Lao PDR

This time I'm using the service to transfer land certification to one of my relatives, says Ms. Damdouan Douangmanivong from Phonesavang village

Before the Centre was opened, the villagers had to go through many steps, taking a lot of time, in order to get their paperwork in order, be it about land certificates, marriage certificates or registering children. “In my opinion, it would be great if this kind of service could be expanded to other districts in our province, because it is very useful for the people, especially for the farmers who may not be familiar with the many processes related to completing their documentation”.

UNDP works on supporting better service delivery in Lao PDR. Between 2007 and 2011, the aim is to have Seven One Door Service Centres operational and three centres in preparatory stages.

Mr. Khamkone Ouanouansa, the Head of One Door Service Centre sees many advantages in providing services to the people of Paek district. “I am very happy about the feedback we're receiving from people that taking care of necessary paperwork now takes less time and is less costly than before. We would very much like to expand the services to another district in our province.”

The Centre was was opened to public in June 2008, with three units providing services in the areas of governance, land and public works. The governance unit provides registration for marriage, birth, changing names and migration. The services regarding land consist of e.g. issuing land certificates and solving disputes regarding land use. On the public works unit, the One Door Service Centre provides documents for general construction, for example when people want to build an extension to their house.

“We have a feedback box outside our office, and most comments are for us to improve the service to make it even better”, says Mr. Ouanouansa.

Mr. KhamKone Ouanouansa, Head of One Door Service Center, is happy for his staff: they were able to take part in a training session in Vientiane, which has improved staff skills to provide better services to people

UNDP's flagship Governance and Public Administration Reform (GPAR) programme is helping parts of the Lao civil service to become more efficient and better able to deliver services to the poor. It assists the government in developing basic policy and legal systems, as well as develop essential skills needed by those in key central agencies and ministries, including the Prime Minister's Office.

The programme works in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Saravane, Xieng Khouang, Khammouane and is expanding to other provinces through co-operation with UNV, UNCDF and other development partners. Overall, the programme helps government institutions by developing human resources, financial (revenue and expenditure) management, and effective use of information technology with a special focus on reaching remote and impoverished communities.