'Administrative reform should not be stereotyped'

Dr. Tran Du Lich: Administrative reform does not necessarily have to be the same for all localities, but must be based on the characteristics of each locality.

The Resolution of the 12th Party Congress assessed: "The number of cadres and civil servants not only did not decrease but increased". This reality shows that, in the 12th term, if the Party committees and authorities at all levels are not really determined, they will not be able to achieve the goal of streamlining the organization and apparatus associated with streamlining the payroll.

One of the solutions that has been effectively implemented by local Party committees is to unify a number of similar positions between Party organizations, the government, and socio-political organizations.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh's working session with Quang Ninh province on implementing innovation in the Party's leadership method and building a streamlined and efficient political system. (Photo: Kieu My)

Since 2014, Project 25 on innovation of leadership methods, streamlining of organization and staffing has been implemented by Quang Ninh province with a series of solutions, including unifying leadership and management positions and merging party and government agencies with common functions and tasks. Specifically at the commune level, the province has unified the position of Secretary and Chairman of the People's Committee in 76 out of 186 units.

The merger of party and government agencies with common functions and tasks is also being carried out at the district and grassroots levels. 12 districts, towns and cities in Quang Ninh province have merged the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations into one agency with the name at the district level of "General Staff Agency to assist the Fatherland Front and political organizations".

To prepare for the merger of Party and district-level government agencies, Quang Ninh is merging a number of positions such as the head of the organization committee and head of the internal affairs department, the head of the inspection committee and chief inspector, etc. By doing this, the number of organizations and staff has been significantly reduced, while the Party's leadership method has clearly changed.

Ms. Do Thi Hoang, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee, said: “Quang Ninh's viewpoint in implementing the organizational arrangement is based on principles. The principle is that one person, one organization does many things. But one function, one task is only assigned to one person or one organization to perform and must be responsible to the end.”

Like Quang Ninh, Vinh Phuc province is implementing Project 01 on streamlining the organization and apparatus. The purpose of this Project is to perfect the apparatus, ensure science, streamline efficiency, and suitability with the functions and tasks of agencies and organizations, based on the viewpoint that one agency performs many functions, one person does many jobs, one job is assigned to only one person or one agency to preside over and take primary responsibility. Implemented since December 2016, up to now, 60 departments, offices, and units have been reduced for Party and government agencies from the province to the district level.

The recent practices of some localities show that unifying some positions and merging some units at the district and county levels is the right and feasible direction at present to realize the Resolution of the 12th Party Congress on streamlining the apparatus and the staff, both to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operations and to significantly reduce state budget expenditures.

Mr. Tu Xuan Son, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Binh Duong province, said that overall, the political system at the grassroots level in our country is still cumbersome. Therefore, the way to do it is to consider the whole from top to bottom to arrange. If we unify the titles from the central to local levels and reorganize the Party and State apparatus reasonably, we will avoid overlapping and duplication of functions.

According to Dr. Tran Du Lich, a delegate of the 13th National Assembly, administrative reform should not be stereotyped, meaning that it is not necessary for every locality to be the same, but can be based on the workload, urban scale, development requirements and strengths of each locality. It is not necessary that the higher level has the same agency or organization, the lower level also has the same agency or organization, and it is not necessary that localities have the same organizational model.

Mr. Tran Du Lich also said that our administrative reform will never be effective if we do not reform the entire national administrative system in a synchronous manner in terms of institutions, organizational apparatus and human resources. An organizational apparatus where public services overlap, and where it is unclear which is central and which is local, will never be effective.

The project "Continuing to innovate the Party's leadership method, building a streamlined political system apparatus that operates effectively and efficiently" will be a major orientation to help localities reorganize and streamline their apparatus, aiming to improve the operational efficiency of the political system at the grassroots level./.

According to VOV