Even though the Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Indexes (PAPIs) of both Hanoi and HCMC are merely at average positions, these two cities are the most attractive to citizens, with the leader being HCMC (at 21.68 percent) and then Hanoi (15.1 percent). This clearly illustrates the concerns of the public about jobs (accounting for 12.79 percent), poverty level (22.39 percent) and economic growth rate (9.2 percent) as these two locations have done well.
Obviously, among the measurement criteria, job opportunities have always been the most concerned, compared to living standards, for instance. That is why Hanoi and HCMC are the favorite choices of residence despite their low score in Environment Administration (Hanoi at 2.87 and HCMC at 2.96).
It would be fairer to both cities when their efforts in improving institution reform and living environment are better appreciated. Those are the two main focuses of HCMC for the last 12 months to gain sustainable development.
As to Corruption Control in the public sector and Electronic Administration, the results of HCMC also saw a great increase, showing positive influences of the fight against corruption of the city so far. On the way to improve the quality of public services and administrative reform, the confidence of the community toward the municipal authorities has risen, which means higher chances to attract new investors and the leading position of the city in foreign investment attraction.
Regarding public service provision, HCMC did not increase its rate much compared to 2022. Despite a slight decrease by two points in public healthcare as well as a mild drop in neighborhood security, the field of primary education and basic infrastructure as opposed to 2021.
This was the result of a wave of medical staff in public healthcare institutes leaving their job. However, the city’s effort to form a balance in investment policies for medical units has, to some extent, been able to restore the status.
The city is welcomed thanks to its determination in adopting various social security policies and improving its urban traffic infrastructure, leaving a more favorable impression in the mind of the public besides its everlasting factor of surplus job openings.
With regard to Electronic Administration, after two negative years, in 2023, the position of HCMC saw a rise to the 8th ranking out of 63 provinces and municipalities. This displays fruitful results of the operation of its digital government.
Yet it is necessary to improve the rating on feedback of the authorities via their e-Portal. Therefore, the city leaders should urgently apply practical solutions to increase their capacity as well as their responsibilities for public affairs so that there is a consistency between e-administration and investments in e-infrastructure to better serve city dwellers and raise their living quality. This would result in a rise in the factor of Citizen Participation at Grassroots Level (including Citizen Knowledge and Response to Complaints and Inquiries of Citizens).
