Though the city has made progress in reforming public administration at the district level under its “one stop, one stamp” mechanism, more needs to be done to improve the system.

If the information was digitised, ward and district-level agencies could access it from a common database – and the work would be much easier.

Do The Huan, deputy head of District 12 Peoples Committee Office, said the failure to use online data sources and apply IT at the ward and district levels meant much of the work was still done manually.

Huan gave the example of procedures related to land-use rights. Ward-level officials had to get in touch with officials at the district-level by telephone or fax or meet them personally to complete them, he said.

If the information was digitised, ward and district-level agencies could access it from a common database – and the work would be much easier, he said.

Cu Chi District applied the mechanism on a pilot basis in 2005 after which 10 of the citys 24 districts adopted it.

But they have all gone about it in their own way rather than adopt a unified system.

Each district has chosen its own areas to apply the mechanism. They use different processing procedures, and have their own deadlines for each administrative task.

Districts 1, 3, 7, 12, Binh Tan, Hoc Mon, Nha Be, Cu Chi, Can Gio and Binh Chanh have all chosen land administration for the “one stop, one stamp” mechanism.

It helps people save time and costs, since applications are processed at one office rather than four as in the past.

Previously, they had to go to the ward peoples committee, the district peoples committee, the district tax office and the district State Treasury for land-related procedures, but now they only need to go to the ward peoples committee or the district peoples committee.

But Tran Thi Thanh Nga, deputy head of District 3s Home Affairs Bureau, said when district-level administrative agencies have to seek guidance from municipal departments about an administration issue, they have to wait for the answer and the task is often delayed.

She said the responsibilities of municipal departments and the time frames in which they have to reply are not spelled out clearly.

District 12 authorities have urged the city to specify the administrative areas that come under the purview of the “one stop, one stamp” mechanism.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, head of the municipal Department of Information and Communications Information Technology Application Division, said the city was investing VND45 billion (US$2.7 million) in a network to connect all its 90 departments, sectors and districts – and 324 wards and communes.

On this network, it was building a database on land and construction, residents, economy and companies, and science and technology, he said.