APD | Strong public institutions crucial in the delivery of effective public services in Southeast Asia, says ADB and OECD

By APD writer Melo M. Acuña

**MANILA, Sept. 10 (APD) ** – Different governments in Southeast Asia are further strengthening their governance structures and institutional capacity to further deliver better services to their citizens.

This was based on a joint report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and discussed in a press briefing early Tuesday morning.

Entitled “Government at a Glance: Southeast Asia 2019,” the report provides internationally comparable data on government resources, processes and outcomes on public governance in member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The report covers 34 indicators in areas as public services, promotion of digital government, creating more transparency, and providing better employment opportunities for women.

“Strengthening public institutional capacities is critical to all operations, and ADB remains committed to supporting our developing member countries in improving public sector management functions and financial stability while promoting more effective, timely, corruption-free and citizen-centric delivery of public services,” said ADB Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Bambang Susantono.

Recent OECD reports highlight the importance of strengthening public sector institutional capacities in ASEAN to improve the quality of life for citizens and raise more equal societies.

Seven Southeast Asian countries introduced digital identification tools and only two have duly integrated their online portals to improve public services and make government services accessible to the general public.

Ms. Chiara Bronchi, Chief Thematic Officer of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department said while governments produce their budget act where citizens could check, the manner how the budget is spent differs across ASEAN countries and less transparent.

She added though governments public their respective budget acts, there is room for improvement as far as transparency how the budget has been spent.

Meanwhile, Edwin Lau, Division Head of Budgeting and Public Expenditures Division of OECD said budgets for all ASEAN countries are released but transparency is about checks and balances.

“There are only three countries which use independent fiscal institutions to review and analyze matters about the budget,” Lau said. Of the ten countries, and these are Cambodia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

On the open government strategy, Lau said various governments don’t see resistance to change. However, he added government officials said there’s a need a more coherent and coordinated strategy within governments where there’s clarity of messages with nine of ten governments established coordinating offices and translating them into clear action is a real challenge.

The ASEAN members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

(Cover: OECD's Edwin Lau (right) and ADB's Chiara Bronchi said all ASEAN countries are strengthening their governance structures to extend better services to their citizens. Both officials explain the findings of their study entitled "Government at a Glance: Southeast Asia 2019" during a briefing early Tuesday morning. /Melo M. Acuña)

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)