October 25, 2006
VIETNAM
OWNERSHIP
1. Partners have operational national development strategies
a. Coherent long-term vision with medium-term strategy derived from vision
1.
Policy formulation and public actions in Vietnam are guided by a range of welldeveloped and interconnected strategies and plans. The Government has articulated its
development vision for the decade 2001-10 in its Socio-Economic Development Strategy
(SEDS), which expresses a strong commitment to growth, poverty reduction and social
equity. The SEDS, endorsed by the Ninth Party Congress in 2001, lays out a path of
transition towards a market economy with socialist orientations. It commits Vietnam to
full openness to the global economy over the coming decade, and the creation of a level
playing field between state and private sectors. The SEDS emphasizes that the transition
should be pro-poor and notes that this will require heavier investment in rural and lagging
regions. It gives strong emphasis to poverty reduction and social equity, and a more
modern system of governance.
2.
The specific actions needed to translate the SEDS into reality are described in the
constitutionally required five-year Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP) for 200610 as well as sectoral five year plans. In accordance with the Directive issued by the
Prime Minister in September 2004 to guide its preparation, the 2006-10 SEDP serves
both as a five-year plan for the Government and a Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) for
external partners, integrating the fundamental principles that characterized the
formulation of the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS),
Vietnam’s first PRS. While it does not reiterate the details spelled out in sectoral and
provincial development plans, the SEDP provides an overarching framework to ensure
that sectoral and provincial medium-term strategies are effectively implemented.1
3.
Sectoral medium-term development strategies detailing a large number of targets
and indicators are prepared by all line ministries to operationalize the SEDS and other
longer-term sectoral plans. These include, for example, five year plans for rural
development, urban development, transport, energy, education, environment and health.
These five year plans are complemented by specific strategies such as the Higher
Education Reform Agenda 2020, the National Education for All (EFA) Action Plan for
2003-15, HIV/AIDS Strategy for 2010, as well as a 2006-08 National Action Plan for
Avian Influenza. A 2020 strategy for developing urban infrastructure and a 2001-10
Public Administration Reform Master Plan are in place. In May and June 2005
respectively, the Government also adopted a 2010 Legal System Development Strategy
and a 2020 Judicial Reform Strategy. The Government also undertook a redesign of the
National Targeted Programs (NTPs) on Poverty Reduction for the period 2006-10, which
are an integral part of the SEDP. They include the Hunger Eradication and Poverty
Reduction Program, which is aimed at providing targeted assistance to poor households,
1
The SEDP for 2006-10 was approved by the Party Congress in April 2006. The CPRGS was completed
in May 2002. A first Progress Report was finalized in November 2003 and a second Progress Report was
completed in November 2004.
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October 25, 2006
and the Program on Socio-economic Development for especially disadvantaged ethnic
minority, mountainous, border, remote and isolated communes, also known as Program
135.
4.
Provinces and cities are required to formulate medium-term development plans
every five years, describing policies to implement the SEDS and the SEDP. The
Government is planning to establish a comprehensive facility for Strengthening
Provincial Planning Reforms, which is expected to facilitate the integration of SEDP
goals and principles into local socio-economic planning. Guidelines previously issued to
roll out the CPRGS approach in provincial planning enabled the process to be launched in
twenty provinces and the Government is planning to use these to scale up the roll-out of
the SEDP approach in all provinces and cities by 2008.
b. Country specific development targets with holistic, balanced, and well
sequenced strategy
5.
The SEDP outlines an overall framework for economic growth and industrial
development, aimed at guiding Vietnam into the group of middle-income countries by
2010, with a strong pro-poor focus. It aims at achieving sustainable development by
focusing policies around an economic, a social, and an environmental pillar and identifies
the key development challenges for Vietnam as 1) the need to improve the business
environment; 2) the necessity to strengthen social inclusion; 3) the importance of
strengthening natural resource and environmental management; and 4) the need to
improve governance. Building on the objectives set out in the CPRGS, the SEDP sets
clear targets, among others, for eliminating hunger and reducing poverty, developing a
social security system and ensuring social equity and equality. The SEDP addresses
cross-sectoral issues, such as gender equality and youth development. It also has a
specific focus on ethnic minorities.
6.
The 2006-10 SEDP strives toward twelve 2010 Vietnam Development Goals as
did the CPRGS. These goals and targets are the results of substantial analytical work that
was carried out under the coordination of a Poverty Task Force which included the
majority of Government members at the time of CPRGS formulation, four bilateral
assistance agencies, four multilaterals partners, and four NGOs. The Task Force was
established to coordinate detailed analysis of poverty in the country. The work drew on
the MDGs, assessed their relevance alongside the goals and targets in the SEDS, sector
strategies and five year plans, and selected those that most effectively captured progress
in reducing poverty and promoting social equity. Some of the selected goals are outside
the MDGs, but were added on the basis of their strategic importance for economic
growth, poverty reduction and social equity. Good progress has been made towards
achieving the targets of primary school attendance, universal education and reducing
child mortality and malnutrition. However, greater emphasis would be needed in the
health sector to address non-communicable diseases as well as new ones such as avian
influenza and HIV/AIDS.
c. Capacity and resources for implementation
7.
The Government is guided by the SEDP while preparing annual budgets. On the
basis of the circular guiding the preparation of the 2006 budget, it has taken action to
adopt a medium term perspective in budget preparation in order to allow for better
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October 25, 2006
prioritization of expenditures, improved overall efficiency of public spending, and
stronger integration between capital and recurrent budgets. The Government adopted a
2006-08 MTEF and asked line ministries and provinces to prepare a budget framework
for the period 2006-10, based on the SEDP. Sectoral MTEFs have been piloted in
education, health, transport, agriculture and rural development, as well as in four
provinces. Local authorities, especially Provincial Governments, are responsible for
allocating almost half of the budget resources based on their own priorities. All budgets
are eventually consolidated into the state budget. Based on the SEDS and maintained in
the SEDP, the Government decided to increase the education share of the budget from 15
percent in 2000 to 18 percent in 2005 and 20 percent in 2010. Expenditures for education
and training reached 17.1 percent of the national budget in 2004. It is expected that the
final accounts for 2005 will show that the target amount of resources allocated to
education has been met. A second phase of the Public Administration Reform Master
Program is being launched, built around organizational restructuring, human resources
management and salary reform, and simplified administrative procedures.
d. Participation of national stakeholders in strategy formulation and
implementation
8.
Country leaders across the executive have played a key role in shaping the SEDP.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is responsible for preparing five-year
plans, in collaboration with line ministries and provincial authorities. Each line ministry
and province prepares a five-year plan to serve as an input to and support the
implementation of the SEDP.
9.
The SEDP formulation built on extensive participation of a broad range of
stakeholders. Three regional workshops and several consultations, including with poor
communities in several sites, were organized by the Government to foster debate on the
five-year plan; initial preparations were discussed at the meeting of the Poverty Task
Force (PTF) held in April 2005. Information on the SEDP planning process was shared
with external and domestic stakeholders during a Consultative Group (CG) meeting held
in Hanoi in December 2005 and a World Bank-chaired gathering known as “the friends
of the five-year plan”, held in September 2005. For the first time in 2006, the
Government invited comments from the public on a draft political report prepared for the
Tenth Party Congress.
10.
Civil society involvement in SEDP formulation has been significant, building on
the approach adopted by MPI during CPRGS formulation and implementation, which
emphasized the incorporation of views from outside the Government into planning
processes. Local experts, academics and researchers, as well as international and local
civil society organizations, assisted in drafting the SEDP. Consultation workshops with
local NGOs were organized and their feedback presented in a report to the MPI.
Significant efforts have been made by the Government to solicit the views of women,
children and disabled people.
11.
Action has been taken to involve private sector representatives in policy
formulation and implementation. The SEDP reflects some of the inputs provided by
private sector representatives during some of the consultations and acknowledges the
importance of the private sector as an engine for economic growth and job creation.
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October 25, 2006
Through the Vietnam Business Forum, jointly chaired by the MPI, the World Bank and
IFC, the Government engaged in a dialogue with the private sector aimed at improving
the legal and institutional framework for different enterprises. The Vietnam Business
Forum meets regularly prior to semi-annual CG meetings and provides an opportunity for
the business community to interact with the Government in a structured way. The last
meeting of the Vietnam Business Forum took place in June 2006.
12.
Parliamentary involvement in development planning and medium-term strategy
implementation is strengthening. The National Assembly is constitutionally required to
approve five-year plans. It discussed a draft of the SEDP in November 2005 and it
approved the 2006-10 SEDP in June 2006. It did not examine the CPRGS in its plenary
session, but it played an increasingly assertive role during CPRGS implementation by
involving poor people directly in discussions on new legislation and in the
implementation of several projects. A State Budget Law was approved in January 2004
and reaffirms the constitutional power of the National Assembly to approve the overall
budget, its composition and the allocations to line ministries, central agencies and to
provincial and city level of government. Since then Parliament has been engaging in
lively debates on the budgetary process and resource allocations, including links to the
national strategy. The MTEF is not submitted to the National Assembly, either separately
or as part of the Government’s yearly budget submission, but there has been considerable
informal engagement and discussion with National Assembly members about the MTEF.
ALIGNMENT
2. Reliable country systems
13.
The Government is making progress in its efforts to strengthen public financial
management and budget execution. The 2004 State Budget Law, which is one of the
cornerstones of the Public Financial Management Reform Program, streamlines budget
execution processes by creating a single Treasury account, allows for improved
monitoring of expenditures and designates the Treasury Department as the main agency
charged with budget execution and financial management information. The Government
has strengthened accountability by establishing the State Audit of Vietnam as an
independent entity reporting directly to the National Assembly. It has issued a new
Accounting Law, as well as accounting and auditing standards, and has made significant
achievements in terms of information disclosure. Specifically, the entire 2005 planned
and actual budgets, both at the central and district levels, were disclosed for the first time,
including aggregate amounts for defense expenditure. An Inter-ministerial Steering
Committee where the Vice Ministers of Education, Health, Transport and Agriculture are
represented is responsible for coordinating implementation of the 2004 Public
Expenditure Review/Integrated Financial Assessment (PER/IFA) recommendations. The
Government has completed the overall design of an integrated Treasury and Budget
Management Information System (TABMIS). The first phase of the TABMIS is
expected to become operational in 2009. The World Bank Country Policy and
Institutional Assessment (CPIA) performance criterion that assesses the quality of
budgetary and financial management places Vietnam at 4 on a scale of 1 (very weak) to 6
(very strong).
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October 25, 2006
14.
The Government passed a Procurement Law which became effective in April
2006. It includes improvements to the public procurement system, previously enacted in
lower level legislation as well as new provisions to improve transparency and
competition in public procurement. To support the implementation of the Law, an
implementation Decree is currently being developed. As part of the effort aimed at
strengthening public procurement, in September 2005 the MPI issued standard bidding
documents for procurement of goods. Standard bidding documents for works are
currently under development. Since April 2005, a Public Procurement Bulletin has been
in official use for publication of bidding opportunities and information on award of large
contracts. An electronic version of the bulletin is currently being piloted. 2 The
Government is planning to develop a public procurement monitoring system, based on
the OECD/DAC guidelines and a baseline exercise will be conducted in 2006.
15.
The fight against corruption has gained momentum with the November 2005
approval of an Anti-Corruption Law, which includes articles on asset declaration by highranking public servants, whistle-blowing and denunciation, conflicts of interest,
outlawing of bribery and other related corruption crimes. There has recently been a wellpublicized corruption scandal involving Government and possibly ODA funding for
transport investments. The Government is taking firm actions against the officials
allegedly involved in the corrupt activities and the scandal has contributed to reviving the
debate on how to fight corruption and ensure efficient use of public and ODA funds.
16.
Government’s anti-corruption efforts were at the center stage of discussions at the
Mid-Term CG Meeting held in June 2006. The Government made clear statements
explaining the strong commitment to tackling corruption and describing the measures
taken to investigate alleged corruption in ODA and Government-funded projects. It was
recognized that corruption is damaging to the poor as well as to Vietnam’s image
internationally and that it could affect levels of FDI and ODA available to Vietnam.
Donors expressed support to the development of an anti-corruption strategy which could
be supported by an actionable plan with a clear monitoring framework. This would allow
the Government to demonstrate progress to the Vietnamese public and to foreign
investors. Many of the most effective measures to combat corruption will come in the
form of measures and actions that are not traditionally labeled as “anti-corruption”. As an
example, CG delegates were impressed with the role that the media had played in
bringing corruption cases to the public eye and encouraged the government to continue to
view the media as an ally in the fight against corruption. While donors are facing greater
pressures to demonstrate the integrity of ODA, there is a desire to do this using improved
country systems rather than imposing controls from outside or adding additional layers of
bureaucracy.
17.
Since May 2005 the National Assembly has been discussing the possibility of
establishing a specialized anti-corruption agency, but its role is still to be defined in detail
and a Decree is under preparation to establish the Anti-Corruption Steering Committee
mandated in the Anti-Corruption Law. The Secretariat of the Steering Committee is
expected to be in the Office of Government (OOG). The Government Inspectorate is in
2
http://dauthau.mpi.gov.vn
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October 25, 2006
the process of preparing the decree on asset monitoring. The OOG and the State
Inspectorate would however need strengthening to implement the Anti-Corruption Law.
3. Aid flows are aligned on national priorities
a. Government leadership of coordination
18.
Government leadership in overall coordination of development assistance is
strong. MPI’s Foreign Economic Relations Department, in charge of coordinating
interaction with both multilateral and bilateral partners, takes the lead in coordination.
As the levels of ODA increase, the Government has urged external partners to enhance
and align their ODA related reporting mechanism by using the newly implemented
Development Assistance Database (DAD) Vietnam, build partnerships to ensure effective
use of ODA funds and to reduce the management burden on the country’s administration.
DAD Vietnam, which is implemented by MPI with UNDP support, includes project level
information that has been collected by UNDP and annually published in the Development
Cooperation Report since 1993. Backed up by internet technology, DAD is a userfriendly database designed to enhance the Government’s ability to coordinate and
manage development assistance. To establish the strategic direction for ODA use over the
coming five-year period, the Government is also developing a Strategic Framework for
ODA Mobilization and Utilization 2006-10, which will identify guiding principles,
priorities and criteria for ODA utilization in support of SEDP goals and targets. The
Strategic Framework is currently being reviewed by the Prime Minister for approval.
19.
Annual CG meetings, which are held in Vietnam since 1999 and co-chaired by the
MPI and the World Bank, support the close collaboration between the Government and
external partners. The last CG meeting took place in December 2005 in Hanoi. Mid-year
informal CGs have been held in Vietnam since 1998. Private sector and civil society also
participate in CGs. Twenty-three Partnership Working Groups focus on thematic,
sectoral, and geographic issues; they are chaired by Vietnamese authorities and meet
regularly. To provide a regular forum for dialogue on issues regarding ODA
effectiveness, a Partnership Group on Aid Effectiveness (PGAE), with broad
representation of bilateral and multilateral development assistance agencies, including the
Like-Minded Donor Group (LMDG: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland,
Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and UK), the
World Bank, the ADB, Japan, France, the EC, USAID and UN - has been established.
The Government and external partners also lead a number of working groups aimed at
fostering dialogue on budget support issues. There are also a number of donor
coordination groupings including the Five Banks (ADB, AFD, JBIC, KfW, World Bank),
harmonization activities among EC member states, the UN Development Group and
NGO working groups.
b. Partners’ assistance strategy alignment
20.
During the 2005 CG meeting, external partners agreed to align their development
assistance strategies to the Government’s 2006-10 SEDP as its PRS. External partners
supported the Government in preparing the SEDP in a results-based poverty-focused and
participatory manner. The five major external partners are Japan, the World Bank, ADB,
France and Denmark, accounting for approximately 86 percent of gross ODA in 2003-04.
The IMF also provides technical assistance through its PRGF expired in 2004. Net ODA
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October 25, 2006
accounted for 4 percent of GNI in 2004. 3 The World Bank is formulating a 2006-10
Country Assistance Strategy in support of the SEDP and is discussing a joint assessment
with other key external partners, including ADB, DFID and Japan. The ADB is finalizing
a Country Strategy and Program for 2007-10 which is aligned to the SEDP. The UN
Development Assistance Framework 2006-10 supports the SEDP and was approved in
June 2005. UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA have prepared Country Program Action Plans
to implement the UNDAF. The EC is finalizing a new Country Strategy Paper to
promote alignment with the 2006-10 SEDP. Many bilateral partners, including Belgium,
Denmark, France, New Zealand and Switzerland, have aligned their strategy cycle with
the SEDP and are currently developing new assistance strategies. Others are reviewing
and updating current strategies to ensure that they are in line with the SEDP (Australia,
Canada and Sweden).
c. Partnership organization
21.
Action is being taken by development assistance agencies to increase their
presence in the country to better manage their aid programs. As part of the Hanoi Core
Statement, a localized version of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, a survey
was conducted in May 2006. Many external partners, including Denmark, DFID, EC,
Netherlands, Sweden, UNDP and WHO, are fully decentralized and all their assistance
programs are managed by staff residing in Vietnam. The UN country team is piloting the
establishment of one UN in Vietnam. The World Bank’s decision-making process is
decentralized, with the Country Director based in Hanoi. As to ADB operations, more
responsibilities have been decentralized to the Vietnam Resident Mission including
policy dialogue, programming and project administration of about 40 percent of the
portfolio. Japan has also strengthened its field-level decision-making by establishing
ODA taskforces (Embassy of Japan, JICA, JBIC and JETRO), which have initiated fieldbased sectoral dialogues with their Vietnamese counterparts since 2004.
4. Strengthen capacity by coordinated support
Coherent and coordinated capacity support
22.
Working towards the objective outlined by external partners to align their
strategies with the SEDP, strengthening Government capacity and systems is crucial. A
Comprehensive Capacity Building Program to improve ODA management which is
supported by a large number of external partners, including Japan, the World Bank, and
the LMDG, is underway under the leadership of the MPI. Its implementation started in
September 2004 and has had positive impacts in terms of strengthening the overall
institutional and legal framework for management of public funds and ODA. In addition,
there has been a number of joint externally-financed capacity building activities to
strengthen country systems, including in the areas of public financial management,
procurement and safeguards management. A multi-partner effort, led by the Swedish
International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), is under way to support the
State Inspectorate.
5. Use of country systems
Donor financing relying on country systems
3
See OECD/DAC Aid Statistics at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/13/14/1883363.gif
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October 25, 2006
23.
An increasing number of development assistance agencies, including ADB,
CIDA, DANIDA, DFID, the EC, France, JBIC, SIDA, the Netherlands and Spain, are
providing coordinated budget support through World Bank-led PRSCs, which have
become an effective instrument for external partner policy dialogue with the Government
on macro-economic, structural and social reform issues, but also on sectoral strategic
issues. For PRSC5, the latest operation, 11 donors will be providing co-financing. The
dialogue is organized by policy areas, in which donors engage selectively, based on their
interests and technical capacity on the ground. These working groups are led jointly by
the Government and different development assistance agencies. Some targeted budget
support has also been provided by external assistance agencies. The World Bank together
with Belgium, CIDA, DFID, the EC, Norway, Spain and New Zealand have been
providing Targeted Budget Support using the National Targeted Program for Education
for All as a funding vehicle. Furthermore, since 2005 DFID has provided targeted budget
support for the Government’s Program on Socio-economic Development for especially
disadvantaged ethnic minority, mountainous, border, remote and isolated communes, also
known as Program 135.
24.
The May 2006 survey conducted to monitor implementation of the Hanoi Core
Statement indicates limited use of country systems for procurement, financial
management and safeguards for project-based ODA. A number of Thematic Groups cochaired by the Government and donors have been established to analyze the gaps in the
systems and to identify appropriate actions to be undertaken to ensure that the Hanoi
Core Statement targets in this regard will be achieved. There are also significant ongoing capacity building efforts to strengthen Government systems. The Comprehensive
Capacity Building Program, which is funded by a large group of donors, aims to help
strengthen systems and capacity to manage ODA. The DAD project is further developing
the ODA related reporting tool as well as building up the Government capacities to use
and analyze the information obtained from it.
6. Strengthen capacity by avoiding parallel implementation structures
PIUs progressively phased out
25.
At the instruction of the Prime Minister, MPI is conducting a study on the
organization, structure and regulations governing ODA Project Management Units
(PMUs). The findings of the study are expected to inform both the Government and
external partners in moving forward with the commitments made in the Hanoi Core
Statement on Aid Effectiveness to avoid the creation of parallel structures for aidfinanced projects and programs. There is considerable confusion among the Government
and the donor community about the definition of “parallel” and “fully-integrated” PMUs,
but currently about 40 percent of the PMUs involved in implementation of World-Bankfinanced projects and programs can be defined as fully integrated into Government
structures.
7. Aid is more predictable
Disbursements aligned with annual budgetary framework
26.
Based on the Hanoi Core Statement on Aid Effectiveness, external partners
commit to enhancing the predictability of aid by providing reliable indicative
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October 25, 2006
commitments of development assistance over a multi-year framework and release aid in a
timely and predictable fashion in relation to the Government’s budget cycle. Issues and
options to strengthen the predictability of aid are currently being studied. Linked to the
implementation of DAD Vietnam, it is expected that guidelines will be developed for
improving external partner reporting on ODA commitments and disbursements, as well
as for strengthening the Government inclusion of ODA in annual budgets and mediumterm expenditure frameworks.
8. Aid is untied
27.
Untying of aid has not been discussed under the PGAE or the Hanoi Core
Statement.
HARMONIZATION
9. Use of common arrangements or procedures
28.
To support sector coordination and alignment, initiatives are underway in various
sectors to formulate a common policy framework supported by joint funding
mechanisms. The Government is working with a group of external partners in moving
towards SWAp-like arrangements for the Education for All Targeted Program. In the
health sector, several bilateral partners are currently investigating the feasibility of
developing a SWAp. A forestry partnership group has been established by several
external partners who have been looking into the feasibility of moving to a more
programmatic approach. Similar efforts are taking place in the area of water and
sanitation. These initiatives are designed differently in terms of aligning around a
common results framework, harmonization of procedures between external partners or
the use of Government systems for implementation.
29.
There is also some progress regarding the development of common procedures for
different steps in the project cycle. The Five Banks (ADB, AFD, JBIC, KfW and World
Bank) are working with the Government to harmonize requirements for feasibility
studies. This is expected to remove the current dual process of documentation, reduce
inefficiencies and improve project preparation quality. To reduce the reporting burden on
implementing units, a common reporting format has been developed by the Government
and the Five Banks. This format should replace all other reporting requirements and is
expected to be gradually rolled-out in the ODA portfolio as early as from end 2006.
30.
Another initiative for the harmonization of procedures is the One United Nations
in Vietnam, which started in 2005 aiming at unification of procedures of all the UNDG
member agencies in Vietnam. The initiative aims at reaching a unified management
structure in the second half of 2006, a unified program and budget by the end of 2006, a
unified set of management practices by the end of 2007 and a single physical location by
the end of 2007. A two track approach will be followed, by which in the first instance
One United Nations in Vietnam will be formed from the three Executive Committee
members of the UNDG, namely UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF. Other UNDG member
agencies may join the unified structure if and when they choose.
10. Encouraging shared analysis
a. Joint Missions
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October 25, 2006
31.
External partners’ highly decentralized decision-making processes are
contributing to reducing the need for country missions. For example, 60 percent of World
Bank-financed active projects are managed in the field. Many external partners manage
all their projects in the field. More than 60 percent of the ODA volume is managed from
Vietnam. Around 800 missions are conducted annually to Vietnam and about 15 percent
of these are conducted jointly. There is an on-going effort to increase the number of joint
review and evaluation missions and a mechanism is being established by MPI to
encourage this. The Hanoi Core Statement does not set any specific target for joint
missions.
b. Analytical partnership
32.
There is a wide range of analytical work being undertaken in Vietnam and some
of this is being undertaken jointly through the Partnership Groups. Regular annual joint
analytical work is undertaken through the preparation of the Vietnam Development
Report led by the World Bank, with other external partners and local research
institutions. The Government, with support from the joint Government-UN program, the
World Bank, ADB, the EC and other bilateral partners, has developed a comprehensive
Integrated Operational Work Program for Avian and Human Influenza for 2006–10. In
2005, the World Bank jointly with ADB, DFID, JBIC, MPDF, USAID and UNDP
prepared a Vietnam Development Report on “Business.” In 2004, the Government in
partnership with the World Bank and several bilateral partners conducted a Public
Expenditure Review (PER) and Integrated Fiduciary Assessment, which also included
sectoral analyses in education and training, agriculture, transport and health. Strong
Government ownership of this exercise led to a sound review and assessment of the
contribution to poverty reduction and growth made by public expenditure, suggesting
ways to improve resource allocation further. The Government has plans to undertake
general PERs jointly with external partners every four years, as well as to conduct midterm thematic PERs. External partners have posted 64 documents on the Country
Analytic Work website as of October 2006.4
MANAGING FOR RESULTS
11. Results oriented frameworks
a. Quality of development information
33.
The Government is taking action to improve the quality and availability of data.
The General Statistics Office’s capacity to collect, process and disseminate data is
increasing, partially due to the 2003 National Statistics Law’s focus on transparency and
high quality of data. Criteria for measuring poverty have been brought into line with
international standards building on the biennial Vietnam Household Living Standard
Survey. The General Statistics Office is in charge of collecting and publishing national
socio-economic statistical indicators related to SEDP goals and targets, as well as the
MDGs. Baseline surveys of natural resources and socio-economic features are conducted
on a regular basis in each region and province of the national territory and a population
census is planned for 2009.
b. Stakeholder access to development information
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www.countryanalyticwork.net
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October 25, 2006
34.
Publicly available development information has increased over time. Mass media
plays an important role in disseminating information on relevant political, social, and
development issues. It has given significant attention to the SEDS and covered SEDP and
previously CPRGS consultations, as well as CG meetings. Local language
communication activities have been undertaken in ethnic minority areas. Information on
the 2006-10 SEDP is easily available on the Government website as are guidelines for the
preparation of the 2006-10 SEDP, as well as the English version of the CPRGS,
originally drafted in Vietnamese, its Progress Reports, sector strategies, poverty
assessments, Government Directives, and NTPs. Information on five-year plans can also
be found on the MPI website, where summaries of previous SEDPs can be found in
English. This website also contains a section devoted to ODA where the Hanoi Core
Statement on Aid Effectiveness and the Vietnam Harmonization Action Plan signed in
2004 by the Government and its external partners can be found. Information on censuses
and socio-economic surveys can be found on the website of the General Statistics Office.
Budget plans, final accounts, including aggregate figures for national defense, and
auditing results of the central and local budgets are available on the website of the
Ministry of Finance, which also contains some information on the Public Financial
Management Reform Program.5
c. Coordinated country-level monitoring and evaluation
35.
The Government has made a tremendous effort to develop a results framework for
the SEDP 2006-10 that applies sound principles of monitoring and evaluation. A team
from MPI has been training line ministries and provinces and has been working with
them to put together a results framework that is structured logically around a results chain
from inputs to outcomes. This marks a breakthrough in approaches to mainstream
monitoring in Vietnam, which is traditionally dependent on the measurement of inputs,
rather than the change generated with those inputs. The current timetable suggests that
MPI will try to complete the results framework in 2006, once they have consulted widely
across ministries and provinces. Though the framework is still evolving, it is already
clear that there is a substantial pillar that refers to measuring progress in the promotion of
good governance. This represents important progress, since attempts to measure
systematically the results from governance reforms have been weak until now. Most
external partners, including DFID and Japan, have agreed to rely on the SEDP M&E
system once it becomes operational.
MUTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY
Development effectiveness assessment frameworks
36.
The Hanoi Core Statement on Aid Effectiveness, which was approved by the
Prime Minister in September 2005 and was broadly endorsed by external partners during
the 2005 CG meeting, establishes joint local commitments and targets to be achieved by
5
http://www.cprgs.org/home/index.jsp;
http://www.mpi.gov.vn/default.aspx?Lang=2;
http://www.mpi.gov.vn/oda/Home/?2039484429;
http://www.gso.gov.vn/default_en.aspx?tabid=491;
http://www.mof.gov.vn/DefaultE.aspx?tabid=197
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October 25, 2006
2010 in terms of Government ownership, donor alignment, harmonization and
simplification.
37.
Several mechanisms are being put in place to monitor the implementation of the
Hanoi Core Statement. An annual joint assessment is carried out in connection with the
CG-meetings to review progress in implementing agreed commitments on aid
effectiveness. In addition, an independent monitoring mechanism is currently being
established to review the interaction between Government and external partners in
specific areas of the aid effectiveness agenda. To track progress on the Hanoi Core
Statement indicators, several rounds of surveys, including one undertaken in May 2006,
have been conducted and are expected to be updated annually with progress being
reported to the mid-term CG in June of every year. The wide range of activities planned
to support the implementation of the Hanoi Core Statement objectives are summarized in
an annual harmonization action plan. Vietnam has also signed the Paris Declaration on
Aid Effectiveness.
12
October 25, 2006
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Related websites
ADB Vietnam
http://www.adb.org/Vietnam/
Aid Harmonization and Alignment: Initiatives for Vietnam
http://www.aidharmonization.org/ah-cla/ah-browser/index-abridged?rgn_cnt=vn&master=master
Embassy of Denmark in Vietnam: Development Policy
http://www.ambhanoi.um.dk/en/menu/Developmentpolicy/
Embassy of France in Vietnam: French Cooperation in Vietnam
http://www.ambafrance-vn.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=176
Embassy of Japan in Vietnam: Japan’s ODA for Vietnam
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October 25, 2006
http://www.vn.emb-japan.go.jp/html/oda_top.html
JICA Vietnam
http://www.jica.go.jp/vietnam/index.html
IMF Vietnam
http://www.imf.org/external/country/VNM/index.htm
UNDP Vietnam
http://www.undp.org.vn/undpLive/?
World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA)
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/IDA/0,,contentMDK:2093360
0~pagePK:51236175~piPK:437394~theSitePK:73154,00.html
World Bank Vietnam
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/VIET
NAMEXTN/0,,menuPK:387571~pagePK:141159~piPK:141110~theSitePK:387565,00.html
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