Do Luong: 234 out of 367 hamlets implement the model of Party Secretary also serving as Hamlet Head.

(Baonghean.vn) - "Continuing to implement the model of Party Secretary also serving as village head meets the policy of streamlining the apparatus and the requirement to ensure comprehensive leadership of the Party organization at the grassroots level," that is the opinion of Comrade Truong Hong Phuc - Secretary of the Do Luong District Party Committee on the orientation of the organizational structure of Party branches and village blocks in the 2017-2020 term.

Currently, in Do Luong district, there are 367 rural Party branches under the Party committees of communes and towns. Of these, during the 2015-2017 term, 234 out of 367 hamlets had Party branch secretaries who also served as hamlet heads. Eight communes implemented the model of Party branch secretaries also serving as hamlet heads in 100% of their hamlets: Hong Son, Ngoc Son, Boi Son, Town, Luu Son, Trung Son, Van Son, and Thuong Son.

Delegates attending the conference. Photo: KL

According to the assessment of the 2015-2017 term of the District Party Committee's Organizing Committee, 67.1% of Party branches with the branch secretary also serving as the village head achieved the "clean and strong" rating, 31.1% completed their tasks well, and 1.7% completed their tasks. 40.9% of the villages achieved excellent performance; 51.5% completed their tasks, and 7.6% completed their tasks.

The Party branch secretary and village head of Hoa Phu hamlet, Hien Son commune, Do Luong district, discusses economic development directions with local residents. (Photo: Archival material)

The advantages of the model where the Party Secretary also serves as the village head include a streamlined organizational structure, a 1.5 times higher remuneration compared to not holding both positions, thus creating motivation for village officials in their work, and reducing the number of meetings and briefings.

This model also promotes the comprehensive leadership role of the Party branch secretary and the management and operation of the village head in all areas of the village block in a synchronized and effective manner. It fosters the individual capabilities, dynamism, creativity, and willingness to think, act, and take responsibility of cadres, reducing the tendency to wait, rely on others, avoid responsibility, and show deference in work; it effectively implements the principle of democratic centralism, creating consensus among cadres, Party members, and the people…

Overview of the conference. Photo: KL

However, selecting individuals with comprehensive capabilities to fill the position of Party Secretary and Village Head currently faces difficulties because in rural Party branches, the majority of Party members are elderly, a large number are retired, and there are few young Party members directly involved in agricultural production. Training and development are limited, resulting in a large number of Party Secretaries and Village Heads lacking specialized training and political theory education.

The responsibilities of a village secretary who also serves as village head are numerous, but the compensation policy does not meet the requirements. Furthermore, in areas where the Party committee and branch have weak capabilities, lack critical analysis and supervision, and fail to conduct thorough inspections and monitoring, implementing the model of a village secretary also serving as village head can easily lead to authoritarianism, abuse of power, and a lack of democracy…

Nguyen Van Tri, Party Secretary and Head of Hamlet 13, Thuong Son Commune, presides over the hamlet meeting. (Photo: Archival image)

At the conference, the participating units focused on discussing and clarifying the advantages, disadvantages, and limitations, as well as proposing solutions to continue implementing the model effectively.

Nguyen Cong Thang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Thuong Son commune (where 100% of the commune's Party Secretary also serves as the village head), believes that to sustainably implement this model, it is necessary to select individuals who are truly capable, exemplary, and who "match words with actions" and enjoy the trust of the people.

Representatives from the Party Committee of Ngoc Son commune - a mountainous commune located at the northern end of the district - stated: "In reality, the competence of village secretaries and heads is still limited, while the workload in the villages is heavy, so flexibility is necessary, rather than rigidity in implementing policies. Local leaders also suggested strengthening inspection and supervision and focusing on resolving obstacles at the grassroots level during the implementation of the model."

As an area with 12 village heads who are also villagers, the Party Committee of Giang Son Dong commune stated that the biggest difficulty remains the lack of personnel capable of fulfilling both roles of Party Secretary and village Head. Furthermore, the Party Committee and local government have not been proactive in creating a pool of village cadres, being complacent, failing to closely monitor the grassroots level, and misjudging the situation regarding personnel. Therefore, during the 2015-2017 term, only 4 units elected a Party Secretary who also serves as a village Head. Thus, the lesson learned is the need to improve the training, development, and planning of village cadres based on the characteristics of each unit; and to thoroughly and skillfully implement the steps and procedures for personnel selection at Party branch congresses, linked to the model of a Party Secretary who also serves as a village Head.

Based on practical experience and proposals from the grassroots level, in the orientation of the organizational structure of Party branches and hamlets/blocks in the 2017-2020 term, the Standing Committee of the Do Luong District Party Committee decided that in Party branches with a source of cadres and Party members with high qualities, capabilities, and prestige among the people, the structure of the Party branch secretary also serving as hamlet/block head, the deputy Party branch secretary also serving as head of the Fatherland Front working committee, Party branch committee member also serving as police officer, hamlet deputy or village militia leader will continue.

In areas lacking the necessary resources and qualifications, the Party branch secretary will also serve as the head of the Fatherland Front committee, and the deputy Party branch secretary will also serve as the village head. In special and difficult areas, the structure will still maintain separate Party branch secretaries and village heads, but capable individuals with aspirations and motivation to join the Party must be selected to serve as block leaders and village heads.

Comrade Truong Hong Phu, Secretary of the Do Luong District Party Committee, requested that all units effectively implement the model of Party Secretary also serving as village head for the 2017-2020 term. Photo: KL

In his concluding remarks at the conference, Comrade Truong Hong Phuc emphasized that the model of Party Secretary also serving as village head has been implemented in Do Luong district for over 10 years and remains suitable to the current situation as well as the Party and State's policy on streamlining the apparatus and ensuring comprehensive leadership of the Party organization at the grassroots level.

Therefore, it is requested that localities and units seriously implement this, especially in the 22 units where the majority of village heads are from the general public, striving to have approximately 70-80% of village heads in the area be Party members during the 2017-2020 term. For the 9 units with only 1-5 village heads from the general public, the Secretary of the Do Luong District Party Committee requested that during the 2017-2020 term, the personnel structure must ensure that 100% of village heads are Party members. Any place that fails to implement this well will not only be held accountable by the local authorities but also by the members of the District Party Committee Standing Committee assigned as cluster leaders or point leaders.

Also this morning, the Do Luong District Party Committee issued guidelines for the congresses of subordinate Party branches under the grassroots Party committees for the 2017-2020 term and launched a campaign to support the Fund for the Poor in 2017.

Khanh Ly