hou s of administ ative p ocedu es f om 335 hou s is educed to hou s With the implementation of elect onic t ansactions in all stages f om collection to payment, the numbe of elect onic t ansactions has dec eased f om times pe yea to once a yea , u p to no , the e a e only se vices online at level and
Cu ently, all administ ative p ocedu es of the secto a e published and updated on the national database of administ ative p ocedu es, and a e publicized on the VSS’s Po tal and o ganized to list at the eceiving and etu ning administ ative p ocedu e depa tments of local social secu ity offices
In 20 5, Vietnam Social Secu ity officially ope ated a cent alized elect onic t ansaction system to manage and monito online the eception of applications, settlement and etu n of administ ative p ocedu es in the field of social insu ance, health insu ance and unemployment insu ance, ensu ing the implementation of administ ative p ocedu es at the social secu ity offices
(15)In 20 6, the online health insu ance assessment info mation system officially eceived the application fo payment of health insu ance f om health insu ance facilities nation ide Tlie health insu ance assessment info mation system has made an impo tant cont ibution to the cont ol and supe vision ofthe health se vice at health facilities, pa ticipants of health insu ance and officials pe fo ming health insu ance inspection of social secu ity agencies, as effective suppo t tools fo monito ing and ale ting unusual p oblems; p omptly p event p ofitee ing and abuse of the health insu ance fund; t anspa ency, cost savings fo medical examination and t eatment fo people; save time and manpo e
F om Janua y , 20 7, Vietnam Social Secu ity has implemented a cent alized elect onic single-doo system based on the soft a e “Receiving and managing documents” Th ough this system, it is possible to monito and supe vise the status of document handling and p omptly speed up the p ocess of administ ative p ocedu es, ensu ing the implementation of administ ative p ocedu es openly and t anspa ently,
ithout delay o backlog files at the social secu ity offices
F om August , 20 7, the social secu ity secto ill issue a ne social insu ance code fo social insu ance pa ticipants on the basis ofsynch onizing data ith household code info mation This is the unique identification numbe of the pa ticipant issued by the social secu ity agencies to eco d on the social insu ance book and health insu ance ca d, helping to manage th oughout the p ocess of pa ticipation and payment of social insu ance and health insu ance benefits and cont ol of evasion payment of social insu ance and health insu ance p emiums of employe s
(16)F om Ap il 20 , SMS notification se vice, sea chp ocess ofpayment, entitlement and settlement of social insu ance, health insu ance and unemployment insu ance dossie s in the multimedia inte action system bet een people, businesses and official social insu ance agencies ent into ope ation The multimedia inte action system of the social secu ity secto may send a notice to the ente p ise afte the ente p ise pays social insu ance, health insu ance and unemployment insu ance p emium fo thei employees; automatically notify the employees to stop paying social insu ance p emium
hen the ente p ise declines, does not continue to pa ticipate in social insu ance fo employees; send a notification message to the unit/individual ho submits the dossie to the social insu ance agency and hen the social insu ance agency finishes the dossie ; notify pa ticipants ofvolunta y social insu ance hen the egiste ed payment method expi es; notify pa ticipants of household health insu ance befo e the expi y date of the health insu ance ca d ithin 30 days
In pa ticula , fo the convenience of people looking up info mation about thei pa ticipation in social insu ance and health insu ance, Vietnam Social Secu ity has implemented a f ee online lookup utility on the Vietnam Social Secu ity Po tal
In the pe iod of 20 -2020, the National Public Se vice Po tal ill p io itize the integ ation of online public se vices at levels and in the field of social insu ance, including egist ation and ad ustment of compulso y social insu ance, health insu ance and unemployment insu ance cont ibutions, issuance of social insu ance books, health insu ance ca ds This is the ob to a ds the digitalization of eco ds and pape s; changing the use of eco ds, pape documents, di ect t ansactions to the use of eco ds, elect onic documents, elect onic t ansactions and p ovision of public se vices ega dless of time, administ ative bounda ies; p omote administ ative p ocedu es efo m th ough application of IT The implementation and p ovision of online public se vices c eate favo able conditions fo o ganizations and citizens to ca y out administ ative p ocedu es, c eate a mode n and t anspa ent t ansaction method bet een the social secu ity agency and o ganizations and individuals, se ving effectively administ ative efo m
2 2 About accountability
Annually, the social secu ity secto egula ly pa ticipates in the question and ans e session ofthe National Assembly deputies and People’sCouncil deputies elated
(17)to ensu ing the ights and benefits of social insu ance and health insu ance fo citizens In addition, Di ecto Gene al also pa ticipated in the delegation meeting ith vote s of National Assembly deputies and People>s Council deputies to ans e questions about the social insu ance and health insu ance policies fo Vietnamese
All units of the secto have o ganized the eception and esolution of people's feedback, ecommendations, complaints and denunciations elated to the policies of social insu ance, unemployment insu ance and health insu ance Eve y yea , the hole Social Secu ity Secto meets 0,200 to ,400 tu ns of citizens, p omptly and st ictly settles 500 to 600 cases of complaints and denunciations This is also the method of implementing social accountability in management activities, helping to cont ibute to c eate a t anspa ent mechanism on social insu ance and unemployment insu ance policies
Local social secu ity offices egula ly o ganize dialogues on policies on social insu ance, unemployment insu ance and health insu ance ith employees and employe s Annually, the hole secto o ganizes mo e than 0,000 dialogues, semina s, and disseminations of policies and la s on social insu ance and health insu ance that att act the attention of a la ge numbe ofpeople In addition, the Social Secu ity Secto pe iodically o ganizes online exchanges about social insu ance and health insu ance policies on the ebsite of Vietnam Social Secu ity and the ebsites of the local social secu ity offices, th ough hich has been effective, c eating an online question-and-ans e fo um bet een citizens, o ke s, units and businesses
In 20 8> the Call Cente as put into ope ation With the goal of building a mode n and p ofessional social insu ance secto , aiming at the satisfaction of people and businesses, the Call Cente is the focal point top ovide and ans e questions, advice and guidance on the social insu ance, health insu ance and unemployment insu ance policies fo people and businesses; suppo ting people and businesses in the p ocess of exploiting and using online public se vices ith the social secu ity agency; at the same time, suppo ting officials at the p ovincial and dist ict social secu ity offices in the ope ation ofp ofessional soft a e; suppo ting medical examination and t eatment facilities in t ansfe ing data
2.2.3 Ex ste ce,l m tat o s a d causes
(18)Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance
o ganization has been comp ehensively implemented by the Social Secu ity Secto on all contents, but die cu ent situation is still uneven among localities th oughout the count y, due to qualifications, staff capacity, diffe ent situation of each locality In addition, in some localities the e a e cultu al and economic diffe ences, people’s a a eness of legal policies is limited
In addition, in gene al, the implementation of openness and t anspa ency in some contents of the Secto is limited due to the p ovisions on the “list of state sec ets” P inciples and equi ements fo openness and t anspa ency in the o ganization of activities a e al ays mandato y in the documents of the social secu ity secto Ho eve , due to the o ganizational and ope ational cha acte istics, the secto has not yet developed specific egulations on ho to implement the content in a t anspa ent, t anspa ent and accountable manne , hich is cu ently mainly implemented on the gene al p ovisions of the LAC 20 and Dec ee No /20 /ND-CP guiding the implementation of the La
In gene al, the social secu ity secto is in the ea ly stages of integ ating and digitizing documents, and connecting info mation nation ide to ensu e the ight of citizens to access info mation on social insu ance, unemployment insu ance and health insu ance Ho eve , due to some easons, the p ocess of updating and p oviding info mation on the nation ide elect onic net o k still has ce tain limitations The fo m of accountability of the social secu ity secto is not dive se, local social secu ity offices has also actively implemented accountability, but it has not been egula
3 Solut o s to e a ce ope ess, tra spare cy a d accou tab l ty t e soc al secur ty sector V et am
3,1, Solut o sfor t e le alframework complet o
(19)ame d t e ge eral legal framework o state secrets, espec ally to rev se t e co te ts elated to the social secu ity secto in the di ection of na o ing the scope of state sec ets to the necessa y extent
3.2 Tec cal solut o s
It is essential to p omote the implementation of online public se vices This solution must be implemented f om t o sides, on the one hand, st engthening on the side of social insu ance agencies, on the othe hand, p opagating and guiding agencies, o ganizations and individuals to egiste fo the use of elect onic t ansaction methods, pe fo ming elect onic t ansactions in the field of social secu ity
Besides, it is necessa y to st engthen the application of info mation technology in the field of social secu ity, namely:
- Focusing ont edatabase at Vietnam Social Secu ityto serve t eexploitation, use and cont ol of info mation of beneficia ies of social insu ance, health insu ance and unemployment insu ance Cu ently, the social insu ance secto has no cent alized management data fo cont ibuto s, the efo e, it is needed to apply IT to manage the cont ibuto s, beneficia ies and cent alize the database at the Vietnam Social Secu ity fo se ving the exploitation, use and inspection on info mation of beneficia ies of social insu ance, health insu ance and unemployment insu ance
(20)Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance REFERENCES
Legal docume ts
"Elect onic T ansaction La No /2005/QHl dated Novembe ,2005;
“ La on Health Insu ance No 25/2008/QH dated Novembe 4, 2008, La No 46/20 /QH dated June 3,20 amending and supplementing a numbe ofa ticles of the La on Health Insu ance;
- La on Social Insu ance No 58/20 /QH dated Novembe 20,20 4; - La on Anti-co uption No 36/20 8/QH dated Novembe , 20 8;
“ Dec ee No 66/20 6/ND-CP dated Decembe 24, 20 of the Gove nment on elect onic t ansactions in the field of social insu ance, health insu ance and unemployment insu ance;
“ Dec ee No /20 /ND-CP dated July » 20 detailing a numbe of a ticles and measu es to implement the Anti-Co uption La
2 Docume ts ofV et am Soc al Secur ty
- Decision No /QD-BHXH dated Decembe 22, 20 of the Di ecto Gene al of Vietnam Social Secu ity p omulgating the Regulation on o ganization of implementation of health insu ance in medical examination and t eatment;
- Decision No 528/QD-BHXH dated Ap il 4,20 ofthe Di ecto Gene al ofVietnam Social Secu ity egulating elect onic t ansactions in ca ying out p ocedu es fo pa ticipation in social insu ance, health insu ance, unemployment insu ance; issuing social insu ance books and health insu ance ca ds;
- Decision No 33/QD-BHXH dated Octobe 6, 20 of the Di ecto Gene al of Vietnam Social Secu ity on announcing the amended, supplemented and eplaced administ ative p ocedu es unde the u isdiction ofVietnam Social Secu ity;
- Decision No 42/QD-BHXH dated Novembe 26, 20 of the Di ecto Gene al of Vietnam Social Secu ity on the Statute of speech and info mation p ovision fo the p ess;
(21)Social Secu ity p omulgating the Regulation on dossie s and p ocedu es fo settlement of social insu ance benefits;
- Decision No 828/QD-BHXH dated May 27,20 ofthe Di ecto Gene al ofVietnam Social Secu ity issuing the Regulation on management of payment of social insu ance and unemployment insu ance egimes;
-Decision 868/QD-BHXH dated June 8,20 ofthe Di ecto Gene al ofVietnam Social Secu ity issuing the p ocess ofsettling complaints and denunciations;
- Decision No 055/QD-BHXH dated July25,20 ofthe Di ecto Gene al ofVietnam Social Secu ity on announcing the amended, supplemented and eplaced administ ative p ocedu es unde the u isdiction ofVietnam Social Secu ity;
- Decision No 5/QD-BHXH dated Octobe 7, 20 of the Di ecto Gene al of Vietnam Social Secu ity, amending and supplementing a numbe of a ticles of Decision No 828/QD-BHXH dated May 27, 20 of the Di ecto Gene al of Vietnam Social Secu ity issuing the Regulation on management of payment of social insu ance and unemployment insu ance egimes;
" Decision No 5/QD-BHXH dated Ap il 4, 20 of the Gene al Di ecto of Vietnam Social Secu ity issuing the p ocess of collecting social insu ance, health insu ance, unemployment insu ance, occupational accident insu ance and occupational disease insu ance; managing social insu ance books and health insu ance ca ds;
- Decision 838/QD-BHXH dated May , 20 of the Di ecto Gene al of Vietnam Social Secu ity p omulgating the p ocess of elect onic t ansactions in the field of social insu ance, unemployment insu ance and health insu ance;
- Decision No 77/QD-BHXH on p omulgating the Action P og am of Vietnam Social Secu ity to implement the Gove nment’s Resolution No /NQ-CP dated Janua y ,20 8;
- Action P og am No 07-Ct /BCSD dated August 6, 20 of the Vietnam Social Secu ity Pa ty Committee
- Plan No 5386/KH-BHXH dated 24/ 2/20 ofVietnam Social Secu ityimplementing the Resolution No 25/NQ-CP dated Octobe 8, 20 of the Gove nment;
(22)Openness, ransparency and Accountability in tate overnance
- Annual Repo t in 20 and the mission in 20 ofVietnam Social Secu ity; - Annual Repo t in 20 and the mission in 20 ofVietnam Social Secu ity; - Annual Repo t in 20 and the mission in 20 ofVietnam Social Secu ity Art cles a d ot er refere ces
- A ticle “P oposing egulations on e-t ansactions in the implementation of p ocedu es fo egist ation fo pa ticipation in social insu ance, health insu ance and unemployment insu ance and application fo social insu ance books and health insu ance ca ds”;
- P o ect “Refo ming administ ative p ocedu es and elect onic t ansactions in the field of settlement and payment of sickness, mate nity and convalescence allo ances” - Social Secu ity Offices of Ho Chi Minh;
- Cu ent situation of Info mation Technology Application of Vietnam Social Secu ity (Wo d Bank’s Outline);
(23)OF T E LAW ONA ESS TO NFORMATON N VETNAM
Ngo hi hu Ha1
Backgrou d for t e assessme t
Ihe La on Access to Info mation2(o ‘LAI’in sho t) as passed by the National Assembly of Vietnam on Ap il 20 and came into fo ce on July 20 The La plays a ve y impo tant ole in specifying the ights ofcitizenship, hich is stipulated in A ticle 25 of the 20 Constitution The implementation ofthis La ill have positive impacts on state agencies, people and businesses, including st engthening of efficiency of the state management and imp ovement of the state-and-citizen elationship, and on the statuto y compliance of public se vants, people and businesses
Besides, the evie of the LAI implementation th ough the eb po tals of a numbe of minist ies and cent al agencies, the Mining Coalition, the Fo est y Land Coalition, the Clean Wate Coalition and the Cent al fo Education and P omotion and Empo e ment of Women (CEPEW) (he einafte efe ed to as ‘the Resea ch Team’) conducted a p elimina y assessment on the LAI implementation in the a eas of Ha Giang p ovince, Quang Binh p ovince and Da Nang City OXFAM Vietnam p ovided technical assistance to and the Eu opean Union funded this assessment
This assessment as conducted f om Decembe 20 to Ma ch 20 , and has th ee follo ing ob ectives: ( ) assessment on compatibility bet een the domestic la s and egulations elated to the ights to access to info mation, e g the LAI and its
Directorofthe Centerfor Education romotion and Empowermentof Women - CE EW
(24)implementing legislation, and the elated inte national t eaties to hich Vietnam is a Membe States; (2) p elimina y assessment on the LAI implementation by a numbe of minist ies, cent al agencies and local state agencies in Ha Giang, Quang Binh and Da Nang; and (3) making ecommendations fo a mo e effective implementation of the LAI This pape ill cove ob ectives and
2 Prel m ary assessme t results of t e la mpleme tat o
2.1 Assessme t o t e mpleme tat o of t e procedures fo r prov s o of format o
Afte the enactment of the LAI, the P ime Ministe p omulgated Decision No 408/QD“TTg dated July 20 on the issuance of the LAI implementation plan Unde the plan, the Minist y of Justice ill assume the main esponsibility fo heightening public a a eness of the La ; compiling and dist ibuting documents fo the dissemination of the LAI contents; developing a guide fo info mation p ovide s and citizens; evie ing existing pieces of legislation elating to citizens’ ights to access to info mation; making p oposed amendments, eplacement, modification, supp ession, p omulgation and supplements to existing pieces of legislation to ensu e thei consistency ith A ticle of the LAI; developing a P ime Ministe ’s Di ective on the LAI implementation; developing implementing legislations fo the detailed ules of the LAI; making amendments, eplacement, modification, supp ession, p omulgation and supplements to existing pieces of legislation to gua antee thei consistency ith the La ; developing inte nal egulations of agencies fo the LAI implementation In addition, the Decision also mandates elated state agencies at cent al and local levels to implement the La
On Ma ch 20 7, the P ime Ministe issued Di ective No 08/CT-TTg on the LAI Implementation The P ime Ministe has equested Ministe s, Heads of ministe ial-level agencies, Heads of subo dinate agencies di ectly unde the Gove nment, and P esidents of p ovince-level People's Committees to inst uct and pay attention to the implementation of a numbe of tasks, including legal dissemination, d afting of implementing legislations fo the LAI, ensu ing sufficient conditions fo the LAI implementation, and o ganizing the LAI implementation, fo the pu pose of
ema kably imp oving the public disclosu e of info mation by state administ ative agencies f om cent al to local levels