Da Nang topped the Provincial Public Administration Reform Index 2013(PAR INDEX 2013), fulfilling 87.02 percent of the criteria on reformcompletion, 9.46 percent higher than the national average of 77.56percent.

These figures were released by the Ministryof Home Affairs at a meeting in Hanoi on September 5, announcing thePAR INDEX 2013 for the country’s 63 provinces and cities, and 19ministries and ministerial-level agencies.

Closelybehind Da Nang lay Hai Phong City with 86.93 percent, and BinhDuong province with 86.86 percent. The northern province of Son Lacame last in the index with 58.91 percent.

30 provincesand cities fared better than in 2012, such as Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, BinhThuan, Ha Tinh, Dong Nai, Ben Tre and Tra Vinh, while 30 others rankedlower.

Dong Nai jumped to the 17th position comparedto 43 rd last year, meeting over 80 percent over the criteria forreform completion.

In the meantime, the Ministry ofTransport ranked top in the Ministerial Public Administration ReformIndex with 81.06 percent, followed by the State Bank of Vietnam with80.38 percent, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with 80.31 percent.The Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs came last with 66.71 percent.

The 2013 index showed that seven ministries had slippedcompared to 2012, including the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,the Government Inspectorate, the Ministry of Information andCommunications, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and theCommittee for Ethnic Minority Affairs.

Meanwhile, nineministries improved their rankings, namely the Ministry of Transport,the State Bank of Vietnam, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministryof Finance, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Construction,the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Ministry ofLabour, Invalids and Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Health.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Phuc said that based onthe PAR INDEX report, ministries and localities should develop specificmeasures to remedy their shortcomings and enhance their ranking in theindex in years to come.

The Deputy PM also asked theMinistry of Home Affairs to make the PAR INDEX more transparent andpractical, and urged ministries and localities to effectively implementadministrative reform in order to better meet the demands of the peopleand society.-VNA