Vietnam: Disclosure of information in communes, wards and towns under the Law on Implementation of Grassroots-level Democracy 2022

Vietnam: Disclosure of information in communes, wards and towns under the Law on Implementation of Grassroots-level Democracy 2022 (Internet image)

1. Data or information that commune-level local governments must disclose in Vietnam

Except data or information classified as state secrets or those that may be disclosed in accordance with law, commune-level local governments shall have a duty to disclose the following:

- Socio-economic development plan, and annual plan on economic restructuring of communes and implementation outcomes;

- Explanatory data or reports on the state budget estimate, and the financial action plan of a commune, which is submitted to the People's Council of the commune;

The budget estimate, the financial action plan already decided by the commune-level People's Council; data and explanatory notes on the implementation of the commune-level budget estimate that is produced on a quarterly, six-monthly and yearly basis;

Final accounts of the state budget revenues and expenditures, and the results of implementation of other financial activities approved by the commune-level People's Council; results of implementation of the State Audit's recommendations (if any);

- The investment project and work in a commune and implementation progress; the plan on land recovery, compensation, support and resettlement upon land recovery for implementation of an investment project and work in a commune;

The plan on management and use of the land reserve managed by a commune; the plan to lease agricultural land reserved for public use in a commune;

The plan for construction of a district, the plan for construction of a commune or rural residential quarter; the general town planning, zonal planning project, detailed plan that is made for construction of areas in a town;

- Regulations on implementation of democracy in a commune, ward or town; duties and entitlements of public officials, staffs or part-timers in communes, villages and residential quarters; code of conduct of officeholders of commune-level local governments;

- Management and use of funds, investments, financing specific to programs and projects in communes; financial contributions from the public;

- Situation of investment, construction, procurement, delivery, lease, use, withdrawal, transfer, conversion of functions, sale, liquidation, destruction and other forms of management of public property under the control of a commune; situation of exploitation of financial resources from public property by commune-level local authorities;

- Guidelines, policies, plans, criteria, beneficiaries, nomination process and results of the implementation of support, subsidy and credit policies for the implementation of national target programs, production development, support for housing construction, grant of health insurance cards and other social security policies organized and implemented in communes;

- Information about the scope, subjects, method of nomination and determination of beneficiaries of support, amount of support, time and procedures for distributing amounts of the state budget support for the purpose of dealing with difficult situation arising from natural disasters, epidemics, incidents, disastrous events, or supporting patients suffering from fatal diseases in communes;

Management and use of contributions and voluntary donations of domestic and foreign entities and persons intended for eligible beneficiaries in communes;

- Number of enlistees, persons qualifying as conscripts, conscription criteria; list of citizens eligible to recruit to and perform obligations to join the People's Police; list of citizens who are recruited to and perform the obligation to join the People's Police; list of temporary postponement of enlistment and exemption from being called up in communes;

- Results of inspection, examination and handling of cases involving corruption, misconduct and breach of discipline of public officials, staff members and part-timers in communes, villages, and residential quarters; votes of confidence of the President, Vice President and Head of a Committee of the Commune-level People's Council, the President, Vice President and members of the Commune-level People's Committee;

- Public opinion polling plan, issues, results of evaluation or analysis of poll data, reaction to public opinions involving rejection or acceptance of public opinions regarding issues which a commune makes available for public comment as prescribed in Article 25 herein;

- Payees, rates of fees, charges and other financial obligations to be directly collected by local governments;

- Administrative procedures, procedures for handling of issues relating to entities or persons to be directly carried out by local governments;

- Others as covered by laws and regulations on implementation of democracy in communes, wards or towns.

(Article 11 of the Law on Implementation of Grassroots-level Democracy 2022)

2. Method of information disclosure in communes, wards and towns in Vietnam

Information shall be disclosed:

- By public posting;

- By publishing on websites or web portals of commune-level local governments;

- By broadcasting via the commune-level radio system (if any);

- By sending notices to citizens with the help of heads of villages or residential quarters acting as conduits;

- By sending written documents to citizens;

- Holding seminars or meetings between People's Committees and the public;

- Through citizen reception, meetings with voters, press conferences, press releases, assignments of spokespersons of the commune-level People's Committees according to the provisions of law;

- Through notices sent to political organizations, socio-political organizations, other organizations and unions at the same level and then disseminated or communicated to their members at the grassroots level;

- Via telecommunications networks or social networks accepted by the provisions of law if the level of competence in application of information technology in a commune, village, and residential quarter permits;

- By using other methods authorized by laws and regulations on implementation of democracy in communes, wards or towns.

(Clause 1, Article 12 of the Law on Implementation of Grassroots-level Democracy 2022)

3. Time of information disclosure in communes, wards and towns in Vietnam

Disclosure of information in specific sectors shall be as defined by relevant regulatory provisions.

In the absence of regulatory provisions regarding this, within 05 working days of receipt of decisions or written documents relating to information to be disclosed, commune-level People’s Committees shall conduct the disclosure of information.

(Clause 3, Article 12 of the Law on Implementation of Grassroots-level Democracy 2022)

Diem My

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