Learning from and following President Ho Chi Minh's example in selecting, utilizing, and managing cadres.

Together with the Central Committee of the Party, President Ho Chi Minh creatively combined Marxist-Leninist theory with world experience and Vietnamese practice to correctly train, cultivate, select, utilize, and manage cadres. In selecting cadres, he paid attention to both virtue and talent. He said, "Just as a river needs a source to have water, without a source the river dries up. A tree must have roots, without roots the tree withers. A revolutionary must have morality; without morality, no matter how talented they are, they cannot lead the people."¹He also emphasized, "One must cultivate both virtue and talent; without virtue, one is useless, and without talent, everything is difficult."².

Therefore, right after the success of the August Revolution, President Ho Chi Minh paid great attention to the importance of utilizing talent and managing cadres. According to him, "We must skillfully utilize cadres – no one is good at everything. Therefore, we must skillfully use people, correct their shortcomings, and help them develop their strengths. Often, we don't know how to use people according to their talents. For example: A blacksmith is told to build a cabinet, and a carpenter is told to forge a knife. As a result, both are confused. If we know how to use people according to their talents, then both will succeed."³.

It was thanks to these correct and insightful viewpoints that, when the country had just gained independence and was facing countless difficulties, both internal and external enemies, President Ho Chi Minh and our Party were very successful in uniting and gathering all strata of the people through personnel work. President Ho Chi Minh invited a number of patriotic intellectuals, scholars, and officials from the feudal regime who possessed knowledge and experience to assist the Government. Among them were Mr. Bui Bang Doan, former Minister of Justice, who became Head of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly; Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang, former Director of the Central Vietnam People's Representative Assembly, who became Minister of the Interior and later Vice President; and Mr. Phan Ke Toai, former Imperial Commissioner, who became Minister of the Interior.

In 1946, before going to France, President Ho Chi Minh entrusted the entire administration of the country to Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang, giving him only one instruction: "Maintain the unchanging principles while adapting to changing circumstances." This was a time of great difficulty and complexity for the country, yet President Ho Chi Minh still entrusted power to an intellectual who did not belong to any political party. Through this approach, President Ho Chi Minh was able to unite all the finest minds of the nation in the resistance war for national liberation and reconstruction. Many intellectuals living abroad, despite having high incomes and better working conditions, voluntarily returned to help the country, such as engineer Tran Dai Nghia, mathematics professor Le Van Thiem, agronomist Luong Dinh Cua, medical doctor Dang Van Ngu, doctor Tran Huu Tuoc, and Nguyen Khac Vien… At the same time, many outstanding intellectuals such as professor Ta Quang Buu, professor Ton That Tung, Ho Dac Di, lawyer Phan Anh, professor Hoang Minh Giam, Nguyen Van Huyen, Nguy Nhu Kon Tum, and doctor Vu Dinh Tung… were all valued and utilized to develop their talents to serve the country. In particular, President Ho Chi Minh's assessment and selection of cadres were very accurate and effective, such as assigning Comrade Vo Nguyen Giap to lead the army when he had never attended a military school and was a history teacher at the Thang Long private school, and then promoting him directly to General. Many comrades chosen and entrusted with tasks by Uncle Ho, such as Truong Chinh, Le Duan, Pham Van Dong, Nguyen Chi Thanh, etc., all became outstanding leaders of the country.

Someone once advised, "When promoting officials, don't do it like 'pounding rice.' That is, don't promote them without careful consideration beforehand. Don't promote them without support afterward. Don't demote them when they make mistakes, only to promote them again when they do well. An official who is promoted and demoted three times like that will have their whole life ruined. For officials, not only must you carefully consider them before promotion, but after they've been promoted, you must support them, encourage them, and cultivate their self-confidence and self-respect."⁴The President further emphasized: “Before assigning tasks, it is necessary to discuss them thoroughly with the officials. If they cannot handle the responsibility, do not force them to do so. Once assigned, you must completely trust them. Do not issue one order in the morning and change it in the afternoon. If you do not trust the officials, fearing they will not be able to do the job, you will interfere in everything. The result will be excuses, and the work will still not be completed. The officials will be idle all day, sad, and discouraged.”⁵.

In particular, President Ho Chi Minh paid attention to the education and training of those in charge and making decisions regarding...personnel work"Everything must be done fairly and honestly, without favoritism, personal favoritism, or personal vendetta. If you have the power to appoint people, you must appoint those who are talented and capable. Don't appoint people to positions simply because they are relatives or friends. The only fear is losing your own position and suppressing those who are more talented than yourself."⁶Uncle Ho criticized the factionalism within the Party: “Factionalism is another very dangerous disease… This disease is very harmful to the Party. It harms unity. It causes the Party to lose talented people and prevents it from fully implementing its policies.”⁷.

President Ho Chi Minh's teachings on selecting, utilizing, and managing cadres are profound and deeply meaningful to each of us cadres and Party members. Studying and following Ho Chi Minh's thought, morality, and style in the new revolutionary period is more necessary than ever, especially in cadre work.

Recently, the Party and State of Vietnam have implemented many important policies on personnel work in accordance with President Ho Chi Minh's ideology and the resolutions of the 13th Party Congress, resulting in many positive outcomes. The Party's cadre has matured and continues to lead the country to achieve many great and historically significant accomplishments.

However, in some localities, departments, and agencies, the selection, utilization, and management of cadres have not been truly effective, resulting in low performance in political tasks. A segment of leading and managerial cadres exhibit a tendency to shirk responsibility, avoid accountability, and fear accountability, leading to delays and prolonged handling of work, causing many difficulties for grassroots levels, citizens, and businesses. The Politburo has issued Regulation No. 80-QĐ/TW dated August 18, 2022, on "Decentralization of cadre management and appointment and nomination of candidates," with very strict, scientific, and democratic provisions such as...personnel appointment processOn the spot. The process has five steps, but in some places where the leader exhibits personal bias, authoritarianism, and a weak spirit of internal criticism and self-criticism, the promotion and appointment process is essentially a formality, with the final outcome depending on the leader's opinion.

Currently, some argue that any position assigned to a Party committee member is acceptable, but in some cases, leadership, direction, and management can be challenging and prolonged due to being in charge of a sector or field without proper training and lacking practical experience. Of particular concern is that some senior officials choose and recommend weaker deputies for easier leadership and management, making them difficult to replace. This often leads to the deputy taking over when the senior official is transferred or retires. If the deputy, after learning from their predecessor's experience, recommends or selects a weaker deputy, it significantly impacts work efficiency and diminishes the prestige of the Party committee, agency, or unit. Recently, there have been several cases of newly promoted or appointed officials who quickly "self-degenerated," leading to embezzlement, corruption, and violations of the principle of democratic centralism, causing negative public opinion among the people. These cases have resulted in severe disciplinary action, and lessons need to be learned to promptly rectify the situation.

To learn from and follow President Ho Chi Minh's example in selecting, utilizing, and managing cadres in the new situation, it is proposed that Party committees at all levels continue to lead the better implementation of the following solutions:

The first,Continue to lead and promote the study and emulation of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics, and style so that the movement becomes increasingly deeply ingrained and truly becomes a solid spiritual foundation in social life.

During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh was a shining example and role model of thinking and style that was close to the people, respected the people, dedicated his life to the people, and wholeheartedly cared for the people's well-being and happiness. In the coming period, Party committees at all levels will continue to direct efforts to improve the quality and effectiveness of implementing Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW dated May 18, 2021, of the Politburo on continuing to implement Directive No. 05-CT/TW dated May 15, 2016, of the Politburo (12th term) on "Promoting the study and emulation of Ho Chi Minh's thought, morality, and style," in conjunction with Conclusion No. 21-KL/TW dated October 25, 2021, of the Central Committee on strengthening Party building and rectification and the political system, resolutely preventing, repelling, and strictly handling cadres and Party members who have degenerated in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle, and exhibiting "self-evolution" and "self-transformation"... On that basis, they will educate, train, and inspect cadres and Party members, especially those in advisory bodies on personnel work, to prevent them from violating the diseases that President Ho Chi Minh pointed out previously, such as the selection and use of cadres. A government lacking both virtue and talent, failing to carefully consider appointments, not consulting with officials before assigning tasks, and distrusting them once assigned, suppressing more talented individuals for fear of losing their own positions, appointing relatives and friends to various positions, and engaging in factionalism and cronyism...

Monday,Regularly and thoroughly understand and consistently implement the viewpoints, tasks, and solutions of Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW, dated May 19, 2018, of the 7th Central Committee Meeting (12th term) on "Focusing on building a contingent of cadres at all levels, especially strategic-level cadres, with sufficient qualities, capabilities, and prestige commensurate with the tasks," Regulation No. 132-QĐ/TW dated March 8, 2018, of the Politburo "on reviewing and evaluating the annual quality of collectives and individuals in the political system," Regulation No. 50-QĐ/TW dated December 27, 2021, of the Politburo "on cadre planning work," Regulation No. 80-QĐ/TW dated August 18, 2022, of the Politburo "on decentralizing cadre management and appointing and nominating cadres," and Announcement of Conclusion No. 20-TB/TW dated... Decision of the Politburo dated September 8, 2022, on "Policies for assigning work to officials under the management of the Politburo and the Secretariat after being disciplined." Based on this, we deeply understand the viewpoint that "cadres are the decisive factor in the success or failure of the revolution, and cadre work is the 'key' element in Party building and the political system." We strictly and consistently implement the principle of the Party's unified, direct, and comprehensive leadership over cadre work and cadre management within the political system. We respect and act according to objective laws, and constantly innovate cadre work to suit the practical situation. We thoroughly understand the principle of the relationship between political line and cadre line, class perspective, and broad national unity policy in cadre work and cadre building. This is the responsibility of the entire political system, directly of Party committees and organizations at all levels, first and foremost the leaders and advisory bodies of the Party, with the organizational and cadre agencies being the core, as the resolution stipulates.

Tuesday,Party committees at all levels should continue to innovate their leadership methods to effectively implement strict control over power in personnel work.

Personnel work throughout all periods of the revolution must be closely monitored and supervised by Party committees, relevant agencies, and the people. Further research and development of a more robust institutional framework to control power in personnel work is necessary. First and foremost, relevant agencies should review existing mechanisms and policies concerning personnel, promptly addressing any loopholes to minimize potential misconduct and encourage and protect officials who dare to think, act, and take responsibility for the common good. The standards, processes, procedures, and personnel records should be publicly and transparently implemented according to regulations. Information from organizations, individuals, and the media should be promptly and effectively verified and addressed. Strengthening inspection, supervision, and investigation, and promptly handling organizations and individuals who violate Party discipline and State laws, and who abuse power to commit wrongdoings in personnel work, ensuring there are truly no "forbidden zones" as directed by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. Consistently implementing the principle of reviewing, evaluating, and classifying cadres: "Political qualities, ethics, and lifestyle are the foundation; work results and effectiveness are the main criteria in annual evaluation and classification," as stipulated in Political Bureau Regulation No. 132-QĐ/TW, combined with the results of mid-term confidence votes in an objective manner.

In the current situation, Party committees at all levels should have a specific address where every cadre, Party member, and citizen can directly report and provide information related to cadres under the Party committee's management to the Party committee secretary. The Party committee secretary is primarily responsible for personnel matters, so they need direct access to information to promptly verify and address correct and constructive feedback (a secretary could be assigned to regularly monitor and report directly to the Party committee secretary). Major General Dinh Van Noi, Director of the Quang Ninh Provincial Police, publicly providing a phone number for citizens to directly provide information on security and order matters is a good example.

Wednesday, promoting the role of the people in building the cadre of officials.

On December 12, 2013, the Politburo issued Decision No. 217-QD/TW on the regulations for social supervision and criticism by the Vietnam Fatherland Front and political and social organizations, and Regulation No. 218-QD/TW on the participation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, political and social organizations, and the people in contributing opinions to the building of the Party and the government. Recently, these two regulations have been implemented by Party committees at all levels and have yielded many results. However, to improve supervision and participation, it is suggested that consideration be given to developing and enacting a law on supervision and criticism so that the Vietnam Fatherland Front, political and social organizations, and the people can contribute more effectively. Relevant agencies also need to promptly concretize these into legal documents so that the mechanism of "the people know, the people discuss, the people do, the people inspect, the people supervise, and the people benefit" can be implemented effectively. Local Party committees and authorities continue to organize regular public consultation sessions, thereby promptly addressing legitimate requests from the people, including those related to personnel matters.

The Central Secretariat issued Decision No. 99-QD/TW on October 3, 2017, providing a framework for Party committees and organizations under the Central Committee to continue promoting the role of the people in the struggle to prevent and repel the decline, "self-evolution," and "self-transformation" within the Party. The Central Committee also issued Regulation No. 08-QDi/TW on October 25, 2018, "on the responsibility of setting an example for cadres and Party members, first and foremost the Politburo members, Secretariat members, and Central Committee members." These documents need to be fully implemented by all levels and sectors so that every citizen can participate in building a better cadre in the future. It is also necessary to promptly expand the forms of collecting feedback on people's satisfaction with each category of leading and managing cadres in the political system in an appropriate manner.

_______________

Note:

1,3,4,5,6,7. Ho Chi Minh Complete Works, National Political Publishing House - Truth, Hanoi 2011, Volume 5, pp. 292; 314; 322; 123; 297.

2. Ho Chi Minh Complete Works, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 1995, Volume 7, p. 52.