Vietnam open budget portal to ensure efficient allocation of public resources

The launch of the open budget portal on August 26 is a necessary step to meet the growing demand for effective state budget management and ensure efficiency in the allocation and utilization of public resources, a finance ministry official has said.

Overview of the launching ceremony. Photo: MoF.

The open budget portal (https://ckns.mof.gov.vn) was developed by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) with the assistance from the Public Financial Management Analytical and Advisory Assistance program co-financed by the governments of Switzerland and Canada, which was entrusted through the World Bank in 2016.

According to Nguyen Dai Tri, director of the MoF's Department of Financial Informatics and Statistics, the operation of the portal is set to bring positive impacts on Vietnam’s finance – budget management in general, and the transparent of state budget management in particular.

The portal not only help the MoF speed up the drafting process of open budget report, but also provides an important instrument for the people to supervise the use of public resources at government agencies and local authorities, stated Mr. Tri.

This would no doubt contribute to the improvements in Vietnam budget transparency score, along with the respective scores of ministries, provinces and cities, he added.

Ambassador of Switzerland to Vietnam Ivo Sieber. Photo: MoF.

At the launching ceremony, Ambassador of Switzerland to Vietnam Ivo Sieber said the portal marks Vietnam’s success in managing the state budget in compliance with modern standards.

Operations Manager for the World Bank in Vietnam Stefanie Stallmeister said Vietnam has made a significant step in improving budget transparency, which had remained a state secret in the 1990s.

Operations Manager for the World Bank in Vietnam Stefanie Stallmeister. Photo: MoF.

This also showcases the MoF’s efforts to reform administrative procedures by moving away from paper-based reports towards e-reporting, at the same time putting more pressure on government agencies in ensuring efficiency of public services.

Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said as Vietnam is pushing for further global integration, the ministry is looking forward for cooperating with partners in bringing good international practices into Vietnam.

Vietnam’s budget transparency score in the Open Budget Survey 2019 (OBS), the world’s only independent and fact-based research instrument, significantly increased to 38 out of the maximum 100 points, 23 points higher than the previous assessment in 2017.

The score pushed Vietnam’s ranking at 77 out of 117 countries and territories, up 14 places against 2017.