WB aids Can Tho in improving citizens' participation in public services

The World Bank (WB) hosted a workshop in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on January 16, seeking measures to boost citizens' participation in the planning, design, and implementation of public services through digital technology. 

In Can Tho, WB-funded public investment projects are being implemented in various sectors such as healthcare, irrigation, agriculture, urban development, and transport.

At the event, Duong Tan Hien, Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee, said at a January 6 workshop, co-organised by the local authorities and the bank, the former selected specific areas that require support and proposed them to the latter and sponsors for review. These areas focus on reforms in the city's public financial management system in the coming period, with the aim of achieving efficiency, transparency, and sustainable development.

            An overview of the workshop (Photo: VNA)

Tran Thi Phuong Mai, a WB senior expert in financial management, said citizens' participation in the planning, design, and implementation of public services will bring about high efficiency and consensus. The involvement has three levels of information provision, consultation, and engagement. Citizens participate when they are given the opportunity and necessary resources to collaborate in various stages of the policy cycle, as well as in the design and delivery of services.
Tran Thi Lan Huong, a WB senior expert in public administration, suggested Can Tho continue deploying and effectively utilising online public service software and social media channels to listen to and collect feedback from the people quickly and accurately. Therefore, interfaces must be user-friendly.

Participating experts recommended the city to have initiatives for open data, like sharing non-sensitive data about services for citizens to analyze and provide opinions, and creating conditions for research projects and universities to explore the best use of non-sensitive data.

Can Tho city was also advised to monitor the quality of public services and present citizens' feedback and the administration's  actions through publicly accessible dashboards, among other affairs./.