Effectiveness of japan’s oda utilization in vietnam hiệu quả sử dụng nguồn vốn oda của nhật bản tại việt nam

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FALCUTY OF ENGLISH EDUCATION THE GRADUATION THESIS EFFECTIVENESS OF JAPAN’S ODA UTILIZATION IN VIETNAM Instructor: M.A Tran Viet Dung Student: Pham Thu Phuong School year: QH2010 Hanoi –2014 i ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TI NG ANH KHOÁ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP Hiệu sử dụng nguồn vốn ODA Nhật Bản Việt Nam Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Th.S Trần Việt Dung Sinh viên: Phạm Thu Phương Khoá: QH2010 – 2014 ii Declaration I hereby state that I: Pham Thu Phuong, QH2010F1.E16), being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Signature Date: iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my sincere gratitude and appreciation to some people, without their support, this paper would not have been completed as planned First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Tran Viet Dung, M.A., for her tremendous support, encouragement and critical feedback during the process of study fulfillment Without this academic assistance, I would have been able to finish my graduation paper Next, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to my friends for their priceless suggestions and sincere encouragement Last but not least, my special thank comes to my family for their support, which motivates me a lot iv ABSTRACT This graduation paper is attempt to provide a broad look on Japan’s ODA in Vietnam since 1992 via evaluating the effectiveness of ODA utilization This study involves the summary of existing researches such as research reports, newspapers and government statistics on Japan’s ODA in Vietnam By assessing five criteria: relevance, effectiveness, impact, efficiency and sustainability, this research reveals that although ODA projects were highly relevant to development plans and needs of Vietnam as well as Japan’s ODA policy, effectiveness, impact, efficiency and sustainability in some projects were not highly appreciated due to the inadequacies of law system, the lack of the management skill and the shortage of technology and human resources Moreover, some projects made mistakes about the plan-making and document preparation, so when there were some unexpected changes, Vietnam landed in the embarrassing situation Drawing from these findings, the researcher gives some suggestions to improve the effectiveness of ODA utilization in Vietnam v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Table of contents .iii Lists of tables and diagrams vi Lists of abbreviations viii Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study 1.2 Aims and research questions 1.2.1 Aims 1.2.2 Research questions 1.3 Significance of the study 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Methodology 1.6 Organization of the paper Chapter 2: Literature review 2.1 The overview of ODA 2.1.1 Definition 2.1.2 Classification 2.2 Effectiveness of ODA utilization 2.2.1 Definition 2.2.2 Effectiveness valuation – Approaches in the previous studies vi 2.3 The researcher’s approach 11 Chapter 3: Japan’s ODA in Vietnam 14 3.1 Japan’s ODA 14 3.2 Japan’s ODA in Vietnam 16 3.2.1 Overview 16 3.2.2 Priority areas 16 3.2.3 The role in the socio-economic development of Vietnam 17 3.2.4 Japan’s ODA commitment and disbursement for Vietnam 17 3.2.5 Japan’s ODA structure for Vietnam 19 Chapter 4: Effectiveness of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 21 4.1 Evaluation rating 21 4.1.1 Individual rating 21 4.1.2 Overall rating 27 4.2 Effectiveness evaluation of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 28 4.2.1 Relevance 28 4.2.2 Effectiveness & Impact 35 4.2.3 Efficiency 40 4.2.4 Sustainability 47 4.3 Brief comments 50 Chapter 5: Solutions on effectiveness of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 52 5.1 Limitations in effectiveness of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 52 5.2 Solutions on effectiveness of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 53 vii 5.2.1 Completing the legal corridor 53 5.2.2 Improving the quality of ODA utilization plan 53 5.2.3 Enhancing effectiveness of executive management and project implementation 54 5.2.4 Strengthening the project management capacity of staff 55 Chapter 6: Conclusion 56 6.1 Summary 56 6.2 Limitations of the study 57 6.3 Proposal for further studies 57 References 59 Appendix 63 viii LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS No Charts Page 3.1 The framework of Japan’s ODA 16 3.2 Japan’s ODA commitment and disbursement for Vietnam 18 3.3 The structure of Japan’s ODA for Vietnam in 1992 – 2008 19 4.1 Flowchart for evaluation rating 28 4.2 Power Development Plan of Vietnam (2003-2020) 33 4.3 The rate of the effectiveness and impact of Japan’s ODA utilization in 36 Vietnam 4.4 The rate of the efficiency of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 40 4.5 The rate of the sustainability of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 47 4.6 Overall rating of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 50 ix No Tables Page 4.1 Criteria for individual rating 25 4.2 Examination periods of application for intellectual property rights 38 4.3 Operation days of the intellectual property information system 39 4.4 The plan and actual of the inputs in the “The Bach Mai Hospital Project 41 for Functional Enhancement” 4.5 The plan inputs and the performance at the time of completion in the 42 project “Enhancing Capacity of Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology in Water Environment Protection” 4.6 The plan inputs and the performance at the time of completion in the 46 project “Improvement of Port Management System in Viet Nam” x The arithmetic mean A = ∑ xi: the rate of the sustainability ni: the number of the completed projects A= = 2.56 The average rate of Sustainability is 2.56 There are 33 projects evaluated high sustainability No major problems have been observed in the operation and maintenance system, and it is deemed that there is no specific concern for continuity of project effectiveness for future perspective In all of the technical cooperation projects, the sustainability in terms of policy and systems is high This is clearly shown in the part “Relevance” Nevertheless, most of the technical cooperation projects have been posed with some problems in structural aspects of operation and maintenance because of the change of human resources For example: In the “The Project for Strengthening Cluster-Based Teacher Training and School Management”, shortage of human resources and changes of key persons at both central and provincial levels have made the continuation of the project effects difficult In some of other projects, the problems in current status of operation and maintenance have been observed due to the lack of detailed plans for unexpected situations in the future For example: JICA reported on “Rural Infrastructure Development and Living Standard Improvement Project” in 2010 that there are some damages in roads, electricity, water supply, etc Although road inspection is carried out on a regular basis, it is not enough to detect problems at an early stage Sometimes, damage to the road remains unnoticed until it becomes serious enough to raise the risks of traffic accidents 48 Some of the subprojects are likely to face up with the problem of insufficient capacity in the future Such problems are might be caused by the lack of detailed planning based on population projection In terms of technical aspects of operation and maintenance, some issues were found in half of the projects evaluated “fair sustainability” caused by the lack of training programs For example: In the project “Improvement of Port Management System in Viet Nam”, JICA reported that at the time of the ex-post evaluation, trainings in the technical field were held regularly by VINAMARINE staff, in which staff have the chance to join in training programs at the World Maritime University However, there is no training provided in fields directly relevant to port system reform, or the training opportunities for the contract management have been limited after project completion For this reason, maintenance of capacities in the future is an issue to be addressed In most of the projects evaluated “fair sustainability”, some financial issues were addressed due to mainly the difficulty in allocating sufficient operatio n and maintenance budget For example: In the “The Project for the Improvement of Hoa Binh General Hospital”, despite the increasing trend in hospital revenue, the allocation of budget from the central and local governments has been unchanged in current years, and the balance between total revenue and expenditure is still in red In addition, the budget approval is time-consuming, so regular maintenance is not yet done at the time of expost evaluation In the “The Project for Strengthening Cluster-Based Teacher Training and School Management”, although the executing agency allocates budget for dissemination of the model to non-pilot schools with support of a NGO, there is no budget allocated to continue the Working Group (a group of persons trained in the project as the promotion of the model) 49 4.3 Brief comments: In general, although there are some limitations in using Japan’s ODA in Vietnam, it is undeniable that a large number of ODA projects are highly appreciated This is clearly shown in the following chart C - Pa rti a lly s a tisfactory 5% D - Uns a tisfactory 0% B - Sa tisfactory 32% A - Hi ghly s atisfacory 63% A - Highly satisfacory B - Satisfactory C - Partially satisfactory D - Unsatisfactory Chart 4.6: Overall rating of 59 completed ODA projects analyzed by JICA by FY2012 (Source: JICA – 2012) Of 59 completed ODA projects analyzed by JICA by FY2012, there are 37 projects marked “A” – highly satisfactory, 19 projects marked “B” – satisfactory and only three projects marked “C” – partially satisfactory All of these projects are highly consistent with the Development Plan/Needs of Vietnam and Japan’s ODA policy However, owing to some problems in preparation process such as design plan and documents, or lack of management skill as well as improper allocation of budget, some projects are only marked “B” – satisfactory, even marked “C” – partially satisfactory 50 CHAPTER 5: SOLUTIONS ON EFFECTIVENESS OF JAPAN’S ODA UTILIZATION IN VIETNAM 5.1 Limitations in effectiveness of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam: All the projects are in line with the Development Plan/Needs of Vietnam as well as Japan’s ODA policy Nonetheless, there are some problems in four other criteria In Effectiveness, some projects could not achieve enough planned targets for the project purposes due to the lack of the preparation such as project draft, concession plan for unexpected situation In Impact, a few project created negative impacts on economic development and changes in life of the project-affected people In addition, adverse environmental impacts could be recognized in some of other projects because of design problem In Efficiency, the cost (inputs) of the projects sometimes exceeded the plan due to the price of machines and equipment as well as the problem about long-term experts for technology transfers Furthermore, delay in preparation process and in hiring consultants/experts, problem of administrative procedures and technique resulted in the fact that Efficiency is not well assessed because it made the project period longer than the plan In Sustainability, no issues in policy and system aspect were found in all of the projects but the shortage and the improper rotation of human resources caused the structural problems Moreover, the lack of backup plan for unexpected situations had bad influences on current status of O&M A small number of projects also had technical problems because of the lack of training staff program This is the reason why Vietnamese staff could not handle some difficulties in emergencies Last but not least, the improper allocation of the O&M budget made some projects deal with the financial issues 51 5.2 Solutions on effectiveness of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam From the limitations above, here are some suggestions to improve the effectiveness of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam: 5.2.1 Completing the legal corridor: - Studying legal system development and complete the management of national debt and foreign assistance - Continuing improving the system of legal documents on ODA management to meet Vietnam’s practical requirements and step by step have tendency to correspond to international rules ; simultaneously add some provisions of which the current legal documents are lack in order to ensure the effective ODA management and utilization - Supplementing, modifying, enhancing and implementing the management mechanism of ODA projects effectively - Creating appropriate process and procedures for ODA project implementation - Building a specific mechanism in which funds of spare capital in the national budget are created for ODA to meet the project preparation timely and reduce passive management of corresponding capital - Promulgating the additional legal documents related to mechanism such as price assessment and consumption norm - Studying and promulgating the regulations concerning ODA withdraw and partial repayment which receive from the fee payment of public projects - Establishing enforcement mechanisms to enhance ODA projects management - Amending the government regulations regarding the ODA projects implementation with the aim of reducing the inadequacies of the operation process and procedures in order to accelerate the project implementation and improve the effectiveness of capital utilization 5.2.2 Improving the quality of ODA utilization plan 52 - Planning to mobilize the capital step by step and sponsor the plan based on the prediction of mobilization limits, structure and finance conditions to identify the ability of ODA mobilization in each stage, thereby ensure the balance in resources as well as the absorptive capacity of the economy - Planning to use ODA in order to promote the socio-economic growth, reduce the poverty and attain other social goals - Proactively providing a list of project priorities in each stage suitable for the demanding requirements of the economy - Implementing and monitoring the plan effectively, make sure that the implementation process must comply with priority objectives and proposed capital utilization plans 5.2.3 Enhancing the effectiveness of executive management and project implementation - Improving the quality and effectiveness of governmental management of ODA  Making good evaluation to select the effective projects  Considering site clearance and resettlement plan as conditions in the appraisal process  Making detailed plan for financial management of ODA  Using ODA effectively and corresponding to the requirements of the current industrialization and modernization of the country - Simplifying administrative procedures, Enhance the transparency of the information related to process, budget dissemination and the responsibilities of management levels - Strengthening monitoring and evaluation of the project :  Establishing pricing system, keep track of the ODA agreement between management agencies  Developing common methods for monitoring and evaluation 53  Developing periodic price valuation and promulgate regulations concerning project assessment 5.2.4 Strengthening the project management capacity of staff - Strengthening management capacity of staff relating to macroeconomic policies - Focusing on the spot training, experience exchange for staff and workers - Raising awareness and expand partnerships - Raising awareness of ODA: borrowing and repaying - Continuing developing partnerships with the international community - Strengthening the external information exchange between the parties 54 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION 6.1 Summary On the whole, this graduation paper gives the forthright view of Japan’s ODA in Vietnam by concentrating on how effectively Vietnam have used Japan’s ODA to develop the socio-economic infrastructure based on five the criteria: relevance, effectiveness, impact, efficiency and sustainability Regarding relevance, all of the completed projects analyzed in JICA website publicly were evaluated at high relevance These projects were consistent with Vietnam’s development plans and needs as well as with Japan’s ODA policy For effectiveness and impact, the completed ODA projects could not satisfy with the plan made before due to the lack of preparation and the careful plan for unexpected situations These prevented the projects from attaining their objectives Evaluating efficiency in some completed projects, the actual cost could not be compared with the budget owing to the fact that the price of machines and equipment made the total cost of the projects exceed In addition, some of the other projects exceeded the plan of the project period The reasons are delay in preparation process; administrative procedures or factors related to project management; delay in hiring consultants; and technical problems caused by geographical conditions and natural disasters In the last criterion – sustainability, there are existing some problems in: - structural aspects of operation and maintenance (because of the change of human resources) - current status of operation and maintenance (because of the lack of detailed plans for unexpected situations in the future) - technical aspects of operation and maintenance (because of the lack of training programs) 55 - financial issues (because of the difficulty in allocating sufficient operation and maintenance budget) After finding the reasons why some ODA projects were not highly appreciated, the researcher suggests some recommendations related to law system in Vietnam, the quality of ODA utilization plan, the effectiveness of executive management and project implementation and the project management capacity of staff 6.2 Limitations of the study Though the research has been conducted to the best of the researcher’s effort, certain limitations could be found out in this graduation paper owing to time restriction, scope and methodology of the study Firstly, the study only focuses on 59 completed ODA projects analyzed by JICA, which were publicly posted in their website Secondly, the scope of the study is the time period from 1992 to now, so the statistics, in some extent, is very vague Therefore, the figure of the total Japan’s ODA in Vietnam during such a long time cannot give the readers the satisfactio n Lastly, the methodology of the study is evaluating the effectiveness of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam based on five criteria (relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability) To some extent, this approach is perfect, but it is not if there is not enough time Regardless of the drawbacks mentioned above, the research obtains its objectives which were stated in the part INTRODUCTION of the paper Moreover, it is beneficial to take these weaknesses into consideration for the researche r’s further studies in the future 6.3 Proposal for further studies 56 As previously mentioned, this paper cannot be considered as the first study on Japan’s ODA in Vietnam, but this is the first study using five criteria ( relevance, effectiveness, impact, efficiency and sustainability) to analyze the effectiveness of ODA utilization Hence, there are existing some drawbacks stated above which the researcher wants to the further studies in the future Particularly, the researcher would like to study some specific ODA projects to have a clear look on practice of ODA utilization or carry out a study which uses one of five above criteria to make it unique and useful 57 REFERENCES EVN, 2003 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– Da Mi Hydropower Project Report Vietnam-Japan Joint Evaluation Team, 2008 Phu My-Ho Chi Minh City 500kV Transmission Line Project Report Vietnam-Japan Joint Evaluation Team, 2009 Da Nang Port Improvement Project Report 60 Vietnam-Japan Joint Evaluation Team, 2009 Hai Van Pass Tunnel Construction Project (1)(2)(3) Report Vietnam-Japan Joint Evaluation Team, 2009 Hanoi Drainage Project for Environmental Improvement Report Dung V.T., 2009 Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Vietnam in recent years BA thesis Faculty of Political Economics, University of Economics and Business – Vietnam National University 61 APPENDIX Rating system Technical cooperation Timing ODA Loans Terminal evaluation (6 months Ex-post evaluation (2 years after Ex-post evaluation (4 years after prior to project termination) System Grant Aid Multiple secondary project completion) project completion) evaluators External evaluator rates project Internal evaluator rates project rate based on internal evaluation findings Perspectives Relevance, (impact), effectiveness Relevance, efficiency sustainability Approach , (impact), effectiveness Relevance, efficiency sustainability , (impact), effectiveness efficiency , sustainability Each perspective rated out of Each perspective rated out of Each perspective rated out of levels (1, 2, 3) or (a, b, c) levels (1, 2, 3) or (a, b, c) levels (1, 2, 3) or (a, b, c) 62 ... topic in Vietnam and in the world Chapter 3: Japan’s ODA in Vietnam – demonstrates the trend of Japan’s ODA flow into Vietnam recently Chapter 4: Effectiveness of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam. .. Solutions on effectiveness of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 52 5.1 Limitations in effectiveness of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 52 5.2 Solutions on effectiveness of Japan’s ODA utilization. .. efficiency of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 40 4.5 The rate of the sustainability of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 47 4.6 Overall rating of Japan’s ODA utilization in Vietnam 50 ix No Tables