Firstly, Office Chief Dang Quoc Toan explained the meaning of the HCMC Public Administration Service Center, which is being piloted for three months before its formal running at the beginning of next year.
The pilot launch of the Center marks a significant milestone in the implementation of seven key tasks within the comprehensive administrative reform program, particularly in streamlining administrative procedures. It builds upon the successes of previous “one-stop-shop” (OSS) models and online public services, aiming to professionalize guidance, reception, digitalization, and result delivery for administrative procedures, thereby enhancing service quality for citizens.
When in operation, the Center is expected to reduce the quantity of OSSs and optimize human resources use, and thus improving service quality in general. Notably, the Center will serve as a central coordinator, providing a powerful tool for the HCMC People's Committee to oversee, coordinate, and monitor the resolution of administrative procedures and the provision of public services.
Additionally, it will efficiently digitize, utilize, and reuse digitized data, eliminating the need for citizens to repeatedly provide information or documents that government agencies already possess in electronic form. This will contribute to enhancing service quality and satisfaction among organizations and individuals when accessing and completing administrative procedures, and will boost the effectiveness of digital transformation efforts in HCMC.
The Office Chief then pointed out the benefits to both individuals and businesses with the introduction of this Center.
The Center operates on the principle of placing citizens and businesses at the center, with their satisfaction serving as the measure of service quality and effectiveness. This is based on the processing of administrative procedures without geographical limitations. Citizens can submit applications anywhere, not necessarily at their place of residence.
The Center's operations will also address the shortcomings of the current OSS model, removing bottlenecks and resolving backlogs in performing administrative procedures in areas such as land, investment, planning, and construction.
More importantly, the entire process of receiving, digitalizing, transferring, processing, and returning results for administrative procedures must be transparent, accountable, and clearly defined in terms of location, responsibility, and timeframe, and must be conducted in a digital environment. The Center's operations will be comprehensively and radically reformed compared to the OSS model to adapt flexibly to practical requirements.
Office Chief Dang Quoc Toan also mentioned the three phases for the Center to fully operate
- First phase (now – the end of 2024): the focus will be on establishing the organizational apparatus and prioritizing the development of technology, preparing the necessary conditions for the second phase, with an important issuance of a decision to establish the Center and to define its organizational structure, duties, and powers;
- Second phase (January 1 – December 31, 2025): the Center will receive and return results for the resolution of multi-sector and multi-field administrative procedures, regardless of administrative boundaries, increasing accessibility and utilization of public services for citizens;
- Third phase (January 1 – December 31, 2026): the Center's organizational structure will be perfected, aiming for a streamlined and efficient operation.
If the implementation process goes smoothly, the second phase can be shortened, and the transition to the third phase can be accelerated to enable citizens to carry out administrative procedures regardless of geographical boundaries and to resolve three-level administrative procedures as directed by the Government.
The Office Chief also listed several conditions for the Center to run well. HCMC has already been operating the city's Public Service Portal, offering nearly 2,000 administrative procedures, including 611 fully online ones. This is a favorable condition for the deployment of the Center in the coming period.
The digital infrastructure for the current branch offices of the Center (currently district-level OSS units) as well as the reception points at the commune level will be upgraded. In 2023 and 2024, the HCMC People's Committee has had a project to enhance the digital transformation capacity of localities.
This project will continue in the future, ensuring compatibility and synchronized data connectivity to perform administrative procedures more quickly and efficiently, thereby improving the quality of service for individuals and businesses.
Currently, HCMC has 352 OSS units at all levels, including 18 at the departmental level, 22 at the district level, and 312 at the commune level. As of August 26, there were 2,558 civil servants and public employees working at these units.
The Center will operate with a one-level model for receiving and resolving three-level administrative procedures. As a result, HCMC will have only one Center at the headquarters of the HCMC People's Committee, 22 branches at district-level OSSs, 18 reception points at state departments, and 312 at commune or ward level.
