Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry ofPublic Security is working on a national database that will store and supply“basic” and accurate information about citizens via their personal ID numbers.

It said the work aims to reduce inconveniencecaused to citizens dealing with administrative procedures, prevent waste oftime and other resources, and simplify admin procedures.
According to statistics compiled by the JusticeMinistry, of 5,400 administrative procedures in different ministries andagencies, nearly 1,600 require residents to show their personal papers.

With a population of more than 90 million, thedemand to certify citizens’ papers can reach about 600,000 turns per day, thejustice ministry estimates.

The Ministry of Public Security assesses thatthe work imposes a financial burden of thousands of billions of dong (1billion VND equals 44,050 USD) per year for individuals and enterprisescompleting administrative procedures.

At present, the country does not have a systemto manage citizens’ information. Several provinces and cities like s Hai Phong,Bac Ninh, Hanoi, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Ho Chi Minh City have set up their ownsystems, but these have not been completed at the national level.

Lieutenant General Tran Van Ve, standingdirector of the General Department of Police, said that after the nationaldatabase is complete and ready for public use, citizens will be able tocomplete all admin procedures with just their ID card, instead of having toproduce number of personal papers.

The Ministry of Public Security will try tocomplete the task in the next three years, he said.

To have the experience and background to performthe task at a national level, the ministry has run a pilot project in thenorthern port city of Hai Phong over the last three years.

The local database thus set up has helped citypolice resolve permanent resident registration issues for more than 70,000people and temporary resident registration issues for thousands of others.

It has also shortened time taken to completeprocedures, since residents don’t have to present their personal informationseveral times, and imparted clarity to documents, Ve said.

Colonel Nguyen Trong Phuong, deputy director ofthe municipal police department, said that the city attracted a great number ofworkers from different places, so resident management was complicated.

The new database was an excellent change inadministrative reform, he said. The information was accurate and updatedregularly.-VNA