87 cities officially ceased to exist as of July 1st.
According to the Law on Local Government recently passed by the National Assembly, from July 1st onwards, local governments will have only two levels (province and commune), eliminating the district level as before. Of the 696 district-level administrative units that will cease operations, 87 are cities.
On June 16th, the Law on Local Government (amended) was officially passed by the National Assembly.
Thus, from July 1st, the local government system will operate at two levels: provincial and commune, eliminating the district level as before. This means that 696 administrative units will no longer exist. These 696 administrative units include 85 cities under provincial administration, 2 cities under centrally-governed cities, 52 towns, 49 districts, and 508 counties.
Among the 87 cities whose names were removed from July 1st, two are centrally governed cities: Thu Duc City (Ho Chi Minh City) and Thuy Nguyen City (Hai Phong).
Previously,during the period of discussion and public consultation on amending the Law on Local Government,Some opinions have suggested considering retaining the provincial city model and defining its status as equivalent to a special administrative region.
Before the National Assembly passed the bill, the Government had submitted a report on the revisions and improvements made to the draft law, which included an explanation of this issue.
The government stated that Resolution No. 60 of the 11th Central Committee Meeting of the 13th Party Congress and the conclusions of the Politburo and the Secretariat on the reorganization of administrative units at all levels and the organization of two-tiered local governments have outlined the model of two-tiered local governments. The draft law has fully institutionalized the Party's policy on the organization of two-tiered local governments (excluding the type of administrative unit of cities and towns at the provincial level).
In late April, explaining this issue, Phan Trung Tuan, Director of the Department of Local Government Organization (Ministry of Interior), also stated that continuing to maintain the names associated with the old district level would lead to an inconsistent administrative apparatus and easily create confusion among the people about why the district level was abolished while cities and towns remain.
To avoid such a mindset, the Central Committee carefully considered the issue and subsequently agreed to unify the local government into a two-tier system, completely abolishing the district level, including the names of cities within provinces.
During the process of providing feedback on amending the ConstitutionThere are also suggestions to retain the current cities and towns and designate them as basic administrative units, without necessarily dividing them into subordinate wards.
Regarding this matter, the report of the Committee drafting amendments and additions to some articles of the 2013 Constitution explained that the specific identification of administrative units below the provincial and centrally-administered city levels will be regulated by the National Assembly in laws to suit the practical situation in each period.
The explanatory report clearly states that, in the current period, the identification of communes as administrative units in rural areas, wards as administrative units in urban areas, and special zones as administrative units in some strategically important islands has closely followed the resolutions, conclusions, and directives of the Party in recent times.
The two-tiered local government system, organized in conjunction with administrative units according to this model, will effectively ensure the streamlining of the administrative apparatus, reduction of intermediate levels, improved management efficiency, cost savings, and increased state budget resources, bringing the government closer to the people.
At the same time, organizing according to this model will also better ensure the people's right to self-governance; ensuring that the voices and rights of residents in smaller cities are also taken into account and are not suppressed by larger cities within the same provincial administrative unit.
Along with Thuy Nguyen City and Thu Duc City (two cities under the central government), the following 85 cities under provincial administration will cease operations from July 1st:
