"Unification" must be appropriate

(Baonghean) - Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee has just proposed to the Central Government to allow the pilot implementation of merging a number of advisory agencies of the Party Committee with specialized agencies of the People's Committee at the same level such as: the Party Committee's Organization Committee with the Internal Affairs Committee, the Party Committee's Inspection Committee with the Inspectorate, the Propaganda Committee with Information and Communication, the Party Committee's Office with the Office of the People's Council and People's Committee.

While waiting for the Central Government to approve the merger, Quang Ninh province proposed to unify a number of leadership and management positions of advisory agencies assisting the Party Committee with the heads of specialized agencies under the People's Committee at the same level. Implementing this plan will unify the following positions: Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Board with the Director of the Department of Home Affairs; Head of the Inspection Committee with the Chief Inspector; Head of the Propaganda Department with the Director of the Department of Information and Communications; Head of the Mass Mobilization Department with the Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc worked with Quang Ninh province on this new proposal.

However, there are issues that need to be thoroughly discussed around the proposal of Quang Ninh province. Merging some advisory agencies of the Party Committee with the specialized agencies of the People's Committee at the same level will streamline the apparatus and reduce the number of employees. However, this merger plan is not simple, because the Party and government agencies are independent of each other and have very different operating methods. The organization of the Party Committee operates according to the principle of the Party leading the work of cadres, while the organization of the People's Committee at the same level (internal affairs) operates according to the principle of state management in government building. Propaganda is the Party's advisory agency on the ideological front, and cannot replace the state management task of the information and communication sector. The Inspection Committee of the Party Committee operates according to the Party Charter, while the State Inspectorate operates according to the law on inspection. The Party Committee's office, the People's Committee's office and the People's Council at the same level have different systems of documents and administrative procedures. Merging the above agencies will be very difficult because party work and government work are difficult to carry out in the same organizational apparatus.

The unification of some leadership and management positions of the Party Committee's advisory body with the head of the specialized agency under the People's Committee at the same level can be implemented, but the conditions must be met. The leader and manager of the Party Committee's advisory body, if also the head of the specialized agency of the People's Committee at the same level, must have comprehensive capacity to meet the requirements of the task. The unification of the position of Party Committee Secretary with the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level has revealed many difficulties due to the lack of qualified staff. The unification of the position of Secretary and Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level has not been implemented anywhere yet. At the provincial level, the unification of the position of Party Committee Head with the Head of the Government's sector is even more difficult.

An important issue when implementing unification is the principle of the Party's ruling power. Merging the advisory bodies assisting the Party Committee with the specialized agencies of the People's Committee at the same level, or unifying the leadership and management positions of these agencies, must ensure the principle of the Party leading the government and the entire political system. The current reality is that there is an overlap in functions and tasks between the advisory bodies of the Party Committee and the specialized agencies of the government and mass organizations, leading to an increase in the number of staff. Therefore, administrative reform must be carried out not only in the government apparatus but also synchronously in the entire political system. There must be a clear and strict decentralization, avoiding overlapping functions and tasks to reduce staff. However, administrative reform cannot weaken the leadership role of the Party.

The issue of “unification” was raised in the Conclusion of the 7th Central Conference (11th tenure) on the innovation of the political system from the Central to the grassroots level. Directive 36 of the Politburo on the Party Congresses at all levels towards the 12th National Party Congress also mentioned the issue of “unification”. However, implementing “unification” must have appropriate steps and ensure the principle of the ruling Party.

Tran Hong Co