Blocks, villages, hamlets, and villages (collectively called villages and hamlets) are not administrative levels, but they play an extremely important role, being the "extended arm" of the grassroots Party Committee and government in conveying and putting the Party and State's policies and guidelines into practice; at the same time, they are the most in-depth channel to grasp and reflect practical issues to the Party and State at all levels. And, for that function to be truly effective, it always requires the participation and leadership of the Party cell.
Mr. Luong Ngoc An - Secretary of the Party Cell of Hamlet 5, Nghi Van Commune (Nghi Loc) has been the Hamlet Chief and Secretary of the Party Cell for 25 years. In any position, he is always concerned about the common work. According to Mr. An, his own contribution is the responsibility of a Party member; it is to show his respect for the Party organization that has chosen him, respect for the collective, and the people who have trusted and elected him. With that awareness, in the most difficult period, when merging Hamlets 5A and 5B into Hamlet 5, he, together with the Party Committee, the Party Cell and the Hamlet Management Board, created a common unity that spread among the people. Therefore, the new hamlet quickly stabilized all activities and production, joining hands to build a new countryside.
In addition, Mr. Luong Ngoc An also proactively discussed with the Party Committee and the hamlet management board to find reasonable solutions to call on children from his hometown who work far away from home to support the hamlet in building cultural and sports facilities that meet advanced new rural standards. In economic development, hamlet 5 is also the leading unit of Nghi Van commune. The Party Committee has been ranked excellent for many consecutive years and Mr. Luong Ngoc An is a party member who has completed his tasks excellently.
In Hung Yen Nam commune (Hung Nguyen), Hamlet 1 Chief, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thao, said that in the process of building new rural areas, along with propaganda, mobilization, and persuasion of people to participate, each party member, secretary, and hamlet chief must always be exemplary and take the lead in implementation. The process of spending on construction works must be economical, transparent, and democratic, so that people believe and support the movements. As for Mr. Le Minh Huyen in Canh Yen village, Nghia Yen commune (Nghia Dan), he has held the position of Party Cell Secretary for 14 years now (from 2008 to present, even before the village merger). At each stage, Mr. Huyen is always enthusiastic, always takes the lead, and is an exemplary person in the emulation movements for socio-economic development. Mr. Le Minh Huyen and his comrades in the Party Committee and Party cells regularly mobilize people to comply with the Party's policies and the State's laws, actively contribute to building new rural areas, and making villages and communes more and more prosperous.
Hamlet 4, Thanh Phong Commune (Thanh Chuong) has always been at the forefront of the movement in the commune. That result has a clear contribution of Hamlet Chief Le Xuan Que. At the age of 65, with a pension of 8 million VND/month, and 4 successful children; with such conditions, it is easy to want to rest and enjoy, but Mr. Le Xuan Que still works hard in the hamlet and the people's work. He, together with the Party cell, the Front Working Committee and mass organizations, propagates and mobilizes people to implement the Party's policies and the State's laws and complete the hamlet's tasks. During that process, Mr. Que has always been a pioneer and set an example, from donating land, moving back fences, and contributing to expanding roads. On the occasion of November 18, 2021, the traditional day of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Great National Unity Day, Mr. Que spent his personal money to buy flags to give to households in the hamlet, ensuring that 100% of the roads and households hang flags on the occasion. Mr. Que said: "I always tell people, while I am still healthy, when the Party trusts me and the people trust me, I try to do useful work for society and the people."
The examples of Party cell secretaries and village and hamlet chiefs as mentioned above are present in almost all the blocks, hamlets, and villages in Nghe An today (before the merger, there were 3,806 blocks, hamlets, and villages; now that number has decreased to 2,083). Those who operate in blocks, hamlets, and villages (collectively called villages and hamlets), especially comrades in Party committees, Party cells, and village and hamlet management boards, play a core role, leading all movements at the grassroots level. They are the representatives and bridges between the people and the Party committees and authorities; they are the "nucleus" of leadership, implementing policies and strategies for socio-economic development, ensuring social order and safety in each residential area.
Comrade Hoang Thi Thu Trang - Secretary of Nghia Dan District Party Committee shared: “The Party cell and the hamlet management board are the “extended arms” of the Party Committee and the government in implementing policies and plans for socio-economic development, ensuring security and order in each residential area. The hamlet chief is the person who “takes the lead” in managing all activities in the hamlet; the person who directly works with the hamlet management board to concretize the leadership and resolutions of the Party cell into practice as well as implement the tasks assigned by the commune-level government. This is an indispensable team.
Comrade Tran Thi Binh - Standing Deputy Secretary of Yen Thanh District Party Committee also said: "They are not only the "nucleus" of leadership, directing all movements in the hamlet but also the "nucleus" in reconciling conflicts and disputes in residential areas. They are the ones who promptly grasp public opinion, difficulties and problems at the grassroots level to reflect to the Party Committee and government for handling...".
Party committees at all levels in Nghe An always pay attention to building, consolidating and improving the leadership capacity of Party cells with many solutions, focusing on developing Party members to create resources and assigning responsibility to Party committees to train and build successor teams. However, the source of "cadre planning" in villages and hamlets is mainly retired cadres, civil servants, public employees, and workers, or those who have participated for decades and are now old; leading to the "aging" of Party members and those who undertake work in villages and hamlets.
On the other hand, implementing the policy of merging hamlets, many new hamlets were merged from 2-3 old hamlets with a population size 2-3 times larger and a larger area of operation; meanwhile, the number of non-professional workers in the commune decreased, leading to a larger and more difficult workload in the village and hamlet, sometimes overloading many older "cadres".
In that practice, in parallel with ideological work, motivating responsible and prestigious elders, many localities focus on persuading young people to participate in village and hamlet work. For example, in Tuong Duong district, before the Party cell congress for the 2022-2025 term, the proportion of young people under 40 years old participating in village and hamlet work was quite high. For example, in Yen Na commune with 7 hamlets, there were 2 Party cell secretaries and 3 young hamlet chiefs; or Yen Tinh commune with 9 hamlets, there were 4 Party cell secretaries and 6 young hamlet chiefs; Tam Hop commune with 5 hamlets, there were 4 Party cell secretaries and 3 young hamlet chiefs; Yen Thang commune with 8 hamlets, there were 2 Party cell secretaries and 3 young hamlet chiefs; Thach Giam town had 11 hamlets, each with 2 Party cell secretaries and 4 young hamlet and block chiefs. In Nghi Loc district, as of July 2022, the whole district has a total of 492 party cell secretaries and hamlet chiefs, of which the proportion of people under 50 years old is 224 people, accounting for 45.2%.
Many localities organize Party target classes for young people before joining the army, and coordinate with military recruitment units to train and educate them so that they can be admitted to the Party or admitted when they return to their localities. When these forces complete their military service and return to their localities, they can be assigned to join the militia, self-defense forces, youth unions, and associations in the hamlets, creating a source for hamlet cadres.
A typical example is Mr. Luong Duc Thanh, born in 1991, Secretary of the Party Cell and Head of Tan Tien Village, Tan Thang Commune (Quynh Luu). After 2 years of completing his military service, he returned to his hometown, took on the duties of Secretary of the Youth Union of Tan Tien Village and successively became Village Chief, Party Cell Secretary and Village Chief. At the beginning of his new position, comrade Thanh encountered many difficulties and challenges. Because, in this Thai village, many ways of thinking and doing of the people, especially the elderly, have become "ingrained" to the point of being conservative. To complete the assigned tasks, Mr. Thanh regularly met with the people, persistently campaigned and persuaded households to innovate in development, production and livestock raising. He himself set an example in applying advances in high-yield sugarcane and pineapple production. Over time, up to now, the villagers have always listened to Mr. Thanh and joined hands to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, develop the economy and build new rural villages.
“The work in the village and hamlet seems simple, but not everyone can fully undertake the role.” That is the comment of the leaders of communes and districts when talking about finding sources of village and hamlet cadres.
(To be continued)
