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PUBL C PART C PAT ON N T E F G T AGA NST POL C

CORRUPT ON: FROM T E PERSPECT VE OF OPENNESS,

TRANSPARENC AND ACCOUNTAB L T

Dr. P am T e Luc1- A/Prof. Dr. Da rt Tua 2

Public pa ticipation in gove nance is one of the equi ements of good
gove nance and it plays an impo tant ole in p eventing and combating policy
co uption This pape cla ifies the issue of policy co uption and the ole of public
pa ticipation in anti-co uption f om the pe spective of disclosu e, t anspa ency
and accountability Public pa ticipation in policy-making is ecognized and
specified in the Constitution and la s In p actice, the people also play an
inc easingly active ole in combating policy co uption Ho eve , the e a e still
many sho tcomings of this activity By studying the theo ies and situation of policy
co uption based on the fo mula of policy co uption “Corruption = Monopoly
+ ecrecy - Accountability” the pape p oposes some solutions to inc ease public*
pa ticipation in anti-co uption

Pol cy corrupt o a d t e role of publ c part c pat o t e f g t aga st

policy corruption

Co uption is an act of abusing po e , especially state po e , fo pe sonal
pu poses Acco ding to such definition, co uption has existed fo a long time in the
political life Co uption has still been popula all ove the o ld, becoming one of
the main ba ie s to the development of any count y, th eatening the social stability,
uining the mo al and democ atic values of society, inte cepting the development and
imp ovement of the economy and damaging the people's t ust in the State and la

Ho Chi Minh olitical Academy

2 choolo fLaw, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

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Among all types of co uption, policy co uption is ecognized as being
sophisticated- haza dous, and difficult to identify and esolve It is defined as an act
of using po e illegally du ing the policy-making p ocess in o de to take advantages
of the policy In fact, policy co uption has been conducted th ough va ious types of
act, such as policy “t ading” “bending” and “navigating” to maximize the advantages
of pa ticula individuals o g oups instead of gene al inte ests of the community o
society In detail, it is the situation in hich seve al inte est g oups in society, especially
g oups ith economic inte ests, satisfy thei inte ests th ough the acts of app oaching,
pe suading, affecting, colluding ith the policy make s fo the issuance ofstate policies
benefiting such g oups’inte ests, ithout the conside ation of the gene al inte ests

Policy co uption causes se ious consequences to both the State and society
First, it defo ms the policies, c eates an unfai competition envi onment, p otects
g oups’ inte ests, cause astes o uses ineffectively impo tant national esou ces,
and i eve sibly lo e s the count y’s economy development econdy it damages the
people’s la ful ights and inte ests, dest oys values of gove nance such as integ ity,
democ acy, ustice, co upts the public se vants’ mo ality, dec eases the effectiveness
of public gove nance and uins the people’s t ust in the State As commented by a
fo me membe of the National Assembly, “a defo med policy, in the case of being
adopted, might inc edibly benefit a ce tain numbe ofindividuals, but at the same time
might lead to the exhaustion of the national esou ces An illegitimate po e being
inse ted in the la s might legalize the unlimited ha assment of some people, but also

aise the big difficulties in the business ope ation and people's life”

The cause of policy co uption might be app oached f om seve al pe spectives
F om the vie of public pa ticipation in the policy-making p ocess, this pape

conside s the natu e and cause of policy co uption based on the fo mula: Corruption
- Monopoly + ecrecy - Accountability2

Nguyen Sy Dung, ‘Anti-Co uption of Policy’ (20 8) <https:// nhandan com vn/cuoituan/phong-su/
phong-su-anh/item/37004502-phong-chong-tham-nhung-chinh-sach html>accessed 2 Novembe 20

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Unde such fo mula, the cause of co uption might be analyzed in a detailed ay
as: any he e ( ) the offcials have a monopoly in making policies; (2) the disclosu e and
t anspa ency in policy-making p ocess a e not espected, secu ed and implemented;
(3) lack of accountability amongst public office s ega ding policy planning, the level
of policy co uption at that place is up aising and becoming mo e se ious The efo e,
some solutions as belo should be taken to tackle policy co uption:

- Stop the monopoly of the State in the policy-making p ocess by expanding and
imp oving the public pa ticipation in the policy-making, in o de to ensu e that the

pol c es s all represe t fully t e terests of t e people a d soc ety fully

- Stop the unseasonable fo ms of sec ecy by imp oving access to info mation,
the disclosu e and t anspa ency of info mation elated to policy-making Disclosu e
and t anspa ency a e the keys to ensu ing that the policy make s may not favo any
individuals o inte est g oups in society fo ha mful pu poses

- Imp ove the accountability of public office s in the policy-planning p ocess,
hich means that the office s shall take the esponsibility in explaining thei activities
and ans e ing equests and demands ofthe people and society in elation to the content
and decision of the policies In case of a failu e damaging the legitimate inte ests of the
people, the policy-make s shall also be held accountable The civic engagement in the
policy-making p ocess allo s people to equest the public autho ities to be accountable
in thei decisions and ope ations

Ihe ne app oaches of ne gove nance, good gove nance and democ atic
gove nance all emphasize public pa ticipation, openness and t anspa ency ith the
aim of p eventing co uption and imp oving the abeyance of the la s in
policy-making Good gove nance is based on seve al p inciples Among those, the equests
of civic engagement, disclosu e and t anspa ency a e emphasized Democ atic
gove nance is the ne method ofgove nance, hich aims to se ve the legitimate ights
and inte ests of people th ough the imp ovement of an open gove nment that assu es
civic pa ticipation, openness and accountability The public pa ticipation cont ibutes
to the building of good gove nance and takes the ole of cont olling co uption The
emphasis in the public pa ticipation in policy-making fo cont olling co uption is
the bottom-up app oach in anti-co uption besides the t aditional top do n app oach
focusing on initiatives and efo ms of the State in anti-co uption he inte national
community and a numbe of count ies conside that engaging the citizens to counte

Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce...

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co uption cont ibutes to ensu ing bette se vice delive y and achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals

In Vietnam, the p oblem of inte est g oups and policy co uption has becoming
the highest conce n that the Communist Pa ty of Vietnam (CPV) and the State shall
conf ont in the p ocess of economic and political efo mation It is also the biggest
conce n ofthe public In a ecent public su vey about identifying co uption in Vietnam,
the ma o ity ofthe people conside the situation that the inte est g oups lobbying policies
fo illegitimate aims is mo e and mo e popula , and the ta gets ofthe lobbying a e leade s
ofthe CPV and the State, specifically of the executive b anch 2A eas and sections he e
policy co uption that has caused se ious consequences and negativelyaffected the public
a e land, finance, state-o ned ente p ise p ivatization, and public investment

F om the natu e, cause and esults of policy co uption, it is time fo Vietnam
to change the thinking of gove nance and policy ole The adoption of a policy shall
evaluate its effects and shall not pave the ay fo inte est g oups to negatively affect
and exploint such policy In addition, public pa ticipation, openness and, t anspa ency
in the policy-making shall be encou aged

2 T e legal framework ofpubl c part c pat o t e f g t ofpol cy corrupt o
ll V et am

In Vietnam, the public pa ticipation in policy-making is ecognized in the
policies of the CPV, the la s ofthe State since the pe iod of “Doi moi” (Renovation) In
addition to the development of the political st uctu e, the legal f ame o k fo public
pa ticipation is imp oved in o de to meet the equi ements of the development of the
count y

The 20 3 Constitution clea ly affi ms the ight ofthe citizen “to pa ticipate in the
administ ation ofthe state and management of society and to pa ticipate in discussion
and ecommendation to the state agencies on the issues of the community, the egions
and the hole count y”, and the State's esponsibility to “c eate conditions fo the
citizen to pa ticipate in the administ ation ofthe State and management of society and
the eceipt and esponse to citizens’ opinions and ecommendations” (A ticle 28)

Wo kshop epo t on Engaging Citizens To Coute Co uption fo Bette Public Se vice Delive y and
Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, Ma akesh, Mo occo, 26-27 Octobe 20 <http://unpanl
un o g/int adoc/g oups/public/documents/un-dpadm/unpan048 4 pdf> accessed 2 Novembe 20

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Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce..

Not only exe cising the ights di ectly, but the citizens aỉso may oin in the p ocess
ofpolicy-making th ough the political-social o ganizations, hich idely ep esent the

peoples ights and inte ests Among these o ganizations, the Vietnamese Fathe land
F ont (VFF) is a political alliance and a volunta y union of political o ganizations,
socio-political o ganizations, social o ganizations and individuals ep esenting thei
social classes and st ata, ethnicities, eligions, and ove seas Vietnamese The VFF
constitutes the political base of the people’s gove nment; ep esents and p otects legal
and legitimate ights and inte ests of the People; gathe s and p omotes the po e of
g eat national solida ity, p actices democ acy and enhances social consensus; p actices
social supe vision and c iticism; pa ticipates in the building of the CPV, the State and
people’s activities of fo eign elations, cont ibuting to building and defending the
Fathe land (A ticle the Constitution) Social supe vision and c iticism a e t o of
the most impo tant functions of the VFF The VFF evie s, analyzes public ideas and
petitions on policies, la and p og ams and epo ts them to the CPV and the State
Besides, social o ganization and non-gove nment o ganizations a e also ecognized as
having an inc easing ole in being a channel fo public advocacy

The 20 5 La on P omulgation of Legal Documents is the basic la on the
p ocedu es of making policies, hich conc etizes the p ovisions of the Constitution
on public pa ticipation into the policy-making p ocess In the spi it of this la , the
p omulgated policies must ensu e the disclosu e and democ acy in eceiving and
esponding to opinions and ecommendations of individuals, agencies, o ganizations
du ing the p ocess of negotiating, and p omulgating legal documents (A ticle 5 6) In
o de to facilitate the pa ticipation of the people in the policy-making p ocess, this la

egulates that socio-political o ganizations, social o ganizations, and all citizens a e
entitled and encou aged to comment on national policies In the p ocess of making
policies, agencies and o ganizations in cha ge of d afting the documents and elevant
agencies have the esponsibilities of making all the policy- elated-info mation public
and t anspa ent hich can help agencies, o ganizations and individuals to comment
on the p oposals and the d afting; in addition, they must also collect opinions f om
the ones ho a e di ectly affected by the policies Opinions on the la and policy

p omulgation p oposals must be collected, studied, explained and adopted in the
p ocess of evising the d afted policies (A ticle 6, A ticle 34)

In sho t, collecting public opinions is the esponsibility of d afting agencies and
is a mandato y p ocedu e in the policy-making p ocess Fo ms of collecting public
opinions p esc ibed by la include:

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- Post policy p o ects, p oposals, epo ts, evised documents on the ebsites of
agencies, o ganizations in cha ge of d afting policies in o de fo all citizens to be able
to give thei opinions

- Collect itten opinions of elated pa ties: this p ocedu e may be ca ied out in
the fo m ofdi ect consultation, sending the d afted p oposal to elated pa ties fo thei
opinions, o ganizing confe ences, semina s, o opinions published on t usted media

- O ganize di ect dialogue ith the ones ho a e di ected affected by the policies
In addition, in o de to c eate conditions favo able fo the pa ticipation of the
people into the policy-making p ocess in gene al, and into the la of p eventing and
fighting co uption in pa ticula , the 20 6 La on the Access to Info mation, the 20 6
P ess La , the 20 8 La on Anti-co uption, the 20 8 La on Denunciation and
othe la s also have detailed and specific p ovisions on the public pa ticipation, the
esponsibility of public autho ities and officials to p ovide openness, t anspa ency and
accountability; it is one of the co e measu es to p event co uption

Ove all, the legal f ame o k fo public pa ticipation in the policy-making
p ocess in Vietnam is basic; it emphasizes the p inciples of t anspa ency, democ acy,
openness, and esponsibilities in fo mulating policies Ho eve , this legal f ame o k
still needs to be imp oved to c eate a st onge foundation fo building a mode n model
of democ atic gove nance

3 Curre t s tuat o of t e publ c part c pat o t e pol cy-mak g process
a d t e a t -corrupt o pol c es V et am

It can be seen that, in Vietnam, te ms such as “advice” “consultation” especially
“social criticism” - as the cont ibution of individuals, socio-political o ganizations,
social o ganizations on ce tain policy and la ofthe gove nment - have appea ed mo e
and mo e in legal documents, speeches of the CPV and State leade s as ell as in
national media In fact, fo ms of public consultations and social c iticism of the state’s
policies and la s have occu ed egula ly as a mandato y p ocedu e equi ed in the
policy-making p ocess This someho eflects the fact that the people’s pa ticipation in
the social gove nance is a legitimate need, a component ofthe democ atization ofsocial
life, hich also eflects the democ atic level ofboth the people and the gove nment

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- Cont ibut to the imp oving the positive pa ticipation ofthe people into politics,
developing a sense ofa citizen’s ights and obligations, esponsibilities ofthe community
fo the development of the count y and the people In fact, hen pa ticipating in the
policy-making p ocess, the public finds itself eally a membe ofthe p ocess, so it takes
an active and esponsible ole in commenting on the policies Ihis makes the policies
close to the citizens, limiting the oppo tunities of policy co uption and effectively
p omoting the policy implementation p ocess

- Take advantages of social esou ces into policy-making p ocess, especially
the expe iences and kno ledge f om individuals, expe ts, social o ganizations,
ente p ises and p ofessional o ganizations ho have a high eputation nationally and
globally in p oviding scientific foundations fo the policy-making p ocess; the eby
cont ibuting to saving, educing the cost of esou ces in planning and building of
State policies In ecent yea s, public consultation on policy fo mulation has been
advanced Many comments and suggestions have been eceived and ad usted by
la make s to adapt to the ob ective eality, the eby c eating a high consensus in the
society As a esult, many policies a e eally p actical, c eating a st ong motivation

and cont ibuting to the socio-economic development of the count y in mo e than
30 yea s of enovation

- Reduce conflicts ofInte est among social g oups, the eby c eating sociaỉ consensus
in the policy-making p ocess Indeed, th ough the fo ms of consultation, dialogue and
c iticism of the public policy, the disag eements in the policy have been mo e and mo e
na o ed All pa ties find a common voice in the ay of esolving the p oblem; the efo e,
p oblems f om the limitations and inadequacies of the policy e e ove come The
quality, effectiveness and efficiency ofthe policy have been significantly imp oved, hich
effectivelyp omotesthe use ofpoliciesin nationalmanagementandgove nance Mo eove ,
engaging the public in the policy-making p ocess not only enhances the effectiveness of
policy communication but also enhances the capacity to eceive, evaluate and espond to
policies This p ocess has cont ibuted to ensu ing die ights ofinfo mation of the people
and inc eased the accountability of policy-making agencies

Although social c iticism has been ca ied out befo e 20 3, it has only been done substantially, extensively and
effectively since the issue of the Decision 2 7-QD/TW of the Pa ty and the Constitution of 20 3 In the past
5 yea s, the VFF and socio-political o ganizations at ail levels have o ganized 5 745 social c iticisms; 32 064
affai s and activities elated to the policy ecommendations fo the Pa ty and gove nment See: Ngo Sach Hiuc,
‘Situation, cu ent issues in social the c iticism activities of Vietnam Fathe land F ont* (20 ) <http://tuyengiao
vn/nghien-cuu/!y-luan/thuc-t ang-nhung-van-de-dat- a-hien-nay-t
ong-hoat-dong-phan-bien-xa-hoi-cua-mttq-viet-nam-lỉ 8> accessed 2 Novembe 20

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- The st ong development of info mation technology and social net o ks
has changed the ay of inte action bet een people, expe ts, inte est g oups, social
o ganizations and autho ities in policy-making p ocess It can be seen as the g eatest
time hen state policy can be delive ed so quickly to the public and also captu ed
high attention Th ough social net o ks, many acto s have c eated a ide ange of

links to access and sha e info mation, exp ess opinions, comment, discuss in diffe ent
pe spectives and sp ead out a guments conce ning public policy- elated issues This
helps to cont ibute to c eating public p essu es, hich fo ce the gove nment agencies
to listen to public opinion, eceive those opinions, make explanations, o even amend
and suspend a numbe of ongful policies The hole p ocess has step by step
imp oved the efficiency of state gove nance and met the expectations of stakeholde s
to a ds development goals

Aside f om the successful esults, public pa ticipation in the policy-making
p ocess also evealed some sho tcomings and limitations including:

First, the adve se cha acte istics of localism in the policy-making p ocess a e
still common With the cu ent policy-making p ocess, most of the policy initiatives
have come f om state agencies assigned to state management (mostly implemented
by minist ies, depa tments and People’s Committees in p ovinces and cities in the
count ies) Ve y fe public policies have been issued based on the ideas of those
affected by the policies, and measu es to implement the policies have come f om
public agencies to meet thei needs of bette management fo thei secto s and egions
ega dless of the ove all national management Acco ding to the 20 5 Repo ts of the
Minist y of Justice conce ning the cu ent situation of the la -making p ocess in
Vietnam, the Minist ies initiated and sponso ed a g eat numbe of impo tant ideas,
p oposals2 This makes the minist ies and othe b anches become inte est g oups in
the national systems; the efo e, they plan mo e policies that a e beneficial to them
athe than emoving difficulties and p oblems fo people and businesses Acco ding
to P ofesso Kenichi Ohno, the policy-making p ocess in Vietnam is unique because
most policies a e built ith limited involvement of ente p ises Ente p ises a e only

Huynh Ngoc Chuong, ‘People’s pa ticipation in public policy unde the influence of social net o ks in
Vietnam: Case studies, Jou nal of Science and Technology Development’ (20 6), Vol » issue Q4, Science and
Technology Development Jou nal, 3

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allo ed to have comments afte o hen p oblems a ise In the p ocess of the public
policy-making p ocess, it is not possible to c eate the best info mation channel to
eceive input f om those affected by the policy This is one of the fundamental easons
hy some policies a e not feasible, o not ell implemented as much as the make s
anted

econdy public pa ticipation in the p ocess of policy and la fo mulation is
limited; the accountability of the d afting agency is not as g eat

When looking at the cu ent p ovisions of the 20 5 La on the P omulgation
of Legal Documents and its implementing documents, it seems that la make s have
made g eat effo ts in democ atizing, publicizing and being t anspa ent du ing the
p ocess of fo mulating policies and la s to mobilize and ensu e the pa ticipation of
individuals and o ganizations Ho eve , the e is a big gap bet een la and eality

In fact, public comment on policies is not eally popula and dive se The
o ganization fo di ect consultations ith those ho a e affected by the policy
( hich should have been implemented) could not be o ganized, and the events e e
too fo mal, un ealistic, and financially ineffective It is impo tant to emphasize that,
although the d afting agencies have conducted policy consultations, they have not yet
comp ehensively taken comments and ecommendations f om citizens on se
iously-amending and supplementing policies; in addition, the e is no sepa ate epo t in the
submission of policy and la p o ect eflecting the opinions of those g oups The
p oposals also did not mention ho the opinions e e collected and esponded to
On the othe hand, the d afting agencies and committees did not clea ly explain
the p ocess of eceiving the opinions of the people ho a e affected by the policies,
and the opinions of expe ts and scientists The e a e opinions stating that “lack of
feedback mechanism f om d afting agencies o f om d afting boa ds ould make
expe ts, scientists o people less enthusiastic about cont ibuting to the la ”2 This

educes the confidence of citizens in public autho ities, and it c eates an envi onment
fo clandestine p o ects bet een inte est g oups and policy make s to take advantage
of the policy

Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce...

1Kenichi Ohno, Innovating Vietnam’s policy-making p ocess, Speech at the Economic Development Fo um’
(20 2) <http:// pvnam-chienluoc com/pictu es/file/doimoicachlamchinhsach-0 _ 3 7 406650 pdf>
accessed 2 Novembe 20

2Institute of Legal Science unde Minist y of Justice, Cu ent Situation of Policy Analysis Cctivities in the La
-Making P ocess in Vietnam Today (20 5), National Legislative Development P o ect, 45-46

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hird , access to policy info mation is still limited to the public at la ge

Unde the 20 5 La on P omulgation of Lesaỉ Documents, the agencies in
cha ge of the policy must make open all info mation elated to the policy fo the
citizens to study and have an opinion on it Catego ies of info mation that must be
made open consist of the bills on the policies, the egulato y impact assessments, the
accountabilities on esponses to the policy and the amendments to policy (if any) In
p actice, ho eve , hat is accessible to the public is mainly est icted to the bills on
the policy athe than the egulato y impact assessments as ell as the accountabilities
on esponses to the policy In case the citizens ant to gathe mo e info mation on the
policy, they almost have to make thei o n effo t ithout being able to equest suppo t
f om the agencies in cha ge This is a eal ba ie that needs emoving to ensu e the
effectiveness of citizen pa ticipation

Fourth, the social counte -a gument ole of the VFF and thei membe
o ganizations is still vague and not effective “The voice of the VFF afte the counte
-a gument events is not st ong enough to p im-a ily ch-ange' the contents of the bills

on the policy that a e unde c iticism”3 Fo effective counte -a guments, mo eove ,
it is equi ed that the e be p ofessional staff ith consulting expe ience and a think
tank in the p ocess of conducting counte -a guments These a e the equi ements that
most ofVFF’s office s lack The techno-science o ganizations4(affiliated ith the VFF)
a e among those that play an impo tant ole in policy esea ch and social counte
-a guments, but the e still h-as not been -an offici-al mech-anism to suppo t them in
pe fo ming thei oles Fo instance, the cu ent legal documents still iack an a ay of
clea and detailed egulations about issues such as p oviding adequate and up-to-date
info mation and publicizing info mation so that the VFF and its membe s can make
counte -a guments, a mechanism fo eceiving counte -a guments, esponsibilities
fo ans e ing the counte a guments and sanctions fo failing to eceive counte
-a guments The cu ent egul-ations -a e limited to emph-asizing methods -and contents
of counte -a guments equested by the c iticized ta gets, so it has not been able to
c eate a legal f ame o k that invites independent and active counte -a guments f om
legal entities and pe sons, o ganizations and individuals, hich accounts fo limited

esults in p actice

3Ngo Sach Thuc, ‘Situation, cu ent issues in social the c iticism activities of Vietnam Fathe land F ont’ (20 )
<http://tuyengiao vn/nghien-cuu/ly-luan/thuc-t ang-nhung-van-de-dat- a-hien-nay-t
ong-hoat-dong-phan-bien-xa-hoi-cua-mttq-viet-nam- 8> accessed 2 Novembe 20

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4 Suggest o s

F om the above ealities, in an attempt to make t ue and effective the citizen
pa ticipation in policy planning, the pape makes some suggestions that follo :

Firsty t ansfo m the p ocess of policy planning in a ay that it is made open and
t anspa ent, and that it ensu es the t ue ights ofpa ticipation fo all the stake-holde s
including the State, ent ep eneu s, social o ganizations, citizens, fo eigne s, sponso s,

scientists, and p ofessionals Such pa ticipation should be made open on the basis of
establishing equality bet een the stake-holde s, c eating an app op iate mechanism so
that the citizens, pa ticula ly those di ectly influenced by the policy, can conve se ith
the policy planning agencies In p inciple, the citizen pa ticipation is a constitutional

ight that the gove nmental agencies in cha ge must ensu e

econd»expand the pa ticipants ho can give consultation and opinion, dive sify
channels in hich the public can pa ticipate in policy planning, and c eate ne
channels to eceive the pubic esponses such as consultation ith the non-gove nment
o ganizations, lobbying, investigations o su veys on Inte net (th ough the official
ebsites of the gove nment and the planning agencies) Cu ently, policy discussion
on the social net o k is an inevitable tendency, so “policy discussion on a social
net o k should be conside ed a ne inte active channel that helps the gove nment
to imp ove its t anspa ency and accountability, he eby it helps effectively p omote
the app oved policies o p event the inhe ent p oblems in the public secto such as
co uption and aste” , speeding the const uction of e-gove nment ill effectively
suppo t this tendency

hird, establish a system of publicizing info mation to ensu e disclosu e and
t anspa ency, ith the full involvement of the mass media system To be specific,
it means dive sifying channels of publicizing info mation so that it can expand the
oppo tunities fo the citizens to access info mation, making info mation open in
nume ous aspects The publicized info mation must be made easy to access, p ecise,
full, and up-to-date The acts of p eventing o est icting citizens* access must be
st ictly punished

Fourth inc ease accountabilities on the pa t ofthe agencies in cha ge ofplanning
policies The planning policy agencies must be held esponsible fo ans e ing
Huynh Ngoc Chuong, ‘People’s pa ticipation in public policy unde the influence of social net o ks in

Vietnam: Case studies, Jou nal of Science and Technology Development’ (20 6), Vol , issue Q 4,3 , Science
and Technology Development Jou nal

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questions elating to the policy In pa ticula , “accountability begins ith the
policy-planning agency’s commitment to take esponsibility fo its p oposed policy If the
p oposed policy does not b ing the desi ed outcome, the agency head must esign fo
his esponsibility” The public opinions elating to the policy must be studied ca efully
by the policy planning agencies and the la make s Whethe such opinions a e
accepted o not must be explained publicly, clea ly, immediately so that the public can
be assu ed that thei voices a e t uly hea d, hich then c eates t ust and motivations
fo thei continual pa ticipation

Fifth>const uct a legal f ame o k fo policy lobbying as this is a fai need fo
those ho a e influenced by the policy Ho eve , such activity must be kept public,
t anspa ent and it must st ess the accountability so that the public can supe vise the
policy planne s ega ding ho they have met and the meetings’pu poses In addition,
it is necessa y to p omote the oles of media and civil o ganizations in supe vising
the lobbying activities as ell as policy planning so that these ill be conducted in a
balanced and impa tial manne This also cont ols the situation in hich the ‘special
inte est' g oups (especially ent ep eneu s) use illegal measu es to inte fe e ith and
abuse the policy, disto t the policy to se ve thei inte ests and ha m the public inte ests
Also, the la on lobbying ill help to p event po e ful individuals in policy planning
f om committing co uption

ixth, imp ove the VFF and its membe s’ competence in conducting counte
-a guments hich me-ans p omoting t -aining, upd-ating, -and en iching thei kno ledge
and skills on policy analysis, consultation, and policy c iticism The VFF, mo eove ,
should move to a ds being the la gest c iticism fo um that connects expe ts, scientists,

techno-science o ganizations (affiliated ith the VFF) to pa ticipate C eate mechanism
that can encou age and p omote the VFFs esponsibility fo social counte -a guments,
the State can make a cont act on policy c iticism ith the VFF and p ovide a budget
fo its ope ation depending011pa ticula p o ects Completing la on social counte
-a guments -aiso h-as -a signific-ant ole in helping the VFF pe fo m its functions It is
necessa y to const uct an effective legal mechanism fo social o ganizations to exe cise
its ight in giving consultation and cont ibuting to policy planning, supe vising, and
conducting social counte -a guments Also, it is necessa y to inc ease the a a eness
and esponsibility of those social o ganizations in policy planning

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eventh>the State should offe favo s in te ms of inf ast uctu e, envi onment
and space fo democ atic and open academic esea ch so that it can p omote the oles
of unive sities, independent esea ch agencies and national policy esea ch agencies,
cont ibuting to the establishment of a basic and unifo med system of p inciples fo
policy study in Vietnam It should also encou age policy esea ch based on empi ical
evidence to inc ease the pe suasiveness fo policy planning

Eighth, it is necessa y to inc ease a a eness, competence and social esponsibility
fo the citizens ega ding thei cont ibution to policy planning, and to ensu e openness,
t anspa ency, and accountability to p event and fight against co uption All in all,
citizen pa ticipation lies in the citizens o n decision This mission can be completed
only hen the citizens have full a a eness, competence and ability to ealize thei

esponsibility fo pa ticipating in policy planning
Conclusion

Co uption in gene al and policy co uption, in pa ticula , is a common evil
of society, causing eno mous ha m to the development of each nation The cause
of policy co uption is ooted in monopoly, the sec ecy of info mation, and lack of
accountability in policy-making Based on this app oach, public pa ticipation in the

policy-making p ocess plays an indispensable ole in p eventing and combating policy
co uption, becoming one of the basic p inciples in state gove nance

In Vietnam, public pa ticipation in state management is ecognized by the
Constitution and la s In gene al, the p inciples of the disclosu e, t anspa ency,
democ acy and accountability in policy and la development have been ecognized
In p actice, people a e also inc easingly involved in policy-making activities Ho eve ,
the e a e still many sho tcomings of cu ent gove nance in the implementation and
p omotion of people to pa ticipate in policy-making Localism and lack of openness
in the policy-making p ocess a e still quite popula The public consultation is not
popula and substantive The state agencies a e eally fully accountable The public
also has difficulty in accessing public info mation The ole ofthe VFF and its membe
o ganizations is limited and fo mal Social o ganizations have made g eat effo ts in

___________ Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce...

Ngo Ngoe Thang, ‘Imp oving the Quality of Public Policy-making and Implementation in Vietnam
Today - P oblems and Solutions’ (20 ) <http://tcnn vn/ne s/detaii/3 87 /Nang_cao_chatJuong_hoach_
dinh_va_thuc_thi__chinh_sach_cong_o_Viet_Nam_hien_nay_ Van_de_va_giai_phapall html> accessed 2
Novembe 20

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policy advocacy; ho eve , thei position and ole in policy-making have not been fully
ecognized and encou aged

Ove all, the solutions need to be studied to ensu e public pa ticipation in
policymaking, access to info mation, openness, t anspa ency, and accountability

RREFERENCES

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st uctu e: People’s pa ticipation and ỉocaỉ elections in Vietnam’ (20 5), Policy Resea ch
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United Nations Development P og am Hanoi Vietnam

2 DangNgoe Dinh, ‘Some Pe spectives in Studying Policy’(20 3), Vol 2, No 2, Jou nal
Science and Technology Policies and Management

3 Huynh Ngoc Chuong, ‘People’s pa ticipation in public policy unde the influence of
social net o ks in Vietnam: Case studies, Jou nal of Science and Technology Development’
(20 6), Vol , issue Q4, Science and Technology Development Jou nal

4 Institute of Legal Science unde Minist y of Justice, Cu ent Situation of Policy
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Development P o ect

5 Kenichi Ohno, Innovating Vietnam’s policy-making p ocess, Speech at the
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6 Klitgaa d, Robe t, Ronald MacLean-Aba oa and H Lindsey Pa is, ‘A P actical
App oach to Dealing ith Municipal Malfeasance U ban Management P og amme ( 6),
No 7, U ban Management P og amme Wo king Pape Se ies, Nai obi, Kenya

7 NgoNgocTliang,‘Imp ovingtheQualityofPublic Policy-makingandImplementation
in Vietnam Today - P oblems and Solutions’ (20 ) <http://tcnn vn/ne s/detail/3 87 /
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Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce...

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2 Papi Repo t 20 8» ‘The Vietnam P ovincial Gove nance and Public Administ ation
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NA DEVELOPMENTAL GOVERNMENT

Tra Quyet T a - Ta Qua Duy1

A developmental state in hich the developmental Gove nment plays a key ole
is becoming a valuable efe ence fo many nations in the o ld that ish to p omote
apid and sustainable social and economic development th ough an app op iate patte n
of ope ation Ho eve , the application of ne concepts and ideas al ays comes ith
challenges, and fo a developmental Gove nment, autoc acy and autho ita ianism
can potentially occu , hich co upts po e and limits f eedom and democ acy
The efo e, it is essential to have many mechanisms to ope ate a developmental
Gove nment, including accountability This pape p ovides an insight of scientific
basis fo establishing accountability-gua anteeing mechanisms fo the o ganization
and ope ation of a developmental Gove nment in the o ld, and thei efe ence fo
Vietnam

Identifying accountability in a developmental Gove nment

Histo ically, accountability and developmental Gove nment a e t o concepts
that have diffe ent o igins Accountability is one of the values of Weste n political
science and ethics, hich a e accompanied by the ideology of cont ol ove the
state po e s, hich as fo med in the ancient times Mean hile, a developmental
Gove nment is a p oduct of the t ansition of political patte n that c eated social
and economic t ansfo mation in Easte n Asian nations in the 20th centu y To date,
in pa allel ith p omoted democ atic values, accountability has become not only a
vehicle to ensu e and maintain the po e p ocess but also one of the fou pilla s of
good national gove nance as ell A developmental Gove nment has become, f om

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