Being close to the people, serving the people well from the grassroots level.

The effectiveness of being close to and connected with the people.

Visiting Long Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district) and stopping by a grocery store in Giap Ngoi hamlet, we were quite surprised to find that in this purely agricultural area, not only young people but also older farmers were using QR codes to transfer money. The store owner said that not only her family's store but nearly 30 businesses in the hamlet were using the app to transfer money via bank account, and more than 60% of the residents in the hamlet were cashless in their purchases.

Further investigation revealed that in Giap Ngoi hamlet, digital infrastructure is being strongly implemented. This includes a lighting system with automatic on/off sensors, security cameras installed in residential clusters and in individual households (over 80%), internet access for over 90% of households, an automated irrigation system for agricultural production, and cashless transactions for buying, selling, paying taxes, and fees. At the hamlet's cultural center, QR codes are installed, allowing residents to easily access general information about Yen Thanh district and Long Thanh commune.

Similarly, at the two provincial-level historical and cultural relics of the Pham clan and the Doan clan, QR codes are also attached to update information about the origins and development of the two clans as well as these two relics… The traditional village of Giap Ngoi has now taken on a modern appearance with well-invested and synchronized transportation infrastructure, cultural facilities, and rural landscape.

Comrade Duong Thi Lu, Secretary of the Party Branch and Head of the Front Committee of Giap Ngoi hamlet, said: This is the result of building a "smart village" in the hamlet through the role of being close to the people and grassroots level, with many meetings organized by commune and hamlet officials to explain things to the people and gain their consensus; combined with the establishment of a community digital technology team to go to each family to guide people in downloading and using applications on smartphones, including installing Zalo and Facebook to serve the hamlet's propaganda work.

In Long Thanh commune, the close relationship between the Party committee and the government with the people is not only about disseminating information and explaining policies to the people, but more importantly, it's about listening to and understanding their thoughts and aspirations in order to resolve issues thoroughly and promote the people's right to self-governance. This is the key to ensuring effective leadership and guidance, enabling the commune to achieve the model new rural area standard in digital transformation in 2023.

Comrade Nguyen Van De - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Committee of Long Thanh commune - gave an example: During the implementation of the new rural development program, advanced new rural development program, and model new rural development program, the commune adjusted the content based on reasonable suggestions from the people. For instance, the plan was to mobilize 100% of the people's resources to build "bright, green, clean, beautiful, and safe" roads, but when people suggested it, the commune allocated 30% to support them; or when assigning targets for hamlets to upgrade and expand sidewalks along with concrete paving, based on people's suggestions, the commune supported the hamlets in building roads where no residents lived.

"

In the process of implementing policies and movements at the local level, Party committees and authorities always listen to and incorporate the opinions of the people to make appropriate adjustments.

Comrade Nguyen Van De - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Long Thanh Commune

To achieve the model new rural standard in digital transformation, the Chairman of the Long Thanh Commune People's Committee also stated that the genuine involvement of each official, civil servant, and non-specialized worker from the commune to the hamlet level in "staying close to the people" is crucial. They must both disseminate information and guide people in installing Zalo and Facebook, using online public services, opening ATM cards, e-wallets, and making cashless payments, as well as resolving difficulties and obstacles.

In the process of building and achieving the standards of new rural communes, advanced new rural communes, and model new rural communes, the Party Committee and government of Nam Giang commune (Nam Dan district) established grassroots steering committees, assigning each official and civil servant to be responsible for specific contents, criteria, and hamlet areas to provide guidance. Comrade Banh Trong Hoa - Secretary of the Party Branch and Head of Hamlet 3 shared: "Nowadays, if commune and hamlet officials are not close to the grassroots, not close to the people, and do not listen to the practical realities, they cannot handle the situations arising from reality. Especially, if they give up when faced with difficulties, not only will the work be stalled, but the people's trust in the officials will also decrease, making it difficult to gather the unity and consensus of the people."

Comrade Peng Zhonghua stated that when expanding and upgrading the road in residential area No. 3, from over 2 meters to 7 meters, the first meeting with residents "failed" because the households could not agree on a common contribution amount. Some households had less road frontage, while others had more. Furthermore, the large volume of work involved, from cutting trees, draining ponds, filling ponds with soil, and building embankments to widen the road, would increase the contribution amount. Since only 15 households were affected by this road project, the residents were reluctant to participate. The village Party branch, in coordination with the commune, organized an expanded meeting with organizations within the political system, and commune and village officials personally carried out tasks such as cutting trees and pumping pond water. Seeing that the officials "walked the talk" and were working for the benefit of the people, the residents agreed to contribute to the road project.

Strengthening contact and dialogue with the people.

In Nghe An province, the leadership, guidance, management, and operation of Party committees, government agencies, and the activities of the Fatherland Front and political and social organizations from the provincial to the grassroots level have shifted from administrative orders and "bureaucratization" to increased contact, exchange, dialogue, and listening to the opinions of the people, especially in resolving difficult issues such as land clearance and handling petitions.

The inter-communal road, connecting Nghia Duc commune with Nghia Hieu, Nghia Hung communes and the center of Thai Hoa town, is nearly 12 km long. Nghia Dan district approved the investment, but lacked funds for land compensation. Besides losing their livelihoods, crops, and having their fences and gates demolished, worth tens of millions of dong, residents also had to donate over 80,000 square meters of land.²land, some households lost about 1,000 square meters.²The land was affected when the road was widened from 5m to 12m. Therefore, many residents initially disagreed.

Faced with the opportunity presented by the district for the investment project, the local Party committee and government organized six dialogue sessions. According to Ms. Lang Thi Lieu, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Nghia Duc commune, these dialogues not only conveyed the policy and clearly explained the benefits of the project to the people, but also allowed the Party committee and government to understand the people's concerns and provide explanations, resulting in strong public support.

According to the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Nghia Duc commune, through dialogue between the heads of the Party committee and the government with the people in each hamlet, many existing problems and limitations have been clarified and overcome, such as rectifying the working attitude of commune officials and civil servants, abolishing outdated customs and uncivilized lifestyles in ethnic minority villages, and stagnation in the new rural development movement…

Besides strengthening contact and dialogue with the people to resolve difficulties, shortcomings, and limitations in management, administration, and the implementation of political tasks, the handling of complaints and denunciations from citizens is also being enhanced through dialogue by all levels and sectors in the province.

Comrade Hoang Quyen - Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee and Chairman of the Anh Son District People's Committee - stated: Dialogue with the participation of many relevant parties is crucial for clearly identifying obstacles and difficulties, clarifying the causes, and defining the responsibilities of each party; thereby achieving a common consensus on how to resolve issues effectively. Thanks to this, the rate of resolving complaints and petitions in Anh Son district from the beginning of the 2020-2025 term to date has reached 98.3%. Through the results of receiving citizens and resolving complaints and denunciations, the trust of the people in the government has been strengthened, demonstrating a genuine commitment to their interests.

"

The rate of resolving complaints in Anh Son district is high because the district implements a strict process and strengthens "three-way dialogue" to clarify responsibilities and respect the legitimate rights of the people.

Comrade Hoang Quyen - Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Anh Son District

Being close to the people, understanding their needs, and strengthening their right to self-governance are not only important measures to improve the effectiveness of leadership, guidance, management, and administration by Party committees and governments, but also crucial driving forces for promoting unity, creating social consensus, and consolidating the people's trust in the Party and the State.

Experience has shown that when the government and socio-political organizations truly listen to and understand the thoughts and aspirations of the people, they will be able to play a leading role, voluntarily contributing their efforts, intellect, and resources to achieve common goals. This is a lesson learned that Party committees and governments at all levels in the province are applying most effectively, contributing to the overall development of the province.