Evaluation Department Joint Evaluation of Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts Viet Nam Country Report Report 6/2011 – Study SADEV SWEDISH AGENCY FOR DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION Norad Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation P.O.Box 8034 Dep, NO-0030 Oslo Ruseløkkveien 26, Oslo, Norway Phone: +47 22 24 20 30 Fax: +47 22 24 20 31 Photo: Ken Opprann Design: Agendum See Design Print: 07 Xpress AS, Oslo ISBN: 978-82-7548-602-6 Joint Evaluation of Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts Viet Nam Country Report June 2011 Submitted by ITAD in association with LDP Responsibility for the contents and presentation of findings and recommendations rest with the evaluation team. The views and opinions expressed in the report do not necessarily correspond with those of Norad. Preface Donor agencies have increasingly included the fight against corruption in their over- all governance agenda. In preparation for this evaluation, a literature review1 was undertaken which showed that our support for anti-corruption work has sometimes had disappointing results. Has the donors’ approach to anti-corruption work been adapted to circumstances in the countries? What are the results of support for combating different types of cor- ruption, including forms that affect poor people and women in particular? These were some of the overarching questions that this evaluation sought to answer. The evaluation provides insights for the debate, drawing on recent evidence from five countries. The main conclusions and recommendations are presented in the synthesis report. In addition, separate reports have been prepared for each of the case countries Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Viet Nam and Zambia. The evaluation was managed by the Evaluation Department of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and commissioned by this agency together with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Danish International Develop- ment Assistance (Danida), the Swedish Agency for Development Evaluation (SADEV), the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The evaluation was carried out by consultants lead by the consultancy company ITAD. This company is responsible for the content of the reports, including the find- ings, conclusions and recommendations. September, 2011 Hans Peter Melby Acting Director of Evaluation 1 Anti-Corruption Approaches. A Literature Review. Study 2/2008. www.norad.no/evaluering Joint Evaluation of Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts – Viet Nam iii Acknowledgements The evaluation team would like to thank the many people who contributed their time and insights to this evaluation. They include headquarters and country office staff of the five commissioning donors, government officials, representatives of donor agencies and civil society organisations. Special thanks are due to the Country Director and staff of the ADB Viet Nam Resident Mission for assisting with the arrangements for the evaluation visit. The evaluation represents the combined effort of a team including consultants who participated in the country visits and support staff at ITAD. Full responsibility for the text of this report rests with the authors. We have attempted to record and interpret the information from various sources up to our best capacity and without any bias within the constraints arising from the arrangements for the country visits. The views contained in this report do not necessarily represent those of the commissioning donors or of the people consulted. Joint Evaluation of Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts – Viet Nam v Contents Preface iii Acknowledgements v List of abbreviations and acronyms ix Executive summary xiii Introduction xiii The context in Viet Nam xiii Relevance of donor programmes xiii Donor ways of working xiv Effectiveness of selected programmes xv Conclusion xv Lessons xvi Sequencing of support xvii Support at provincial and sector levels xvii Recommendations xvii 1. Introduction 3 Background 3 The report 4 2. Methodology and analytical framework 5 Methodology 5 Data collection tools 6 Application of the approach in Viet Nam 7 Donor mapping against UN Convention against Corruption 7 Conduct of the country visit 10 3. Country context 11 Introduction 11 Tackling corruption in Viet Nam 13 4. Relevance of the donor programmes 15 Scope of donor programmes 15 Assessment against the UN Convention against Corruption Articles 18 Evolution of donor approaches to anti-corruption 19 Growing donor involvement in specific anti-corruption-related support 21 5. Donor ways of working 24 Anti-corruption issues in programme design 24 Quality of donor monitoring and evaluation 25 Donor coordination, harmonisation and alignment 27 Managing risks in donor programmes 29 Aid effectiveness 30 Joint Evaluation of Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts – Viet Nam vii 6. Effectiveness of selected programmes 31 Anti-corruption-specific programmes 31 Public administration reform 36 The legal sector 38 Public financial management reform 40 7. Tackling corruption in the rural infrastructure sector 42 Corruption in the sector 42 Donor support 44 Water supply and sanitation 44 Rural transport 45 P135-II 46 Chia Se 47 Conclusion and lessons in infrastructure interventions 48 8. Conclusions 49 Relevance 49 Specific questions in the terms of reference 50 9. Lessons 53 What works and why? 54 Sequencing of support 54 Support at provincial and sector levels 54 10. Recommendations for donors 56 Key recommendations 56 Anti-corruption donor coordination 57 Recommendations arising from the lessons 57 Annex 1: Definitions, data & survey instruments 61 Annex 2: Terms of reference 92 Annex 3: Itinerary and list of people consulted 101 Annex 4: List of documents consulted 109 Annex 5: Donor mapping against United Nations Convention against Corruption categories 117 Annex 6: Civil society in Viet Nam 122 Annex 7: Country context 124 Annex 8: Donor mapping for National Assembly 148 Annex 9: Rural infrastructure 170 List of tables Table 2.1: Selection of projects for study 7 List of figures Figure 2.1: Joint external evaluation of anti-corruption – data collection flowchart 6 Figure 7.1: Stages in the value chain 43 viii Joint Evaluation of Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts – Viet Nam List of abbreviations and acronyms AC Anti-Corruption ADB Asian Development Bank APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation AusAID Australian Agency for International Development CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CAP Country Assistance Plan (DFID) CAPE Country Assistance Program Evaluation (ADB) CPV Communist Party of Viet Nam CSO Civil Society Organisation CSP Country Strategy Program (ADB) Danida Danish International Development Agency DFID UK Department for International Development DFIDV DFID Viet Nam EC European Commission EU European Union GAPAP Governance and Poverty Policy Analysis and Advice GDP Gross Domestic Product GI General Inspectorate GoV Government of Viet Nam JPP Justice Partnership Program M&E Monitoring and Evaluation NA National Assembly NGO Non-Governmental Organisation Norad Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation OSCAC Permanent Office of the Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption PAR Public Administration Reform P135-II Programme 135 Phase II or Socio-economic Development for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas Phase II PEFA Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability PFM Public Financial Management POSCIS Programme Strengthening the Capacity of the Inspectorate System RT Rural Transport (Projects 1, 2, 3) RWSS Rural Water Supply and Sanitation SADEV Swedish Agency for Development Evaluation SAV State Audit of Viet Nam Sida Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SOE State-Owned Enterprises TA Technical Assistance Joint Evaluation of Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts – Viet Nam ix TABMIS Treasury and Budget Management Information System UK United Kingdom UNCAC UN Convention against Corruption UNDP United Nations Development Programme USAID US Agency for International Development VHLSS Viet Nam Household Living Standards Survey VNCI Viet Nam National Competitiveness Index VND Vietnamese Dong (currency) WTO World Trade Organization x Joint Evaluation of Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts – Viet Nam Executive summary Introduction S1 This evaluation is concerned with support to Anti-Corruption (AC)-related pro- grammes over the period 2002-10 by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Den- mark, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK). It was produced on the basis of documentation review; interviews with stakeholders at the headquarters of the donors and in Ha Noi, and a field visit to Quang Tri Province. The visit to Viet Nam took place from 14 January to 3 February 2010. S2 Full details of the methodology for the evaluation are contained in an Inception Report. Table 2.1 summarises the projects. Details specific to the Viet Nam visit are set out in Chapter 2, with supporting material in Annexes. The context in Viet Nam S3 Viet Nam has experienced rapid growth over the last decade averaging annu- ally at roughly 7-8%, however, petty and grand corruption is endemic in public and private sectors. According to the 2006 Global Integrity Report, corruption accounts for 3-4% of lost Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Viet Nam each year.2 Corruption ranges from bribery, theft of state assets, kickbacks, collusion in contracting, to payments for services provided. It is worse in land, police, health, construction, cus- toms and tax. S4 Political commitment to AC has grown over the evaluation period.