The story of 'divine beings relying on their subordinates'

Speaking of local development, I'm delighted to read recent news about the capital, which is often described with the cynical and sarcastic phrase about its stagnation and bureaucracy: "Hanoi can't be rushed!"

In Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc's inaugural address to the National Assembly last July, I was particularly impressed by some of the points regarding the current state of the country. Through this, we can see the numerous challenges facing the government during this term, and to achieve this, all levels, sectors, and localities must work together decisively and synchronously.

As the ancients often said, "A leader's power depends on his subordinates." This means that even if the government apparatus moves as much as it can, if there is no movement at the local level, countless difficulties will arise.

At a meeting about two months ago, the Government Office also provided us with some very thought-provoking figures: Nationwide, from the beginning of the year to November 28, 2016, the Government and the Prime Minister assigned 10,241 tasks to ministries, agencies, and localities responsible for implementation, reporting, and providing feedback. Of these, 5,860 tasks have been completed; 4,381 tasks remain uncompleted (4,186 within the deadline and 195 overdue).

Therefore, administrative reforms are needed to ensure efficiency and prevent congestion. It is highly inadvisable to "pass the buck" to higher levels, as Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc mentioned in a meeting held at the same time.

Speaking of local development, I was delighted to read recent news about Hanoi, a city often described with the cynical and sarcastic phrase about its stagnation and bureaucracy: "Hanoi can't be rushed!"

Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung experiences Hanoi's first express bus service. Photo: VNN.

In a relatively short period of time, Hanoi seems to be undergoing positive changes, driven by an aspiration to become a true leader of the country in economic, cultural, social, and scientific and technological fields.

For example, among the many issues that have long been considered limitations of Hanoi, perhaps the most obvious is its weak competitiveness compared to other provinces and cities nationwide. Hanoi's Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), with its highly erratic fluctuations over the past decade, does not reflect its potential and its position as the "brain" of the country.

And City Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung was deeply concerned, viewing it as "an urgent task" to accelerate progress in 2016, the first year of a new term. He assigned very specific targets for increasing the credibility rating of city departments and agencies, down to each level, when discussing the goal of improving the PCI (Provincial Competitiveness Index) so that by 2020, the city would be among the top 10 provinces and cities nationwide.

Presiding over a meeting in early June 2016, he assigned targets to the leaders of seven departments and agencies in Hanoi, requiring them to take responsibility for improving Hanoi's PCI index by 5-7 ranks, and some departments and agencies even had to make more significant "revolutions" to increase it by 7-10 ranks in 2016 (even though the time remaining for this goal was only six months according to the new guidelines).

With his decisive words and actions, and the practical direction and management that Mr. Chung is currently undertaking in the city—"there's no need to rush"—many people expect Hanoi to be very different from before. Because if it doesn't act decisively, Hanoi might fall behind other localities, even those with fewer advantages and limitations in many aspects.

Several other cases handled by the Hanoi Chairman also demonstrated his decisiveness and were well-received by the public.

For example, long-distance bus owners are not complying with the planning for bus terminals and depots, and the transport sector is also subtly "making things difficult" for the leadership with various excuses. Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung had to issue a second ultimatum, refusing to back down, even though the bus owners were being tough with the authorities and silently reacting by suspending operations on New Year's Day.

For example, the issue of downsizing the workforce remains very challenging. According to reports from agencies under the Hanoi People's Committee, as of September 2016, Hanoi had completed the restructuring of 22 out of 22 departments and equivalent agencies. After the restructuring, the city reduced 46 departments and divisions compared to the current number (equivalent to a 22.5% reduction); it also reduced 6 more departments compared to the Joint Circular, and eliminated 26 heads of departments and 116 deputy heads of departments.

Specifically for the public service units under the Department, after review and reorganization, the number decreased from 401 to 280 units, a reduction of 121 units (equivalent to 30.2%)... It is very possible that this is not the final figure for 2016.

Then there's another area, which I consider a rather impressive breakthrough for Hanoi. That's the development of e-government, which previously faced many significant obstacles and would have been very difficult to succeed without the decisive leadership of the city's chairman. Hanoi has provided online public services at levels 3-4 for organizations and citizens. The application of information technology in management also helps citizens reduce procedures and save time waiting and traveling...

The positive momentum of localities, especially the city of Hanoi, the capital, is crucial to driving the overall reform process. The spirit and aspiration to build a constructive, proactive, and honest government, wholeheartedly serving the people, can only succeed when everyone, from top to bottom, participates. Because if the "god" is sacred but the "subordinates" are not, imagine how difficult things will be!

According to VNN