The survey showed that in 2020, 27 provinces and cities fully publicized documents and information about their State budget spending, three localities more than 2019. Meanwhile, those publishing relatively sufficient information stood at 29, up two provinces. The provinces with sufficient or little information were five and two respectively.

With 93.68 points, the Mekong River-delta province of Vinh Long tops the 2020 survey, followed by the central city of Da Nang (92.26 points) and Southern province of Ba Ria Vung Tau (90.45 points). The worst performers were Southern Binh Phuoc province and the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

POBI 2020 report shows that there’s an improvement in budget publicity but unfortunately the index on people’s participation remains unchanged in comparison with last year. This index should be improved next year since people’s participation in local budget spending plays an important part in building grassroots democracy.

Provincial Open Budget Index Survey (POBI), which is based on two pillars: budget transparency and people’s participation, has become a critical source of information for policymakers, the media and experts to understand the level of openness of local budget. POBI is also a tool for provinces/cities and also the government to measure the level of transparency in state budget management and accountability of state agencies.

The 2020 survey was funded by Oxfam Vietnam and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Vietnam.