The Ministry of Interior supports the merger of administrative units in provinces and cities.

The Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Interior stated that the Ministry has not yet received an official document from Ho Chi Minh City regarding the district merger, but the Ministry's stance is supportive.

Speaking to the press on the morning of February 17th, Mr. Nguyen Tien Thanh (Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Interior) stated that if provinces and cities nationwide, including Ho Chi Minh City, propose merging administrative units at the district and commune levels, the Ministry would "strongly support it".

"The merger of administrative units will contribute to reducing the number of administrative layers, streamlining the apparatus, reducing staffing levels, and restructuring the workforce of officials, civil servants, and public employees, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Organization of Local Government," Mr. Thanh said.

Some districts in Ho Chi Minh City have smaller areas than wards. Photo: Huu Cong

Previously, in December 2016, Mr. Do Van Dao (Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Internal Affairs) proposed merging several administrative units such as wards and districts, specifically merging District 4 into another district because it only has an area of ​​4 square kilometers and a population of over 200,000 people. According to Mr. Dao, District 4 is even smaller than Binh Hung Hoa A ward (Binh Tan District). However, this district still maintains a full administrative structure from the district level down to 15 wards.

Regarding this issue, Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Dinh La Thang has instructed the City Party Committee's Organization Department and the Department of Internal Affairs to research and advise the entire city on merging necessary areas and separating necessary areas. The approach should not be rigid, but overall, the city must streamline its administrative apparatus to facilitate personnel reduction.

According to VNE