Part 1: More Than Just "Addition"
Nghe An is one of the localities with the largest number of administrative units being reorganized nationwide during the 2023-2025 period. The province has completed the plan for reorganizing district and commune-level administrative units for the 2023-2025 period and the plan for the 2026-2030 period, three months ahead of schedule. This result stems from the high level of consensus within the political system and among the people.
Nghe An is one of the localities with the largest number of administrative units being reorganized nationwide during the 2023-2025 period. The province has completed the plan for reorganizing district and commune-level administrative units for the 2023-2025 period and the plan for the 2026-2030 period, three months ahead of schedule. This result stems from the high level of consensus within the political system and among the people.
Reporters' TeamAugust 30, 2024
Nghe An province has just been commended by the Ministry of Interior as one of the units that has performed well in the reorganization of district and commune-level administrative units in the 2023-2025 period. Along with Hai Phong, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City, Minister of Interior Pham Thi Thanh Tra assessed that Nghe An is one of the four localities with a very large number of reorganized units.
Based on the conclusions of the Politburo, the resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the Government, for the period 2023-2025, Nghe An province has one district-level administrative unit, Cua Lo town, that does not meet the criteria for reorganization. The Provincial People's Committee has developed a plan to merge the entire Cua Lo town and adjust a part of Nghi Loc district, including four communes: Nghi Xuan, Phuc Tho, Nghi Thai, and Nghi Phong, into Vinh City. From 21 district-level administrative units, after reorganization, Nghe An will have 20 district-level administrative units (17 districts, 1 provincial city, and 2 towns).
At the commune level, Nghe An province has 92 units subject to restructuring, establishing 44 administrative units (including 43 newly established units and 1 administrative unit with partial adjustment of natural area and population). After the restructuring, the entire province reduced its administrative units by 48, from 460 commune-level administrative units (411 communes, 32 wards, 17 towns) to 412 commune-level administrative units (362 communes, 33 wards, 17 towns).
Although the number of administrative units to be reorganized is large, by mid-June 2024, Nghe An had completed all the required steps to finalize the plan for reorganizing district and commune-level administrative units, including: organizing voter consultations.and through the People's Councils at the commune, district, and provincial levels., with a relatively high level of consensus.
Comrade Nguyen Viet Hung - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Director of the Department of Internal Affairs, said: Through the consultation with voters, it was found that the voters basically unanimously approved the proposal, averaging over 90%, with some units having 100% voter agreement. At the commune and district levels, basically 100% of the delegates attending the meetings agreed and have submitted it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for appraisal before submitting it to the Government.
Streamlining administrative units at the district and commune levels to ensure effective and efficient operation is a correct policy of the Party and the State, an inevitable trend that cannot be delayed. Within a short time, Steering Committees for the reorganization of administrative units at all levels were established, with the Party Secretary directly serving as the head. At the provincial level, the Provincial Party Secretary directly serves as the Head of the Steering Committee, with members of the Provincial Party Standing Committee as Deputy Heads, and members being members of the Provincial Party Standing Committee to provide timely and thorough leadership and guidance.
The process of reorganizing administrative units has multifaceted impacts, affecting the morale and sentiments of officials, civil servants, and the people in the area; and impacting the economy, culture, society, politics, and national security and defense.
The actual effectiveness of restructuring cannot be simply a mechanical sum of how many units or officials have been cut, but must be assessed based on the efficiency of the government apparatus, the quality of benefits for the people, and the economic and social development in these areas. Therefore, all work must ensure synchronization, unity, and coordination among Party committees, government at all levels, and the involvement of the entire political system and the people of the localities.
Nghe An province places great importance on mass mobilization work to "inform the public," fostering high determination, great effort, and decisive action from leaders and officials. This creates a widespread impact, high levels of consensus and agreement among all segments of the population in the localities subject to restructuring.
That spirit was evident in the first meeting of the Provincial Steering Committee in October 2023, to discuss the overall plan for rearranging district and commune-level administrative units in the province. Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy – Head of the Provincial Steering Committee – clearly stated: It is necessary to recognize that rearranging district and commune-level administrative units is a difficult and sensitive task, profoundly impacting many areas such as: officials, civil servants and the people; local culture, customs and traditions… therefore, time and effort must be focused on its implementation. Members of the Provincial Steering Committee need to closely monitor the situation at the grassroots level, direct implementation in their respective areas, and especially identify obstacles and difficulties early on to address them promptly or report them to the Provincial Steering Committee for consideration and resolution. Relevant provincial departments and agencies must cooperate with localities to carry out the implementation.
Members of the Provincial Steering Committee need to stay close to the grassroots, direct the implementation in their respective areas, and especially identify obstacles and difficulties early on in order to direct timely handling or report them to the Provincial Steering Committee for consideration and resolution.
Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Thai Thanh Quy - Head of the Steering Committee for the reorganization of district and commune-level administrative units in Nghe An province.
During the implementation process, all levels, sectors, and organizations focused on mass mobilization work, creating high consensus among cadres, Party members, and the people. In a discussion, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thom, Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Deputy Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Mass Mobilization Department, stated: The mass mobilization system and the Fatherland Front at all levels throughout the province, especially in localities, have intensified propaganda and mobilization efforts to encourage cadres, Party members, and the people to agree to the rearrangement of district and commune-level administrative units. In particular, the cadres in the commune-level Mass Mobilization Block and the village/hamlet-level Mass Mobilization Teams have correctly and thoroughly understood the necessity of the rearrangement and merger in the current situation, thus setting a good example and actively propagating and mobilizing the people to agree to the implementation.
In districts, cities, and towns where communes, wards, and townships are subject to reorganization, propaganda and mobilization teams have been established. These teams, with grassroots mobilization members as the core, directly go to villages, hamlets, and residential areas, employing diverse forms of propaganda suitable to the local context and unit's realities. The results of this grassroots mobilization work have significantly contributed to the successful implementation of the administrative unit reorganization task for the 2023-2025 period.
Lessons learned from the implementation of administrative unit restructuring in the 2023-2025 period have affirmed the leadership role of local Party committees and authorities, and the pioneering and exemplary role of cadres and Party members at the district and commune levels. Party committees, authorities, and departments and organizations at the district and commune levels have done a good job of mass mobilization, focusing on propaganda and persuasion to ensure people understand and agree, thereby accelerating the process of administrative unit restructuring in a transparent manner, in accordance with regulations and the actual situation.
(To be continued)
