Legal documents on business operations lack transparency
Legal documents on business operations lack transparency
Legal normative documents (LND) governing business activities still lack transparency, according to a survey by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
Ministries and other Government agencies often ignored business associations' and enterprises' opinions and feedback, despite the Government's responsibility to create the legal documents that govern them, the survey found.
VCCI questioned 288 business associations representing more than 409,000 businesses across the country. The results were presented during the Ministerial Efficiency Index (MEI 2014) Conference VCCI held on Monday. Attendees evaluated and reviewed the development of business laws by ministries and the State Bank of Viet Nam.
"The majority of business associations said they were not consulted about, not aware of and not allowed to participate in the making of legal documents, which were designed to govern their business activities," said Nguyen Thu Trang, deputy head of VCCI's Committee of Legal Affairs.
VCCI's MEI Report uses the business associations' survey results to rank ministries' efficiency in five categories, including the quality of LND, law dissemination and law implementation. This year's showed that six out of 14 ministries scored below average in LND transparency. The leading Ministry of Planning and Investment's score was just above average, while the scores for quite a few others were even lower than the previous ranking in 2012.
"It would seem Government ministries felt quite reluctant to publicise drafts of their legal documents, for fear of pressure from the public and added responsibility if they were not well-received," Trang said.
Pham Tat Thang, an economic expert, said asking businesses and residents for feedback was a crucial part of building policies and regulations. On top of collecting opinions from citizens of all walks of life, Government ministries needed to really listen to them to create practical, effective laws that reflect reality.
The MEI 2014 report says other than LND transparency, ministries scored higher than on the MEI 2012 in four out of five categories, with an average increase of 10.07 percent.
VCCI Director Vu Tien Loc said the MEI 2014 was an encouraging sign that ministries were continuing to reforms. The rankings would urge them to improve LND transparency, Loc said.
