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MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
INSTITUTE OF STATE ORGANIZATIONAL SCIENCES
******
SUMMARY REPORT
SURVEY PROJECT ON
DECENTRALIZATION OF SUBSIDIZED PUBLIC SERVICES
MANAGEMENT IN 05 CENTRAL CONTROLLED CITIES IN
VIETNAM: CURRENT STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Hanoi, July 2013
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INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
While being key motivated forces to accelerate national social and
economic growth, the cities under the direct control of the central government
of Vietnam (hereafter referred to as centralcontrolled cities - CCCs)currently
encounter number of challenges regarding massive displacement of rural
population,which in its turns, emphasizes high pressure on employment,
accomodation, clean water and travelling issues to municipal residents.
Sustainable development in urban areas in general and in the central
controlled cities require both effective implementation of state administrative
management in urban areas and the ensured provisions of public services to
citizens and organizations dwelling on the area. The notion of public
servicesdenotes three major categories: 1) Public administrative services, 2)
Public professional career services, and 3) Public utilities/ Subsidized public
services.
Subsidized public services are the direct services,which execute national
defense and security duties, serving general needs of individuals or
developing collective productionin association with the provision of essential
goods such as primary technical infrastructure, basic public goods to citizens
either directly done by the State or through an empowered unit of the State
regarding environmental sanitation, waste treatment, clean water supply,
urban public transport, services serving production or disaster prevention,
etc…those are unlikely to be implemented as economically and effectively as
the State does.
In the past few years, the management and provisions of subsidized
public services in urban areas have initially been innovatived towards better
defining scope and responsibilities of organizations and individuals involved
in the management and direct supply; completing mechanisms and policies
for subsidized public services; enterprises providing subsidized public
services initial have taken the initial step toward innovation of operating
mechanism in business accounting; gradually implementing the socialization
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of some subsidized public services, facilitating organizations in non-state
sector of the economy to involve in providing subsidized public services.
However, the state management of subsidized public services has its
many drawbacks such as lack of strategic planning and network development
of subsidized public services are not synchronous and do not keep pace with
the requirements of social economic development; the State investment is
spreading and dispersed; responsibility and decentralized authority are
unclear; financial management mechanism is still not aligned with
requirements. The state-owned enterprises operating in the subsidized public
services sector are confused about the organizational structure and operation
mechanism. The socialization of public services has been slow and not yet
mobilized social resources for providing subsidized public services.
Therefore, the investigation, research the situation of management and
organization of supplying subsidized public services in five cities under
central governments is necessary for the proposal of innovative solutions in
mechanisms and policies to improve the efficiency of management and
organization of providing subsidized public services. However, due to the
complex characteristics of subsidized public services and limited resources,
this project focuses on research and evaluation of three specific subsidized
public services as follows:
- Environmental sanitation service (waste collection and treatment);
- Clean water supply service;
- Public transport service by transit buses
2. Objectives
2.1.Overall goal
To objectively explore and evaluate the current status in management
and provisions of subsidized public services in five central controlled cities;
that serves as the basis for scientific arguments and practices in order to
propose solutions on improving the mechanisms and policies, improving the
efficiency of management and provisions of subsidized public services in
urban areas, so as to meet the requirements of public administrative reform
and social-economic development.
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2.2. Specific objectives
- Assess the status of subsidized public services supply in five central
controlled cities;
- Assess the financial management mechanisms and incentives for the
providers of subsidized public services;
- Assess the situation of decentralization of state management for
enterprises engaged in operating subsidized public services (i.e. organization,
personnel, finance and monitoring the quality of subsidized public services);
- Evaluation of the involvement of the private sector and society in
subsidized public services;
- Assessing the satisfaction level of beneficiary of public services;
- Propose solutions to improve mechanisms and policies to improve
management efficiency of public services provided in urban areas.
3. Objects and scope of survey and assessment
- Object of survey: The project focuses on assessing waste collection and
disposal service, clean water supply services, public transport bus service.
- Scope of survey: Five central controlled cities, namely: Hanoi, Ho Chi
Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang, and Can Tho.
- Time period: Survey and assessment of the status of subsidized public
services management and provision in urban areas from 2010 upto present.
4. Methods of survey
- Qualitative interview methodology is applied to study the citizens who
are the officers working in the state agencies, relevant ministries as well as
business leaders to provide subsidized public services including:
+ Department of Transportation (DoT); Department of Natural
Resources and Environment (DONRE), Department of Construction (DoC),
Department of Home Affairs (DOHA); Department of Finance (DoF).
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+ District People Committees and provincial People’s committee (PPC)
in the given cities.
+ Subsidized public services units in the given cities.
- Survey people by using the randomly selected method of 01
ward/commune of the district in each city. In details:
CCCs Total number of
questionnaire
Percentage
(%)
Ha Noi 106 18.1
Hai Phong 125 21.3
Da Nang 103 17.6
HCMC 131 22.4
Can Tho 121 20.6
In total 5 cities 586 100.0
Additionally, the project used desk research methodology in combination
with expert method in reviewing current legislation.
5. Project key activities
- Review and explore legal documents related to the whole subsidized
public services and in the three subsidized public services listed above.
- Survey, discuss and conduct in-depth interviews with state
management agencies (at department and division level), the units directly
provide subsidized public services in 03 areas: waste collection and treatment,
clean water supply and public transport by transit buses in the five central
controlled cities .
- Conduct social surveys in the five central controlled cities .
- Organize seminars with experts and managers on the content of
management and organization in providing subsidized public services in
urban areas.
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Here are some highlights of the project results.
I. CURRENT MANAGEMENT AND PROVISIONS IN WASTE
COLLECTION AND TREATMENT, CLEAN WATER SUPPLY AND
PUBLIC TRANSPORT BY TRANSIT BUS SERVICES IN 5 CENTRAL
CONTROLLED CITIES
1. General characteristics and arrangements in provisions of waste
collection and treatment, clean water supply and public transport by transit
bus in 5 central controlled cities
1.1.Overview of the 5 central controlled cities
City Area (km2 )
Population
(thousand
people)
Population
density
(person/
km2
No. of administrative
units
Ha Noi 3.344,6 6.561.9 1.962 10 districts (D), 1
town (T), 18 rural
districts (RD)
HCMC 2.095,5 7.396, 5 3.530 19 Ds, 5 RDs
Hai Phong 1.522,1 1.857,8 1.221 7 Ds, 8 RDs
Da Nang 1.283,4 926,0 722 6 Ds, 2 RDs
Can Tho 1.401,6 1.197,1 854 5 Ds, 4 RDs
Total Apprx. 10,000 Apprx
18.000
47 Ds, 37 RDs, 1 T
1.2.Current provision arrangements of environmental sanitation, clean
water supply, transit buses in 5 central controlled cities
a)Environmental sanitation
City
Collection
volume
(ton/ day
and night)
Collection rate (%) The State-
funded budget
(Mil VND)
(2011) Urban Suburban
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Ha Noi 6,500 95 65 900
HCMC 7 – 7,400 90 80 1,400
Hai Phong 1,171 97 70 75
Da Nang 700 90 45 75
Can Tho 838 70 72
- Forms of waste collection and treatment services:Subsidized public
service suppliers established by the PPC; Subsidized public services Ltd.
Company; Cooperatives of waste collections; People-founded waste
collection group (Ho Chi Minh City)
b) Clean water supply:
City The rate
of water
loss (%)
The rate of
people accessed to
clean water (%)
The
lowest clean
water
price/the
highest
(thousand
VND)
The
State-funded
budget (Mil
VND)
(2011) Urban Suburban
Ha Noi 36% 97 73 4 160
HCMC 40% 87.27
Hai Phong 25% 76 6.5/13.5
Da Nang 20% 90 45 3.7/12.2 50
Can Tho 27% 71 42 6
- Forms of clean water supply services: Clean water trade company
directly under the control of the PPC; Infrastructure investment Joint Stock
Company (CII –HCMC)
c) Public transport by transit buses:
City No. of
bus
route
No. of bus
vehicle
Passenger
volume/day
The lowest
bus fare/the
highest bus
The State-
funded
budget
8
fare (1,000
VND)
(Mil VND)
(2011)
Ha Noi 84 1,145 1.1 million 3/10 1,084
HCMC 150 3,208 1.57
million
3/10 1,400
Hai Phong 12 90 389,000 8/15 4
Da Nang 5 98 76,000 4/10 0
Can Tho 5 57 178,000 4/10
- Forms of public transport service by transit buses: State-own-
subsidized public service supplier (The Model of Hanoi General Company of
transport and public services); private transport businesses performing in
bidding form.
1.3. Citizens’ feedback of subsidized public services
City Level of satisfaction
with waste
collection service
Level of satisfaction
with clean water
supply
Level of satisfaction
with bus service
Ha Noi 74.0% 39% 44%
HCMC 55.9% 44% 52%
Hai Phong 69.4% 53% 36%
Da Nang 76.0% 68% 61%
Can Tho 83.5% 70% 73%
2. Current regulatory documents on environemental sanitation,
clean water supply and public transport by transit bus services
2.1. Systematization of law
Through the review of legal documents onsubsidized public services
shows the number of documents is very copious such as the law adopted by
the National Assembly, the ordinances of the Standing Committee of the
National Assembly, the Government’s decrees, Ministries’ circulars, the
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Resolution of the People’s Council;the decisions and directives of the five-
city People's Committee issued and provided on subsidized public services in
general and sanitation, clean water supply and publictransportbus services in
particular.
2.2. General comments
Law on Enterprise in 2005 stipulates the rights and obligations of
enterprises producing and supplying subsidized public products and services
in Article 8, Article 9 and Article 10: To conduct cost accounting and be
entitled to cost recovery at the price for tender implementation, or collect
charges for provision of services in accordance with the regulations of the
authorized State body; To be guaranteed an appropriate period for production
and supply of products or provision of services in order to recover its
investment capital and gain reasonable profits; To produce and supply
products or provide services in correct quantity and quality and on time as
agreed at the price or charge rate stipulated by the authorized State body; To
ensure that the same equitable and favorable conditions are applicable to all
types of customers; To be responsible before the law and customers for
quantity, quality, terms of supply and prices, charges for supply of products or
provision of services.
Decree No. 31/2005/ND-CP of the Government on the production and
supply of products, subsidized public services provided the specific list of
products and subsidized public services that enable a number of non-state
enterprises participating in subsidized public services delivery. Accordingly,
1) The products and services are essential to the country’s economic and
social life, community of a territorial region or assurance of national defense
and security; 2) The production and delivery of these products and services
consistent with market mechanism are considered more difficult to make cost
recovery; 3) The authorized state agencies assign each enterprises involved in
production and delivery of subsidized public services a quota, open bid in
accordance with the price or cost determined by state regulations. However,
this decree does not mention clean water supply service, hence, it is probably
understandable that clean water supply service is considered as regular
services and follows the market mechanism.
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In general, the system of legal documents on management and
organization in providing subsidized public services has the major limitations
as follows:
- Inspection and examination activities for operation of subsidized public
servicesare conducted by the governing bodies of subsidized public services
enterprises (i.e. Department of Transport and Department of Construction).
Therefore, it results into the lack of objectivity and fairness in inspection and
examination activities.
- There are no specific and unified regulations on quality standards and
the number of subsidized public services, so each place/region has its own
regulations on quality standards and the number of various subsidized public
services and the people enjoy these services with different qualities.
- Mechanisms and policies on socialization of subsidized public
servicesare incomplete and synchronic.
- The City People’s Council defines and decides the subsidized public
services pricing details yearly with the aim to ensure stability and social
justice without consulting with theenterprises providing public services about
prime costfor meetingthe enterprises’ business requirements.
a) Waste collection and treatment
- Law on Environmental Protection (No.52/2005/QH11), Decree No.
59/2007/ND-CP of the Government dated 9/4/2007 on solid waste
management and regulations of ministries and the provincial people
committees clearly stipulated the responsibilities of the entities on
management and organization in household garbage collection and on
handling of violations in this area.
However, there lack of regulations on equipment and technology
standards and waste transport in order to ensure quality and safety during the
operation; inspection, monitoring and handling of violations of environmental
hygiene have not been widely appreciated as they ought. In Ho Chi Minh city,
there is no consistency on establishment procedures, rights and obligations,
the governing agencies to waste picker cooperatives and also a lack of unity
between provisions of Decree No. 151/2007/ND-CP dated 10/10/2007 on the
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organization and operation of cooperatives and Circular No.04/2008/TT-BKH
of the Ministry of Planning and Investment dated 09/7/2008 guiding some
provisions of Decree No. 151/2007/ND-CP with the provisions of Decision
No.5424/QD-UBND of the Ho Chi Minh city people’s committee. It is
noteworthy that the provisions of Decision No.130/2002/QD-UB stipulate
that the Department of Transportation and Civil works is the governing body
in charge of management of environmental sanitation, but in fact, it is no
longer consistent with the actual situation because this functional
responsibilities has been assigned to the Department of Natural Resources and
Environment.
- For operating income sourcesrelated towaste collection and treatment,
Law on Environmental Protection 2005 provided fees and funds for
environmental protection. The Circular No.97/2006/TT-BTC dated
16/10/2006 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the fees and charges under the
decision of the provincial and centrally city People’s Councilincluding
regulations on cleaning fee for entity groups: individuals, families, small
business households, schools, kindergartens, the offices of enterprises and
administrative and non-business agencies, stores restaurants, hotels, food
restaurants, factories, hospitals, manufacturing facilities, markets, train
stations, bus stations, the fee rate shall not exceed 160,000 VND/m3of waste.
Regulations on the charge of household waste in Ho Chi Minh city
according to Decision No.5424 enacted in 1998 is no longer relevant because
the current situation and fee rate depends on the agreement between owners
of waste sources and waste enterprises/pickers beyond the control of the
governingagencies.
Decree No.174/2007/ND-CP of environmental protection charges for
solid waste. As such, two different types of fees relating to environmental
sanitation are sanitary fees and environmental protection fees. In particular,
the sanitary fee is used to compensate for waste collection and transportation
and the environmental protection fee is used for the solid waste disposal to
ensure environmental standards and propaganda activities improvingthe
people’s awareness. However, the actual cleaning feescollected from the
owners of waste sources are used to directly cover for the waste collectors.
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But the environmental protection charges for solid waste have not been yet
implemented in the cities.
b) Clean water supply
- Joint Circular No.75/2012/TTLT-BTC-BXD-BNNPTNT dated
15/5/2012 guiding principles, defining methods and competence to decide on
water consumption rates in the urban, industrial and rural areas, "clean water
consumption rates must be accurately and fully defined as rationalized with
production costs, the total cost of the production, distribution, consumption
(including the cost of maintaining connectors). It helps the water supply units
maintain and develop on the basis of regulations, standards, and economically
technical norms according to the provisions of law promulgated and
announced and the profits of reasonable level of commercial water volume
that the organizations and individuals conduct partly or fully all the activities
of exploiting, production, transmission, wholesale and retail water (called as
water supply units) in accordance with the pricing regulations of issued by the
State and guiding in this Circular and the supply and demand relationship of
clean water and socio-economic development conditions of the country,
regional and people’s income in each period as to ensure the legitimate rights
and interests of the water supply units and customers, etc".
- On November 21,2012, the Ministry of Construction issued Circular
08/2012/TT-BXD guiding the implementation of regulations ensuring safe
water supply including the three requirements as follows: ensuring to
maintain water pressure, stable supply, sufficient water quantity and water
quality in accordance with prescribed standards; there are solutions to deal
with unusual events and risks that may occur in the entire production process,
supplying the clean water from water source to customers; contributing to
protect public health, reducing water-related diseases, disease prevention and
socio-economic development.
However, clean water prices must be affordable to consumers but if
accurate and full of all costs will lead to beyond the affordability of
consumers. The fact shows that the enterprises must be governed by the
market rules for the input costs to produce clean water, while the price of
water consumption decided by the public administration agencies is lower
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than input cost, hence, enterprises cannot profit. In addition, there has not yet
been a system of economic and technical norms in the production of clean
water as a basis for enterprises to establish the internally economic and
technical norms to manage production costs and product’s price.
c) Public transport by transit buses
Decree No.91/2009/ND-CP dated 21/10/2009 of business rules, business
conditions and licenses for auto transport businesses. Accordingly, the
centrally governed province or city people’s committees issue the planning of
route network, construction and management of infrastructure for bus
operations, publishing bus routes and ticket prices, the country’s incentive
policy to encourage the development of passenger transport by bus in the
area. However, some cities actually have not complied with these regulations.
- The deployment of content on Decision No.280/QD-TTg dated
08/3/2012 of the Prime Minister approving the project of developing public
passenger transport by bus from the period of the year 2012 to 2020 remains
in slow speed and facing obstacles.
- Results of the implementation of the provisions of the Decision
No.34/2006/QD-BGTVT of Ministry of Transportation dated 16/10/2006 on
"Regulations on management of public passenger transport by bus" are still
limited.
- The implementation of Decree No.95/2009/ND-CP dated 30/10/2009
of the Government provided term used for freight cars and passenger cars is
embarrassing, for example, the scheme of Ho Chi Minh city People's
Committee relating to replacing 1,680 new buses are embroiled in support
mechanisms for investors.
- The price support mechanism for subsidized bus routes for each route,
each group of vehicles lacking transparency, openness and fairness, so it is
difficult to attract investment from all economic sectors operating in the field.
Calculating formula: Funds of price support = Total bus running cost
(including profit) - assigned revenue.
3.Current status in subsidized public services in 5 central controlled
cities
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3.1.Ha Noi Capital City
3.1.1.Current status in organizing and supplying of public services
a) Solid waste collection and treatment
According to the Urban Environment Company Hanoi, the volume of
solid waste in Hanoi increased at an average rate of 15% each year. Solid
waste generated more than 6,500 tons each day. Estimated percentage of
household solid waste collection is about 95% in urban districts and is about
65% in suburban districts. Industrial solid waste is collected at about 85-90%
and hazardous waste collection is only reached 60-70%. The handling and
disposing solid waste is mainly based in the landfill, wasting lands and also
impossibility to handle environmental pollution thoroughly and landfills are
already in danger of overloading. Difficulties and delays in the waste
treatment is due to waiting for the function authorities to select technologies
of intelligent waste processing, environmental hygiene and consistency with
the Hanoi
b) Clean water supply
In Hanoi, the currentoperationg 20 large-sized water supply plants and
15 water production stations under the control of Clean water factories
basically expolit underground water through 280 wells. However, on facing
the fact that the current level of underground water is getting more and more
low down, the volume of water exploited is on decline, together with water
pollution and ground subsidence, exploitation of ground water inside the
municipal areas is prohibited and water supply development is heading to the
surface water exploitation from Da river, Hong river and Duong river. Since
the start exploitung Da river water source June in 2008 of the Song Da Water
Plant (Vinaconex), the trend in using surface water for clean water supply has
begun. However, surface water source in Hanoi area may encouter difficulties
from big changes in water volume on the monthly basis within a year and
changes in quality due to the receipt of waste water run out from city.
Water supply system (including clean water transferring system and
distribution system) are not regularly maintained and upgraded to be
synchronous with water supply plants; therefore, the percentage of clean
water loss stay extremely high, from 38% - 40%. As the clean water supply
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system is equipped to the front houses in unsynchronous and complicated
network, citizens having water usage demand must put their own investments
in purchase of water pipelines, water pumps, construction of water storage
tank. In the end of May in 2013, water shortage occurs in several areas in the
city, such as: 45 households in citizen group 26, citizen coumpound 7, Quang
An ward (Tay Ho district); 100 households in citizen groups 43, 45, 46, Quan
Hoa district (Cau Giay district); hundreds of households in the building B10B,
Nam Trung Yen urban area; households in the citizen group 62, Chuong
Duong ward (Hoan Kiem); households in the alley 354 in Truong Chinh street
(Dong Da district).
Rural water supply in Hanoi reveals weakness and shortcomings in the
management, exploitation and uses. It has been many years since more than
2000 households in Chang Son Commune (Thach That District, Hanoi) fell in
to the status of servere shortage of clean water. They had to travel and buy
every barrel of clean water at prices from 100,000 - 120.000 dongs/m3. The
reason for that shortage could be tracked back from high population growth
causing water pollution, soil drought, many households have dug wells as
deep as 30 - 40m but they still failed to see water. By reviewing, the Hanoi
Department of Rural and Agricultural Development has found a number of
water supply projects in suburban areas still "sleep in blanket" and this
number, unhapply, is getting higher.
Of the 123 water supply plants invested the construction of the city, there
are 25 inactive stations.The water supply stations under the direct control of
villages, cooperatives and communal levels used to functioned well at starts
but then reveals limitations and shortcomings. So far, the city has not
provided regulations on construction management and exploitation of water
supply management system for coherent controlling. A vast number of
management boards at commune level, cooperatives, and villageshave not had
expertises and stays in poor management status, and lack of funds for timely
repairs and maintainance, that consequentlycause the works quickly degraded,
damaged, leading to unsecured water quality. In many water supply systems,
sterilization matter has not yet been equivalently concerned. While some
water supply stationsonly having their water analysis and tested once a year,
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the others did not conduct any water testing and water quality provided to
citizens have not been not announced .
c) Public transport by transit buses
According to the Department of Transportation Hanoi, in recent years,
bus service has donequick recovery steps, the number of transit buses
increased from 237 (2001) to 1,145 (2010), from transporting 19.7 millions
of turns of passenger in 2001 to 422 millionsof passengers in the year 2010.
Currently, there are 84 bus routes (including 65 routes are subsidized in bus
ticket price, 12 non-subsidized routes, 07 routes operating in socilization
mode) with a total length covered by the service of nearly 2,300 km, with
daily running of more than 10,800 turns/day and at serving more than 1.1
million passengers per day. Nevertheless, current operation of transit buses
has only met only about 10% of travel needs of the people; concurrently,
service quality remains weak, buses failed to follow strictly scheduled route
and intended ignorance of certain terminals.
According to the Urban transport operation and management center, on
some streets, buses are not fullyexploited regarding capacity, which means
possible increases in these routes; in contrast, some overloaded bus routes
should be adjusted the running schedule to cut off load of service. Regarding
infrastructure, there are needsin designing transit points and adjust the bus-
stops to attract more passengers;it should makerationalization over startpoints
and endpoints. Only by having these measures in place, costs can be saved
and the fixed networks become more stable.
There are many shortcomings regarding bidding contracts such as slow
adjustment of ticket fare, prices of raw materials and deadlines of subsidy
payments as committed in the contracts signed. Late payment of subsidies to
business (often late from 06-09 months) are often causal from the Department
of Finance and/or the State Treasury sides; slow adjustment of policies on
wages for workers and raw material prices; autonomy in leasing ground areas
to supplement for the revenues are not allowed.
- Regarding subsidies of price, after 5 years of expansion, the bus from
Hanoi (old) in Ha Tay (old) still enjoy subsidies policies. Specifically, for the
subsidized routes, if the distance is less than 25km, the fare is 5,000 VND,
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greater than 25km, the fare is 7,000 VND. Meanwhile, with the same length
of route, the non-subsidized buses fare are higher from 2-3 times. For
example, the routestarting from My Dinh station, going to Thang Long
Avenue and endingSon Tay town coverstotal 50km in length; and the bus fare
for this route is 22,000 dongs; however, covering the same length, the
subsidized route costs only 7,000 dongs.
3.1.2.Current status of decentralized management and socialization
a) Waste collection and treatment
According to Decision No. 11/2011/QD-UBND of Hanoi PPC, the city
environmental sanitation management (including collection, transportation
and disposal) in 04 districts and the main road, the road belt, the center roads.
The PPC allows bidding and order-making forms, but mostly used is the fixed
amount order-making contract with specific price while bidding is only
applied for price discount in new opened areas.
Decentralized districts actively manage environmental sanitation from
identifying unit to implement to make balance on the costs and the local
budget. However, some new established districts, as did not establish any
specific units in charge, encounter many problems in management.
-Ministry of Construction takes charge of waste appraisal, the PPC is
responsible for approval and processing payment for businesses. Department
of Finance manages budget allocations and gather financial reports relating to
the environment. Districts has its own budget for waste management activities
and to balance their income and expenditure.
- Regarding socialization, there currently exists a number of joint-stock
companies and cooperatives working in environmental services performed
socialization such as Thang Long Environmental services Joint Stock
company, Tay Do Environment Joint Stock company, Thanh Cong
Cooperative ...
As reported by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment,
Hanoi is implementing a number of projects to build waste treatment plants in
advanced technology mechanism of socialization. However, the progress of
the project is delayed, the project does not officially come into operation due
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to difficulties in land search, problems in the ground would permit the
deployment of project appraisal technological investment, handling costs and
operating large.
b) Clean water supply
- The Prime Ministerapprovesthe price framework for clean water, the
Provincial People Councildecides the specific price, and Provincial People
Committee supervises water supply criteria. Ministry of Health manages the
quality of clean water. Ministry of Construction takes control over the
continuity of clean water supply service. Enterprises actively manages the
quality of clean water following statutory regulations.
- Not yet been comprehensively decentralized: the planning of water
supply is under the management of several departments and branches of the
City (Department of Construction ...), enterprises are the ones who
implement. The City allows capital loans from 40-60% to develop a network
of water supply systems, the loans are interest free and paid through
deduction annually. Water businesses are not allowed to take control over
capital and prices of clean water. The City manages output prices and input
costs, control items; therefore businesses have to suffer losses because
revenues is unlikely to offset rising input costs such as electricity and taxes
while they have no permission to adjust the price of clean water service. An
appropriate rate of depreciation of fixed assets is the most difficult problem in
the process of costing. Some businesses also very confusing in the
depreciation because no specific guidance.
- Regarding socialization, there are several mini-sized water production
and supply stations in urban areas controlled by individuals in both
exploitation and businesses such as Dinh Cong urban areas Dinh Cong, Trung
Hoa, Nhan Chinh, Tri Thanh, Hoang Mai ...
c) Public transport by transit buses:
Traffic Control and Management Center (TRAMOC) is the unit
performing function, duties assigned by the Hanoi PPC and the Department of
Transportation and Public Works over managing the public transport by
transit bus (about revenues, service quality, infrastructure, and projects
related).
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-Department of Transport organizes bidding for bus routes and selecting
enterprises to participate on the base of specific criteria in the bidding
contracts such as vehicle quality, service quality...
-Department of Transport does not involve in managing the
organizational structure apparatus of enterprises. Enterprises are entirely
automatic regarding this activity. However, enterprises must recruited
employees in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Transport
regarding such criteria as training qualification and other criteria stipulated in
the Circular No.14/2010/TT-BGTVT. General Directors of the enterprises are
appointed by the provincial People Committee basing on the provincial
DOHA’s consultation. The other titles are arranged by the automatic
enterprises themselves.
- About socialization, some individual enterprises such as the Bac
Ha Company Ltd. (its affiliation in Hanoi),doing business on the bus route
Tran Khanh Du – My Dinh, owning 60 bus vehicles, Hanoi transport vehicle
Joint Stock company, Dong Anh transport, commerce and tourism Joint Stock
company, Bao Yen Tourism, service and construction Ltd. company, Ha Tay
transport vehicle Joint Stock company, Bao Chau Transport Service Joint
Stock Company, Hai Van Transport Service Joint Venture company, South
Hanoi transport vehicle factory....
According to the Circular No.32/2007/TT-BTC guiding the
implementation of the Decree No.158/2003/ND-CP on value-added tax
(VAT), transporting customers by bus is not subjected to VAT; therefore, the
input VAT at the purchase of bus shall not be deducted or refunded rather it is
calculated into the fix asset costs for being depreciated. Nevertheless, when
liquidating assets, enterprises is obliged to pay VAT in the second time; and
up to now, there is no enterprise to receive VAT refundment.
Private bus transport enterprises are not granted land; rather they have to
rent land use rights for building bus repairs and maintenances station, waiting
station and to create their own stop-overs and signs, etc.which increases
transport costs.
3.2. Hai Phong City
3.2.1. Current status in organizing and supplying of public services
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a) Solid waste collection, transport and treatment
- Hai Phong urban environment one member limited company is the
companycollecting, transporting and handling a vast major of waste from the
City; each day it collects, transports and handles approximately 900 tons of
household waste from 4 districts, which areNgo Quyen, Hong Bang, Le Chan
and Hai An and 7 urban periphery communes of An Duong rural district.Most
of waste are buried in sanitary landfill; and part of household waste are
processed into microorganism fertilizers in waste-recycle plants in power of
250 tons per day; the burning method is mostly applied to medical waste and
industrial waste, however in fact, burning ovens of the company with
incineration capacity of 400kg/day only meet part of the demand.
- In other districts and rural districts, it is roughly estimated that the total
municipal solid waste volume generated from suburban districts of about 670
tons/day. In communes, garden, land holes become popular household waste
disposal places. In certain places, the waste is collected and piled up without
being treated. Some rural districts have started to build waste station,
however, due to waste storage time is long prior to transport, local residents
show negative attitudes, request to drive-away or they even started to destroy
the stations. Large-sized garbage dumps of the City are almost overloaded;
industrial waste and dangerous waste are buried in the same together with
household waste which cause negative impacts to land and water
environment.
- Generally, the management of waste collection and treatment of the
city reveals concerning challenges due to the lack of specific implementation
plan; the system of investment regimes and policies supporting municipal
solid waste collection and treatment failed to set out reasonable fees; failed to
classify the solid waste right at source, origin, non-classification at waste
collection, recycling, transporting and processing waste have not yet been
strengthened.
b) About urban water supply:
- The percentage of Hai Phong urban citizens are supplied with clean
water is approximately 76%; the average price of household water is 7,800
vnd/m3 including living cost of 6,500 vnd (since 01 January 2012),
21
administration fee (10,000 vnd) and service cost (12,000 vnd); clean water
attrition percentage stays at low level of under 25%; surface water
exploitation is still in easy and convenient level of implementation; water-line
supply is standardized with ADB funded investment.
- Clean water is exploited at one hundred percentage; however, the
quality of surface water is on decline due to increasing pollution levels
generating from agricultural, industrial productions, household wastewater; as
a consequence, household wastewater leads to increase in chemical
substancevolumes used for water treatment, which in its turn, causes rising
costs in clean water production.
c) Public transportation by transit buses
Currently, there are six transport enterprises registered, overall in the
whole city, there are 131 bus vehicles running on 14 routes inner and outer
the city; however, the number of routes has been reduced to 2/3, operational
frequency reduces and is now often 60 minutes per turn. The reason is that the
city budget insufficiently afford in compensation for losses, price subsidy;
each year the City only inputs 02 billion dongs for investment in supporting 2
routes of state-owned enterprises while the enterprises operating in other
routes have to seek finance for themselves.If the enterprises increase ticket
price at different routes, customer quantity will reduce, that leads to decreases
in service quality, less assurance of number of transport turns within a days.
On the other hands, enterprises are currently encountering big challenges such
as bank interests and also encountering high increases in fuels and laborers
which cover almost 80% of price costs with high bankrupt possibilities.
3.2.2 Current status of decentralized management and socialization
a) About waste collection and treatment
-The provincial People Committee provides general management,
Department of Construction develops regulations in bidding, ordering to
manage this type of service, and Department of Finance takes charge of
budget.About waste management: Industrial waste management is under the
control of DONRE; medical waste management is under the control of
Department of Health; Household waste management is in charge of
Department of Construction; rural and agricultural waste is managed by the
22
Department of Agriculture and Rural development; limitations in specific
decentralization for managing hazardous waste management and security,..
-In suburban districts or rural areas, waste collection and transport
activities are managed by the district People Committees or Commune People
Committees; and the fact that waste collection and transport activities are
done spontaneously; consequently, some criteria for collecting and processing
waste failed to meet standards and cause environment polluted.
-Unit cost for sanitary fee collection: the city stipulates the unit cost for
sanitary fee value at the 75% of the total level(100%) regulated by the
Ministry of Construction, and then, 50% of the total 75% regulated by the
city.
-The typical socialization model in environment sanitary is the Co-
operative Thanh Vinh with 3 year experience in this field (including 02 main
activities of collection and transport of waste) of Duong Kinh District.
b) About water supply
-Water supply plants purchase raw water from hydraulic agricultural
units. Department of Construction is the administrative agency and DONRE
is the relating agency.
With the “State-Citizen do together”policy and international funded
finance, Hai Phong City has invested dozens of billion dongs into building
approximately 100 mini-sized water supply factories in suburban districts
such as Tien Lang, Vinh Bao, Kien Thuy, ect... Most of the water supply
plants have been completed, yet functioned in limited capacity or left unused
(almost two third of the mini-sized water supply factories) while local citizens
have been using unsecured water sources. Kien Thuy suburban, currently,
owns 25 intensive water supply systems in 13 communes, which are
functioning, yet in low efficiency, running at the capacity 50- 60% of the
designed capacity.
Many localities only invest to build water supply factory without any
investments into water pipeline system, households arrange self-invest; many
households which can’t afford to purchase water pipeline, still use rainy water
or water from drilled wells.
23
c)About public transportation by transit buses
- The City can’t arrange sufficient budget for investing into
infrastructure (signs, waiting station, land and other priority regimes) in
serving to buses. Enterprises participating in providing bus transport service
can’t arrange enough land areas for building stop-overs and vehicle
maintenance and repairs points,...
-The City leads the Department of Transport to develop the project of
Bus Operator establishment (income-raising professional career units directly
under the control of Department of Transportation. Bus ticket price is decided
by the provincial People Community. About subsidy: there are 2 subsidized
bus routes, which have not in standard and having no economic-technical
norm framework; therefore, there is no basic knowledge to establish bidding
and ordering mechanisms. In fact, State often uses all their possible finance to
subsidy.
3.3. Da Nang city
3.3.1. Current arrangements and supplying of public utility services
a) Waste collection and treatment
- The amount of municipal solid waste disposed by household each day,
on average, at approximately700 tons. With more than 90% of the waste
collected through manual methods, the environmental work-forces do not
meet the collection demands. The whole of municipal household waste are
buried as in compliance with standards in 05 waste-buried holes with total
areas of 15ha; however, due to open-air design, the waste-buried holes fail to
meet environmental regulations, waste-water leakage occurs in 2 natural
biological lakes and lead to the fact that gas pollution and waste-water
pollution exceed the allowed levels. Concurrently, a variety of concerns arise
such as increases in waste-burying land areas, increases in waste-water
leakage volume, losses in the volume convertible recycling waste, increases in
difficulties in controlling risks regarding environmental pollution and
community health issues.Although it is stipulated in statutory documents that
environmental observations is conducted quarterly, financial straits made the
implementation of environmental observation regulation mostly impossible.
24
Environmental clean-ups currently charged households at low fee of
15,000 vnd/1 household /a quarter; in suburban areas, the Environmental
clean-ups company only collects 50% of the fee for covering costs.
- Besides, the City is now facing difficulties in management and
treatment of medical waste disposed by 21 hospitals, district medical centers,
rural district medical centers and approximately 700 private health service
units, 56 medical stations of communes and wards. The management of
medical waste controlling regulations has not successfully been synchronous;
waste classification at sources has not been done; tools and equipment for
waste collection, especially waste storage bag/box labels and quality did not
met regulations; waste storehouses have not yet been established and a large
number of waste are stored open-air and lead to environmental pollution and
non-eye-catching view. Waste transport vehicles within hospital areas cause
sanitary and safety concerns; 100% of all units did not set the right waste
management profile as regulated. Charges for collecting hazardous waste and
medical waste are set at extremely low value (6,000 vnd/cube)causing
difficulties to enterprises.
b) Clean water supply
- The percentage of municipal citizens provided with water is 87%.
Water leakage percentage is 20%, reducing by compared with the last year
percentage, which was 40%; average water consumption level of each citizen
is 128 litre/person/day.
- Danang Water Supply One Member Ltd. Companyis in charge of clean
water exploitation and distribution. The company, together with its 3 plants
and with designed capacity of 155,000m3/ day and night, is currently
operating with practicial capacity of 130,000 -140,000m3/ day and night.
Ofwhich, Cau Do plant is one among big-sized plants with water treatment
capacity of 120,000m3/ day and night; San Bay water plant is the medium-
sized with capacity of 30,000m3/ day and night, and Son Tra water supply
station is a small-sized one with capacity of 5,000m3/ day and night.
c) Public transportation by transit buses
In Danang City, the current convenient transport condition has favoured
the bus transportation on its five (05) routes allocated and accumulative
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annual transportation service capacity by bus has provided to76,100 customer
per year, responsing to 0.9 % of demand; operating capital
utilization efficiency percentage is 50%. Nevertheless, the facilities of bus
stations, bus-stops are not allocated conveniently causing low attraction to
passengers.
3.3.2. Current status of decentralized management and socialization
a) Waste collection and treatment
- Municipal People Committee, through provincial Department of
Natural Resources and Environment, has made an order with the Danang
Urban Environment One Member Limited Company (the Company) about
waste collection and treatment in value of 75billion dongs per year. The City
has invested for the Company one waste incinerator and special vehicles of
various types.
- The City has not sufficiently promulgated regulatory documents on the
operation in collecting waste water from storage tanks. Vocational training
centers have not yet met the demands of the employees working in waste
collection areas.
-The technological requirements issued by the Ministry of Science and
Technology are continuously rising fast by compared with investment and
financial capacities of the unti.
- That service is charged at low price andzerooperating incomes cause
equitizing becomes challenging; consequently, none of the units in this sector
are socialized.
b) Clean water supply
-Investments into clear water supply in Danang varies in sources, yet
there exit no managerial regimes for the whole capital sources, and that leads
to unsynchronous in managing activities. Since 2011, clean water price is
regulated by the municipal regulation. Household clean water price: for the
first 10m3, the price is set at 2,950 dongs/m
3in rural areas and 3,700
dongs/m3in the urban areas; for the consumption volume of 10m
3 to 30m
3, the
price is 3,500 dongs /m3in rural areas and 4,400 dongs /m
3in urban areas; for
the consumption of more than 30m3the price is 4,300 dongs /m
3in rural areas
26
and 5,400 dongs/m3in urban areas. Annually, the City extracts from 50 to 70
billion dongs to cover the losses from costs and from loans due to the fact that
the present water price is set lower than the factual costs.
-Regarding peripheral areas, the Company’s financial capacity is not
strong enough to put sufficient investments and developments as the finance
for implementation exceeds individual investements for household in urban
areas. Therefore, supports from rural development fund of the provincial
Department of Agriculture and Rural development or from co-funding
activities of big-sized enterprises locating on the areas are needed.
c) Public transportation by transit buses
- Danang has not yet been pressed by urban transportation pressure,
therefore, the promulgation of policies supporting investment, assissstance
and bus vehicle bidding or ordering mechanism have not yet been in place.
Subsidized prices for enterprises and citizens are not yet developed;
consequently, participation encouragement is not well promoted to the
citizens.
-Regarding bus quality, fixed-revenue requirement, in busy season,
causes buses to run across several waiting sites without stopping to pick-up
customers and results in the lacking of supervising device installments. Some
vehicles are even utilized to carry goods (vegetables, bikes). Distance
between bus-waiting stations is from 500 to700 m; therefore, there is a
symptom that buses stopping or picking-up customers at unscheduled sites.As
customers’ uses of buses for travelling is limited and that bus industry is high
investment but low speed in capital returns, this industry faces difficulties in
attracting wide ranges of participation from economic components
+ As doing business in transit busis sufferinglosses, units turn to seek for
revenues from other types of business to cover the losses such as station
exploitation. As some bus routes are forced to earn a fixed number of
revenues, service quality remains at limited level (bus-stop missing, route
cutting ect.).
3.4. Ho Chi Minh City
3.4.1. Current arrangements and supplying of public utility services
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a) About waste collection and treatment
Each day, citizens dispose about from 7,000to 7,400tons of household
waste, 500 - 700 tons of industrial solid waste, 150 - 200 tons of hazardous
waste, 9 - 12 tons of medical solid waste. In the city, waste collection and
transport activities are performed by the environmental service company,
cooperatives and 22 public utility service companies. Waste management
groups, which are people-founded, collect waste disposed by almost 60% of
about 100 to 500 households in the city, with its 1-5 rented labourers. In terms
of waste collection sites, there are current more than 250 sites across the city,
70% of which are currently in worse sanitary status causing environmental
pollution.
Management over people-founded waste collection forces is facing
challenges. A majority of waste collection cooperatives face restrictions
regarding its operational scope, scattered organization patterns, weak capacity
in accessing capital sources for serving technological renovation and
implementing policies and regimes for labourers, rudimentary waste
collection tools.
The City is encountering difficulties in waste treatment. The most
popular waste treatment method is burying. Currently, there are 5 waste
burying sites, in which, the Go Vat site (Binh Tan district) has closed, Dong
Thanh site (Hoc Mon rural district) and Phuoc Hiep 1 site (Cu Chi rural
district) are getting overloaded and only capable of receing waste in few years
more; Phuoc Hiep 2 site (Cu Chi rural district) site and Da Phuoc (Binh
Chanh district) are capable of operating until the year 2026. Accrding to the
provincial DONRE, within less than 15 years, all of waste-burying sites
across the city will be overloaded. The land areas used for the purpose of
burying waste are large; that means high costs in land clearance and
compensation, concurrently, wastewater in these areas are highly polluted
therefore treatment measures are more challenging with extremely high cost
of about 74,000 dongs/m3.
b) Clean water supply
In a daily base, water supply plants provide more than 1.8 million m3of
water for households in the city area. The percentage of the households
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provided with clear water reaches 85%, the left 10% use clean water provided
by the Centre of rural sanitary and clean water. A great deal of concerns is
being paid on the clean water provision due to slow progress in
implementation of the projects on water network development and water
pipeline improvement. Many citizens are facing with severe water shortage
conditions or are using self-exploiting water source without being treated. In
several areas, water supplements are provided from water-tank-vehicle
(approximately 1,000m3/day). In quite large number of rural areas, citizens
are still using welling water for their daily activities with unsecured quality,
hard water containing large volume of hydrogen sulfide or ferrous iron with
bad ordour. The percentage of citizens is using clean water that meets
standard ranges from 25% to 30%.
Water from Saigon River is getting more and more polluted due to other
nonpoint water sources such as household disposal wastewater, industrial
waste water, parts of solid waste and hazardous waste and the retaining of
fertilizers and chemicals that are used to control weeds, insects and peststhose
end up in water running through the areas of such provinces as Tay Ninh,
Binh Duong and Hochiminh City.
The percentage of clean water leakage in the city is as high as 40%and it
causes water shortage in certain points of the water network, which is
currently in worn-out status, some water pipelines even have holes, due to less
maintainance and repairs andbeing unsynchronous with water treatment
plants; lacking policies and regimes to handle clean water stolen behaviors.
c) Public transportation by transit buses
The City owns 30 public transportation units by transit buses. In which,
there are 27 cooperatives, one state-owned enterprise, one joint unit and one
limited company. In total, there are 3,208 buses running in 150 bus routes,
increasing 53 routes by compared with those in the year 2002,ofwhich,
110bus routes are subsidized, the other arrange revenues and spending items
by themselves. Volume of passenger using transit buses for travelling
currently reaches about 1.28 million passengers per day, which is
approximately 6.5%.
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Despite the annual subsidy of about 1,500 billion dongs from the City,
the development of public transportation by transit buses still encounter many
difficulties in fuel costs, lost assets in vehicles, careless driving, attitudes of
bus servants, unexpected dropping out or picking up customers at
unscheduled sites, cutting off routes in travelling schedule and concerns
regarding ticket price and service quality, ect. The network of bus routes
allocation is overlapped and irrelevant; consequently, this allocation causes
inconveniences to passengers. Moreover, bus terminals and bus stations
planning actitivities do not reach high agreements between provincial
Department of Planning and Architecture, District People Committees and
provincial Department of Natural Resoces and Environment.Municipal land
fund designed for transportation system development is in remarkably
restrictied, covering just 5% of the whole city land area.
3.4.2. Current status of decentralized management and socialization
a) About waste collection and treatment
-Provincial People Committee (PPC) promulgated regulations and
management strategy on environment sector; the DONRE administers the city
environment in general and control the solid waste management in particular,
in cooperation with the DPI, Department of Construction, Department of
Science and Technology and DOF. Municipal People Committee reviews and
approves unit costs at the requests of implementative units submitted to
DONRE and DOF. District People Committees (DPC) assigns District Bureau
of Natural Resource ans Environment to execute the tasks decentralized.
Public utility Service Company of districts and rural districts collects and
translate waste on the authorized area.
-Overlapped functions in assignment of waste collection: Waste disposed
from street-front households is collected by both Public Utility Service
Company and people-founded waste management task-forces; the medical
waste is collected by both municipal environmental company and public
utility companies. That facts interferes responsibility identification.
- As Government stipulates the ceiling level of fees from 20,000 to
25,000 dongs/household/months, municipal budget is incapabale of covering
the losses for the increasing costs in waste collection.
30
-Waste collection socialization following the form of Cooperative
reveals difficulties, the reason is supposed to be the Cooperative model
restricts the efficient operation and development expansion.
b) Clean water supply
-Sai Gon Water Supply Company manages and develops water supply
systems, produces and run business on clean water across the City areas. Its
equitization meets obstacle due to the water price regulations provided in the
Circular No.75 did not attract investors due to high investment cost but low
benefits in returns. Only clean water production, which is proactive in
production costs through negotiations with DONRE and water bidding
companies, is quite attractive to investors. Following the clean water
production, public-private partnership is also potential to investors.
c) Public transportation by transit buses
-The socialization level of transit buses stays at high level, 80% of
enterprises are private ones (including limited companies, Cooperatives and
Joint venture companies). Nevertheless, the majority of those are small-sized
cooperatives with weak managerial capacity, which is similar to family
company style.
-The current bus routes operate basically following contracting upon
order and there are 05 bus route follows bidding method. However, bidding
form reveals disadvantages such as: difficulties in solving post-bidding
aftermath for the worn-out buses during the period of depreciation; short-
termed bidding contracts (less than 3 years) while vehicle depreciation time
lasts 7 years; consequently, unstable investments causes fails in bidding.
3.5. Can Tho City
3.5.1.About waste collection and treatment
Waste collection service collects of about 70% per year, the annual
waste volume collected and treated is of 170,000 tons mainly by the Can Tho
Urban Works Limited Company; Minh Tanprivate company (performing in
two subdistricts/wards); and Thao Dien Cooperative collecting and
transporting waste in towns and main roads in the 6 communes of Phung
Hieprural district. The major waste treatment method is burying. The largest
31
waste burying site covers approximately 20.7 hectares (located in Hau Giang
province). Additionally, there are 5 other small-sized waste burying sites.
State management in the field is not uniformed: some rural districts of
the city assigned managerial tasks to the Department of Natural Resources
and Environmental while districts assigned those to the District Bureau of
urban management.
The present sanitary fee amount to be collected in accordance with the
Decision No.02/2011/QD –UBND dated 04/01/2011 almost serve to cover the
cost of collection and transport of household waste to the waste collection
sites; the costs of waste transport and treatment are financed from state
budget. Annually, the Urban Environment factory under the direct control of
the Can Tho Urban works one member limited company collects the urban
sanitation fees of about 5 billion dongs in value. The city must invest an
additional amount of 30 billion dongs to carry out sanitation work.
In 2008, the service of waste collection startedto be socialized; however
the business does not have sufficient land areas and expenditure to build
transshipment yard; at the same time, there have been not any specified
sanctions for those who do not pay sanitation fees; the waste-storage land site,
of which the investor is the Urban Works company, did not allow partners to
dispose waste on.
3.5.2. Clean water supply
- The water supply in Can Tho city is basically in charge of Can Tho
Water Supply and Discharge Limited Company. The company owns 12
domestic clean water supply plants for 96,168 households in urban areas with
577km-long pipeline system. Approximately 42% of households are provided
with water supply (only 5 Districts account for 71% and2 central districts
account for 77%). Water loss rate is 27.04%. Average clean water price is set
at 6,000dongs/m3. Additionally, there are two other joint stock companies and
one company 100% owned by private (Cai Rang company with water supply
and discharge capacity of about 5.000m3serving for 4,000 households). Tra
Noc water supply and discharge companyserving particularly customers in
Tra Noc Industrial Zone, having chartered capital of 41 billion dongs, with
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operational capacity of 20.000m3/day, serving 3,400 clients. Water loss rate is
10.3%.
Clean water in Can Tho mainly exploited from surface water. Clean
water meets the standards regulated in the Decision No.01/2009/BYT on
clean water for eating and drinking and is regularlysupervised by the local
Preventive Medicine Center.
Department of Construction is assigned by the PPC to or and make
planning for the municipal water supply and discharge system; Department of
Finance takes charge of capital management and product value appraisal.
3.5.3.Public transportation by transit buses
The bus system comprises of from 5 lines with 57 vans (including 23
joint vehicles), transporting around 6.5 million passengers/year. A city bus
fare, since 4/2010, isregulated to be 4,000 vnd/round;the fare for travelling in
bus to adjacent provinces is 10,000dongs/round. The businesses meet
difficulties due to having not subsidized road fees, parking charges. Citizens
have several concerns in using this transportation types as irrelevant bus-stop
location and threats of pickpockets.
4-Major findings extracted from surveying and interviewing citizens
4.1-About environmental sanitation service
- Regarding sanitation fee, generally citizens believethat this is
appropriate (counting 78%); a small part of citizens, mostly in Ho Chi Minh
City and Hai Phong City (accounting over 20%) considered that the current
fee is high.
- Regarding citizens’ satisfaction, the majority of comments (71%)
aremoderately satisfied (23%) with waste collection and treatment services in
their subdistricts/wardsand 74.5% of respondents show agreement that the
service is currently better than those 2 years ago.
The highestdissatisfaction rate is in Ho Chi Minh City (about 10%).
Mostly, the people here are not happy with how and when waste collection
informed; the timely manner of waste collection and the waste collections
means should ensure sanitation.
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4.2-About clean water supply service
- A percentage of 56 of respondents in 05 cities under direct control of
the Central government commented that clear water provision have met
households’ demands. However, there remain a relatively high percentage
(20%) of opinions suggested that the amount of clean water provision only
well responds to 30-70% households’ needs, this rate is highest in Hanoi
(47.3%), and the following is in Ho Chi Minh city (17.5%).
-Regarding clean water price, generally, opinions agreed that the current
clean water price is reasonable. However, there is still a small part of citizens
commented that the clean water price is quite high, especially in the Ho Chi
Minh City and Hai Phong City.
- About the method to identify water consumption level and the amount
of money to be paid, in general, is transparent and clear. However, there are
still a few people, especially in the Ho Chi Minh or semi-urban districts that
do not see those transparent and clear. It is possibly that they are households
consuming water in fixed assigned amount, not those who use clean water and
pay on the base of water meter.
- Regarding water quality (transparent water, no unpleasant smells):
Generally, all households’opinions show that water quality in the city is
acceptable (accounting for over 70%).
However, water quality regarding ordour remains a concern in some
households, particularly in Danang City and Hanoi (accounting for more than
10%). Water quality in the urban districts is assessed to be higher than in the
coastal districts/ rural districts.
- About water management, the phenomenon in which people prompt to
connecttheir private water pipes to the public water pipeline still occur.
However, there remain the phenomena of water flowing on the streets or
individuals/agencieswaste clean water (accounting for 20%). In Hai Phong
City, the percentage of 31.4% of respondents said that there exist the wasteful
uses of water byhouseholds, agencies, organizations and there is 23.4% of
opinions confirmed that there exit the phenomena of clean water flowing on
streets.
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4.3. About transit bus service
- The survey results showed that Hanoi is the city in which the uses of
transit buses for travelling to work or going to schools are at the highest level
(over 60%). In other cities, the transit buses are mainly used for travelling to
the shopping centers or tourism purposes. The people of the semi-urban
districts/ rural districts used transit buses for goining to school more than for
going to work place.
- In general,bus service are considered to be better in quality by
compared with the previous 5 years (accounting for over 70%) and it the
service is appropriate to incomes and demands of citizens (68%). However,
recently, there are only 53.1% of respondents said that thay satisfied with the
use of transit buses.
- Regarding convenience in bus-stops, it seemed that Hanoi is evaluated
at the lower level than all other cities (accounting for 36.4%). Both Hai Phong
City and Hanoi share a common weakness which is careless bus driving
(about 30%).
-Ha Noi and Hai Phong City are both assessed at lower rank regarding
service quality at bus-stops (22%). Hai Phong is also underestimated for the
timely manner of bus service as well as vehicle facilities. Vehicle equipment
for bus in Ho Chi Minh City and in Hanoi are only ranked moderate.
- The bus fare is generally considered reasonable for all types of trip-
tickets, monthly tickets and tickets in priority.
- The main reason explained why many people do not use the transit
busesis that the bus lines are relevant to their travel needs (accounting for
more than 40%). Besides, there are other reasons which are travelling by bus
is passively dependent, time-consuming and inconvenient bus-stops.
4.4. About competency in performing socialization in services
Regarding investment intention into service sector (if possible in terms
of capital), people concern mostly in clean water supply (more than 60%), and
then waste treatment (nearly 40%). Citizens in Ho Chi Minh City and Can
Tho province show the highest investment expectation in clean water (70%).
Primary reason is that people want to invest into these services because they
35
believe that this is an area with a favorable investment environment,
especially in Haiphong (more than 70% of respondents). Moreover, that the
investmentensures profitability (at the rate of about 30%) is also the reason
people want to invest in this area.
II. RECOMMENDATIONS
1 – Well aware of the nature and importance of public utility
services in urban areas, and from that basis, identifying accurate
directions for renovation of mechanism, policies and legislation providing
on public utility services.
-Clearly identify the conceptual content of subsidized public services; it
is the products or services essential for societiesof which provisionsare not
guaranteed by market supply (due to the fact that any single producer or
supplier is unlikely to offset the cost or get very low profit in return), State
providesprovisions, regulatory items, acquisition, financing through the
decision making on the supply categories and levels of supply; production
scale; beneficiaries and stipulations on prices and fees. State has the mission
of ensuring subsidized public goods/services for societies while all of the
products/services are not necessarily produced and supplied by State or state-
owned-agencies or state-owned-companies, enterprises from different
economic components and state-owned enterprises can be involved in the
implementation.
- Innovate methods of implementation and management in compliance
with typical features of the services of waste collection, clean water supply
and public transport by transit buses.
- Promote socialization in the provision of subsidized public services
towards the direction of promoting sources from citizens to participate in
supplying subsidized public services and reducing State investments.
Diversify the supply model of subsidized public services, encourage and
attract organizations and individuals to be involved in providingsubsidized
public services; creating an equal environment for businesses and
organizations to involve in the provision of the public services. Clarify areas
36
to be transferred, financial aid policies, tax policies, the physical conditions,
training policies, inspection and control ... The socialization should be carried
out step by step with well identified model and path through segmenting
subsidized public services.
- Enhance decentralization and delegation of authority to local
governments at all levels in the implementation of the provision of subsidized
public services; clearly define the responsibilities of each level of government
in the management and provision of subsidized public services. Localities
annually invest into different patterns of subsidized public services through
open bidding for each particular workin each area to allow a wide range of
partners to participate.
- Ensure autonomy and accountability of the organizations providing
subsidized public services; Identify and develop mechanisms for providing
stipulations on rights and duties to each partners involing in providing
subsidized public services.
- (State) Strengthen inspections and supervisions overthe efficiency of
subsidized pulic services; using mechanisms and regulations to regulate and
control enterprises and private organizations in the provision of subsidized
public services at the request of the State.
2.Renovating the organizational structure and operation of urban
governments to ensure unity, coherence and efficiency in organization,
management and supply of public utility services
The borrows of the organizational and managerial modelsfrom
provincial level to apply identically to central controlled cities, the one from
rural districts to similarly apply to the districts, towns and cities directly under
the control of province, and the model from the commune level to bring in to
use exactly the same for subdistricts/wards are inconsistent with the objects of
management and the nature of a municipality. The infrastructure of the urban
is characterized by its continuum andgreatercomplicated, in comparison to
infrastructure in rural areas that form networks, synchronous systems
throughout the province, regardless of administrative boundaries and
requiresa centrally and unified management. Urban infrastructure includes
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urban technical infrastructuresuch as water supply, electricity supply,
transport infrastructure, environmental sanitation, communications ... and the
social infrastructure and welfare public utilitiesas facilities in culture, health,
fitness, sports and parks; and public services are built on a unified overall
planning in the area and provided services to all citizens in the entire city,
town, district, ward, rather than just one area.
Therefore, urban governmentin the cities should be studied and built
appropriately and ensure consistency in planning, articulation, agility in urban
management, and getting rids of the scattered management mode currently
exists.
3. Specific suggestions and petitions
3.1. Government
- Developing a mechanism to ensure "equality" relationship between
state agencies and businesses enteringcontracts on the provisions of
subsidized public services. In one hand, responsibilities and obligations
should be clearly definedfor the enterprises participating in the provisions of
such services as water supply services, waste collection, bus services, and on
the other hand, responsibilities of management agencies should be regulated
in details. The contracting enterprises providing subsidized public services
have the rights of claiming for compensation from State bodies if the contract
is not implemented properly and timely (e.g incompleted payment or fails to
meet the deadlines of funding).
- Amending the Decree No.31/2005/ND-CP towardsthe direction of
supplementing water supply services for households into the category of
subsidized public services.
- Conducting researching activities for supplementation of the provision
method for subsidized public products and services in accordance with the
provisions of the Bidding Law and its guiding documents. At the same time,
most of the contents in the Decision No.256/2006/QD-TTgdated 9 November
2006by the Prime Minister promulgating the Regulations on bidding,
ordering, assigning planned criteria for producing and supply of subsidized
products and services so as to unify contents and make focus one only one
document to facilitate the implementation.
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-Reviewing and providing amendments to unreasonable conents in the
Decree No. 75/2011/ND-CP about the borrower category regarding fields or
projects in the State investment priorities and investors favourable critieria.
-Amending the Decree No. 13/2008/ND-CP towards transferring the
consultative function to PPC in waste collection and treatment from the
Department of Construction to the Department of Natural Resource and
Environment for the conveniences in professional major, the evaluational
capacity, environmental observing capacity and sufficiency in tools for
environmental control.
- Amending the Decree No. 174/2007/ND-CP aboutenvironmental
protection costsfor solid waste relevant to current practices.
- Building the legal system in line with the policy of socialization for
applying to the organizations and individuals who participate in bids or
appointed to make order, allocatating service supply plan in waste collection
and treatment such as industrial incinetators and medical incinerators
separately following Vietnamese and international standards.Providing
additional statutory documents regulating on the products made from recycled
waste.
- Promoting the socialization of water supply services, transit buses,
waste collection and treatment and establishing policies to ensure the equity
between state enterprises and private companies on leasing space, the interest
rate of loans...
3.2. Ministries
- The Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Natural Resources
and Environment tocooperate to build a competitive bidding criteria for
applying in environmental sanitation services in order to ensure fairness,
proper evaluation and aim to select an appropriate contractors as well as limit
inadequacies in the mechanism of "asking for – giving" in tendering activities.
-The Ministry of Construction toestablish norms of handling water
seepage in landfills to limit environmental pollution to rivers and water
resources, and this norm framework serves as a basis for proposing funds for
waste collection and treatment.
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- The Ministry of Finance toamend and providesupplementation to the
Circular No. 97/2006/TT-BTC dated 16 October 2006 promulgating
instructions on fees under the jurisdiction of Council's decision province,
central cities under the direction of applied maximum rates on actual waste.
- The Ministry of Finance to carry out researching activities to adjust the
level of VAT towards the direction of giving favourable conditions to citizen-
run businesses supported by the State, in specific, they are the specific
enterprises where VAT refund on the input of assets and materials and fuels
to serve bus operation. The regulations on the exemptions for non-road use
for buses to reduce bus fares for local people.
- The concerned Ministries and agencies to develop strategies and
providing the training and retraining for the managerial staffs and organize,
implement the services of waste collection and treatmet, water supply and
transit bus.
3.3. Local governments (provincial level)
-Strengthening communication to citizens on maintaining environmental
sanitation, water savings, and raising consciousnesson urban traffic,
especially the citizens, businesses are residing and operating along and/or
near the two bank of the main rivers to protect surface water sanitation,
preventing wastewater and waste causing the surface water to be polluted;
raising awareness aboutprotecting water resources and forms of punishment
for violations of environmental sanitation in water supply companies and the
concerned organizations and individuals.
- Conducting research on planning the development ofthe clean water
supply service system, and of waste collection and treatment, as well as the
provision of public transport by transit buses in the vision to the years of
2025-2030.
- Implementing active adjustments in the financing mechanism for
subsidized public services, specifying price of clean water to be aligned to
those stipulated in the Directive No.40/1998/CT-TTg on strengthening the
management and development of urban water supply. It equires Roadmap in
developmeing and managing water resource with vision of at least five (05)
years to investors and plans to participate in appropriate water supply.
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- Conducting application research to bring into uses the models of
organization, management and operation of public passenger transport in
cities in order to ensure the following requirements: harmonize the
coordination over the whole system, integrate different transport means,
create preferential conditions to users and favourable environment for
improving performance of passenger transport management, ensure close and
efficient management when, in the future, the operating scale of passenger
transport to be gradually expanded.
- Building operational regulationsto applied to the bus business units, the
regulations will serve as a basis for taking management over ordering-making
andprocurement; conducting research on the models and mechanisms to
manage subsidized bus tickets for bus passengers; submiting the technical
norm framework to be the base for measuring the level of subsidy for each
route and for applying in order-making and tenders; developing the
processesof control, supervision and evaluation and taking over.
- Strengthening international cooperation, diversifying and taking
advantage of capital investment for water supply and sewage treatment,
raising the proportion of people using water to standardize.
- Ho Chi Minh City needs give attentions and supports to create
favourable conditions for better and effective waste collection activities
through such measures as: supporting cooperative members in better
performance and environmental –friendly equipment in waste collection
through favourable loans with low interest rate; enforcing local government
control over and cooperation in peope-founded waste collection activities for
keeping them in better regulatory framework; building regulations, sanctions
to deal with cases of late submission or intended delays in submitting waste
collection fees; making a decline on waste collection fee and reducing
monthly deduction from the total revenue to submit into local budgetof
cooperatives so that the cooperatives may take advantages of the items to
improve the living standards for their members. It is to ensure legitimate
rights for workers, particularly the right to exploit their waste line that they
are managing.
3.4. Enterprises
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-Developing specific decentralized managementlevels specific to the
activities of hazardous waste disposal, security issues, ect. With clear and
specific regimes, policies and planning activities in decentralization so that
localities can take their active roles to handle and make plan for the above
mentioned issues in case they arise (Hai Phong City).
- Developing mechanism to buildunit cost and estimate budget in order
to ensure correspondence between performance cost and efficiency and
service quality; Adjusting policies on fees for waste collection, transportation
and treatment to be consistent to the practical costs.
- Enhancing quality of services by providing training and retraining
activities to drivers and bus staff, expanding the model of safety and
convenient bus ticket selling, calculating to attract potential passengers./.