Submit to the Government the Project on organizing urban government

At the regular Government meeting in February, the Ministry of Home Affairs submitted to the Government a project on urban government organization model.

(Illustration photo: Huy Hung/VNA)

After more than 25 years of innovation and international integration, the urbanization process in Vietnam has been taking place rapidly, leading to many differences in economic, cultural, social, security and defense activities between urban and rural areas. However, according to current legal regulations, the current local government organization model in Vietnam is basically the same, all organized at 3 levels of government (provincial, district and commune levels) and still based on the management method of rural governments.

The urban authorities also organize administrative levels and perform tasks and powers like the rural authorities at the same level, and at the same time have some additional tasks and powers of management in the urban area, leading to many urgent urban issues such as planning, architecture, urban infrastructure construction, environmental pollution treatment, traffic congestion, social order and safety... not being resolved promptly and also not in accordance with the principle of combining sectoral management and territorial management, in which urban areas, due to the unified infrastructure, require management mainly by sector, unlike rural areas where management is mainly by territory.

From the above-mentioned status of local government organization, it is necessary to clarify the difference between urban and rural areas, thereby clearly defining the appropriate organizational model, functions, tasks, authority, and operating mechanism for urban and rural governments.

The project on urban government organization model aims to propose an urban government organization model suitable to the characteristics and nature of each type of urban area, meeting the requirements and development speed of Vietnamese cities in the period of accelerating industrialization, modernization and international integration. The product of this project, together with the results of the pilot implementation of not organizing People's Councils at districts, wards and communes, is the basis for proposing amendments and supplements to the provisions of the 1992 Constitution and related laws on local government.

The Ministry of Home Affairs builds a Project on the model of urban government organization based on the study of Party documents, Constitutions and legal documents related to local government; the results of the pilot implementation of not organizing People's Councils of districts, wards, and communes; the characteristics of urban areas as distinct from rural areas; the current characteristics of urban areas in Vietnam; assessment of the current status of local government organization (including urban government) and reference to the experience of organizing urban government in other countries.

Based on the assessment of the current status of local government organization and the factors that distinguish the difference between urban and rural areas, the Project proposes 3 options for building an urban government organization model. Option 1 is to not organize the People's Councils of districts, wards and communes nationwide. At the same time, to overcome the limitations in the current pilot of not organizing the People's Councils of districts, wards and communes, the Project proposes a new proposal that in districts, wards and communes, there will also be no administrative committees (currently People's Committees) but only administrative representative agencies of higher-level administrative agencies will be established in districts, wards and communes.

According to option 1, the inner city and inner town areas have only one level of government (with People's Council and Administrative Committee), no administrative level is organized in the subordinate administrative units (districts, wards). The suburban and outer city areas only organize the administrative level at the commune and town level, no administrative level is organized in the district. The administrative units of districts, towns and wards that do not organize the administrative level (without People's Council and Administrative Committee) will organize the City's Administrative Representative Board in the district and the District Administrative Representative Board in the ward to perform tasks and powers according to the decentralization and authorization of the superior administrative agencies in the area.

Option 2 implements not organizing People's Councils in all administrative units under urban areas (expanding the scope compared to Option 1). According to Option 2, each urban area only organizes one level of government (with People's Council and Administrative Committee), not organizing the level of government in all administrative units under urban areas, including inner cities, inner towns and suburbs. Accordingly, only organizing the level of government (with People's Council and Administrative Committee) in centrally run cities, provincial cities and provincial towns.

Administrative units of districts, communes, wards and towns in centrally-run cities and communes and wards in provincial cities and towns do not organize administrative levels (no People's Council and Administrative Committee), only establish administrative representative boards to perform tasks and powers according to decentralization and authorization of superior administrative agencies in the area.

Option 3: Organize urban government with a city hall, mayor, district chief, county chief, ward chief, and town chief; establish urban administrative agencies in centrally run cities and provincial cities and towns as the City Hall, headed by the Mayor.

Districts, towns and wards in centrally run cities and wards in provincial cities and towns do not organize People's Councils and Administrative Committees but only establish administrative representative bodies to perform tasks and powers according to decentralization and authorization of superior administrative agencies in the locality.

The heads of the District, Ward and County Administrative Committees are the District Chief, District Chief and Ward Chief. For communes and towns, the People's Council and Administrative Committee are still organized. The head of the Commune Administrative Committee is the Commune Chief, and the head of the Town Administrative Committee is the Town Chief.

The project on urban government organization model has been commented by the Government for further completion./.

According to (TTXVN) - LT