Solutions to improve the quality of Party cells in communes and wards

(Baonghean) - By being selected as the focal point for establishing Party cells in communes, wards and towns according to Instruction No. 10-HD/BTCTW dated October 10, 2007 of the Central Organizing Committee, Party cells in communes and wards in Vinh City have promoted positive effects and performed well the role of political core at the grassroots level.

Comrade Dang To Duyet, Deputy Head of the Vinh City Party Committee's Organization Board, said that before the issuance of Instruction No. 10 of the Central Organization Board, party members working at commune and ward agencies in the city all returned to participate in activities at the block and hamlet party cells in their residential areas.

Party activities in residential areas create favorable conditions for party members to closely follow reality, understand the thoughts and aspirations of the people, and grasp information from the grassroots to serve leadership work. However, party members who are cadres and civil servants of communes and wards who live in their residential areas also face difficulties. Party cells of blocks and hamlets only manage party activities, do not directly assign tasks to party members who are cadres and civil servants of communes and wards, and cannot inspect and supervise these party members at the agency. At the end of the year, when voting and classifying party members, party cells face difficulties because they do not grasp the process of striving and training of party members who are cadres and civil servants of communes and wards. When these party members commit violations in their professional duties, party cells of blocks and hamlets also do not know specifically how to handle them.

Transaction at the one-stop center of Ha Huy Tap ward (Vinh city). Photo: Thanh Le

To solve the above shortcomings, after receiving instructions from the Central Organizing Committee, the City Party Committee directed all communes and wards to establish agency party cells. Up to now, 23/25 commune and ward party committees have agency party cells, managing 568 party members out of a total of 16,072 party members of the communes and wards. There are 16 commune and ward agency party cells that have established mass organizations: veteran association, youth union, women's association, and grassroots trade unions. The agency party cells of communes and wards have promoted their leading role in advising the Party Committee to effectively carry out local political tasks. Since having agency party cells, party members working in communes and wards have been managed more closely, assigned more specific tasks, and voted to rank party members at the end of the year more realistically.

The Le Mao Ward Party Cell was established in 1995, currently has 26 party members, is a typical party cell, actively advising the Party Committee to build Le Mao Ward to develop more and more. Party Committee Secretary Hoang Thi Thanh analyzed: "The Party Cell is the leading force advising the Ward Party Committee to issue and implement resolutions, is the place to assign tasks and closely monitor and inspect party members... During that process, the Party Cell also assigned party members to regularly stay close to the grassroots to grasp the situation, promptly advise on the direction and operation of the ward". Based on the resolutions of the Party Committee, the resolutions of the Party Cell assign specific tasks to each party member according to the assigned responsibilities; from the secretary, chairman to each cadre and civil servant of the ward, all seriously implement the resolutions of the Party Cell. After 20 years of operation, the Ward Party Cell has increasingly promoted its effectiveness.

At the Party Committee of Hung Dong commune, thanks to the good promotion of the exemplary role of 23 party members in the agency's Party cell, it has led the people to successfully carry out the movement to build new rural areas, putting the commune in the top group of the province to complete 19 criteria for building new rural areas. Comrade Tran Duc Dinh, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the commune, said: "The basic measure to improve the quality of activities of the agency's Party cell is to promote the exemplary role of party members, especially party members holding leadership positions. Being closely managed by the Party cell, party members who are cadres and civil servants of Hung Dong commune not only fulfill their tasks well at the agency but also promote their exemplary role at their place of residence."

The role of the agency party cell is also evident in the Le Loi Ward Party Committee with 6 consecutive years of achieving the title of clean and strong, in which there is an important contribution from 21 party members in the agency party cell. Comrade Vo Dinh Than, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, Chairman of the Fatherland Front, Secretary of the Le Loi Ward Party Cell said: "To promote the role of the agency party cell, every month we review the work done by each party member in the previous month, clearly assess the advantages and disadvantages, on that basis assign tasks for the next month. For party members who are leaders, if there are any unsatisfactory jobs, the party cell will remind them, and unclear issues must be explained to the party cell. With this way of doing things, the party cell meetings are very exciting, and party members enthusiastically speak up."

However, through actual surveys, besides the effective Party cells of communes and wards, there are still Party cells facing difficulties. Some Party cells are confused in making resolutions, not concretizing the Party Committee's resolutions into Party cell resolutions; some Party members working at the agency are far from reality, not attached to the grassroots, even bureaucratic, far from the people. There have been weak Party cells that had to be dissolved.

For example, the Nghi Kim and Nghi An commune Party Cells. The Nghi Kim commune Party Cell was established in October 2007 and dissolved in December 2012. Deputy Secretary of the Commune Party Committee Nguyen Van Khiem said that party members who work at the agency Party Cell are easily separated from the grassroots, do not grasp information from reality, and the resolutions of the Party Cell are often stereotyped according to the resolutions of the Party Committee. Faced with that reality, the Nghi Kim commune Party Committee decided to dissolve the agency Party Cell, bringing party members to work at their place of residence to strengthen the hamlet Party Cells, including 2 weak Party Cells that had to have the Youth Union Secretary and the Commune Security Chief appointed as secretaries. Similarly, the Nghi An commune Party Cell was established in October 2010 and dissolved in February 2013.

The reason for the dissolution was explained by the Party Secretary of the commune, Nguyen Van Thanh: “The resolution of the Party cell often copied the content of the resolution of the Party Committee Executive Committee. During the Party cell meetings, Party members did not know what to say other than the opinions discussed at the meetings of the Party Committee, the government and the organizations implementing tasks from the beginning of the month. Party members concentrated their activities at the agency, so they were far from the grassroots while the hamlet Party cells lacked core cadres and the quality of activities was low.” Through the reality of the two communes of Nghi Kim and Nghi An, it can be seen that in order to maintain the effective operation of the agency Party cell, it is necessary to combine it with the consolidation and building of the block and hamlet Party cells.

Talking to us about the effectiveness of the Party cells of communes and wards in Vinh City, Deputy Secretary of the Vinh City Party Committee, comrade Nguyen Hoai An frankly said: “Reality proves that the establishment of Party cells of communes and wards is completely correct, suitable for current conditions. The Party cells that are ineffective after establishment and have to be dissolved are problematic. Weak Party cells are due to weak Party organizations there, not due to regulations on organizational apparatus. The City Party Committee will focus on strengthening weak Party cells to build increasingly strong Party cells of communes and wards.”

Recently, the Central Organizing Committee issued Instruction No. 28-HD/BTCTW, replacing Instruction No. 10 of 2007, regulating the organization and operation of Party cells of communes, wards and towns. Accordingly, each commune, ward and town establishes an agency Party cell with the condition that each residential area must have a block or hamlet Party cell and each Party cell must have 9 or more Party members; the deputy secretary or a member of the standing committee of the Party Committee acts as the Party cell secretary of the commune, ward or town agency; Party members working at the Party cell of the commune, ward or town agency must be cadres and civil servants, there must be no part-time cadres; Party members working at the commune, ward or town agency must regularly maintain contact with the block or hamlet Party cell and be exemplary in fulfilling their civic duties at their place of residence. Correct implementation of the above regulations will ensure that the Party cell of the commune, ward or town agency can both promote its leadership role at the agency and be closely connected with the grassroots...

Tran Hong Co