Urgent need to reorganize the apparatus

Multi-layered, interconnected

According to data from the scientific topic: "Assessing the current situation and proposing solutions to arrange and reorganize public service units in Nghe An province" chaired by Director of the Department of Home Affairs Dau Van Thanh and his colleagues, in the province as of May 2018 (excluding schools, hospitals, and medical stations), the number of public service units is 233, with 829 departments, offices, and equivalent units. The total number of civil servants and public employees of 233 units is 4,070 positions and 2,029 labor contracts; even if calculated according to management decentralization, there are fields such as culture, sports, and tourism with 39 affiliated service units or in the field of agriculture and rural development with 27 affiliated units...

As of early April 2019, 9 localities have merged the Center for Culture - Information - Sports and Radio and Television Stations into District-level Centers for Culture - Sports and Communications. In the photo: Radio and Television Station and Quynh Luu Center for Culture - Information and Sports. Photo: Thanh Duy

According to the assessment of the research topic: The organizational system of public service units is still cumbersome, fragmented, scattered, and overlapping; some tasks of units in the industry as well as with units of other industries are still overlapping, duplicated, and sometimes tasks are missed, the quality and efficiency of services are still low. Or the number and structure of civil servants in each agency is not reasonable; the rate of service people is high, especially in the office block, while public service units require the professional department to account for 65%.

The number of labor contracts is still high; the staffing structure is not balanced in some sectors and fields; there is still a local surplus or shortage of qualifications in different fields. The proportion of civil servants with master's and doctoral degrees is increasing, but there is a lack of good experts and leaders in various fields.

Survey of land records storage at the Provincial Land Use Registration Office - a public service unit under the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Photo: Thanh Duy

Collapse the business unit

Faced with the above situation and the requirements, implementing the reorganization of the apparatus according to Resolution 6 of the Central Committee (term XII), Nghe An has reviewed and directed agencies and units to consolidate, reorganize and consolidate public service units to reduce the number of focal points and staff. For example, at the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development - a unit with many public service units, Head of the Department's Organization and Personnel Department - Mr. Nguyen Quoc Son said: After the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee approved, the Department is finalizing to submit to the Provincial People's Committee for approval. Accordingly, the organization of administrative agencies, service units, and project management boards of the industry by 2021 will be significantly reduced and more streamlined than in 2015.

Specifically, the Department will reduce 8 focal units (from 38 to 30) in the organizational system, including 4 sub-departments, 1 protective forest management board, 3 project management boards (3 sub-departments reduced in 2016, and 5 units reduced in the period 2018-2021). At the same time, 83 departments, offices and units under provincial-level agencies will be reduced, including 7 departments of 4 merged sub-departments, 2 departments of protective forest management boards; 73 district-level stations and sub-divisions (21 crop and plant protection stations, 21 livestock and veterinary stations, 21 agricultural extension stations, 6 rural and mountainous development boards and 4 forest ranger sub-divisions, of which 69 stations will be transferred to the district-level People's Committee for management and merged into the district's agricultural service center.

The organizational structure of public service units under the Department of Agriculture will be drastically reduced. Photo: Thanh Duy

In early April, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Thai Thanh Quy issued a document on the implementation of Notice No. 1516 -TB.TU of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, which included the assignment of the Provincial Investment Promotion and Support Center to complete the content of the Project to reorganize the centers: Investment Promotion and Support Center, Enterprise Development Support Center, Trade Promotion Center, Tourism Promotion Center into 1 center under the province, and submit it to the Provincial People's Committee Party Committee to report to the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee before submitting it to competent authorities for consideration and decision.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also assigned the Department of Construction to preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies and units to continue completing the Project to merge construction project management boards under the departments of Construction, Culture and Sports, Health, Education and Training into 1 Project Management Board under the province to report to the Provincial People's Committee to submit to the Provincial Party Committee's Appraisal Council.

Handling administrative procedures for businesses at the Provincial Investment Promotion and Support Center. Photo: Thanh Le

In general, regarding the arrangement of public service units, as of early April 2019, 9 localities have merged the Center for Culture - Information - Sports and Radio and Television Stations into the District-level Center for Culture - Sports and Communications, the remaining units are submitting the project to the Provincial People's Committee for approval. Nghe An has also merged the Vocational Training Center with the Continuing Education Center in 12 districts and towns; 7 units (Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu, Nghi Loc, Vinh city, Do Luong, Con Cuong, Thai Hoa town) are developing a project to merge the Continuing Education Center with the Vocational College; in the near future, a project will be implemented to merge 5 medical centers into the Provincial Center for Disease Control...

According to the Department of Home Affairs, up to now, 36/36 projects of departments, branches, sectors, and public service units under the Provincial People's Committee have been completed by the Appraisal Council established by the Provincial Party Committee. The appraisal results show that most of the projects have set out goals and targets for restructuring the apparatus and streamlining the payroll from now until 2021 and the following years, including the goal of reducing at least 10% of affiliated public service units, while ensuring that no focal points or affiliated intermediary organizations are increased. Some departments such as: Health, Agriculture and Rural Development, Transport, Natural Resources and Environment... affirmed that they have well implemented the autonomy plan for affiliated public service units.

The Provincial Party Standing Committee has listened, commented and announced its approval of the projects of localities, agencies and units on principles, objectives, task framework and solutions. Currently, departments and branches are completing the submission to the Provincial People's Committee for approval, including the work of merging, arranging and reorganizing public service units.