Unifying job titles in blocks and hamlets: The most important step is selecting cadres

(Baonghean) - Unifying the positions of Party cell secretary, block leader, and hamlet leader is considered appropriate. However, for this policy to be highly effective, the most important step is still the selection of cadres. The person taking on this position must have real leadership and management capacity, be dynamic, dare to think, dare to do, and especially must have high prestige among the people.

Practice in Do Luong

Thai Son Commune Party Committee has 15 Party cells, including 11 rural Party cells. During the 2015-2017 term, the commune had 8 hamlets with Party cell secretaries and hamlet chiefs. Looking back over the past 2 years, Thai Son Commune Party Committee assessed that the concurrent positions have significantly reduced the number of cadres. Many Party cell secretaries and hamlet chiefs have continuously fulfilled both roles well for many years, while some hamlet units have separate Party cell secretaries and hamlet chiefs for various reasons, but the results of completing their tasks are not high.

"The policy of Party cell secretaries concurrently being hamlet chiefs is appropriate, especially for hamlets with favorable resources of cadres who are capable, have good political qualities, have a high sense of responsibility and are enthusiastic about their work" - Nguyen Quang Son, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Thai Son Commune Party Committee, assessed, and also informed that during the 2017-2020 term, the number of Party cell secretaries concurrently being hamlet chiefs of the commune increased by 2 comrades, to 10/11 hamlets.

Secretary and Head of Hamlet 7, Thai Son Commune (Do Luong) Cao Xuan Anh (right) discusses the effectiveness of carpentry in the hamlet. Photo: Thanh Duy

In general, in Do Luong district, at the end of the 2015-2017 term, with 367 rural party cells under the commune and town party committees, 235/367 comrades (64.03%) were party cell secretaries and hamlet chiefs; 133/367 comrades (36.223%) were party cell secretaries and heads of the Front work committee. 44/367 comrades (12%) were deputy party cell secretaries and hamlet chiefs. 8/367 comrades (2.18%) were cell committee members and hamlet chiefs. 6/367 comrades (1.63%) were party members and hamlet chiefs; and only 87/367 comrades (23.7%) were the masses who were hamlet chiefs.

Through the assessment of the implementation of the policy of Party cell secretary concurrently being hamlet and block leaders for the 2015-2017 term by the Standing Committee of Do Luong District Party Committee, many advantages have been shown. First of all, the organizational structure is streamlined, reducing a large number of hamlet and block level cadres, and the remuneration for this position is raised 1.5 times compared to non-concurrent positions. The reception, deployment, and implementation of the Party's policies and the State's laws are timely, convenient, and effective; promoting the capacity, dynamism, creativity, daring to think, daring to do, daring to take responsibility of cadres, limiting the situation of waiting, relying, and avoiding in work; avoiding overlap in the leadership and direction of the Party and the management and operation of the government.

Therefore, the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee continues to orient the organizational structure of Party cells and hamlets in the 2017-2020 term in the direction that in Party cells with qualified, qualified, capable cadres and Party members, with prestige among Party members and the people, the Party cell secretary will continue to be the hamlet and block chief.

In places where party members do not have the conditions and capacity to organize the Party cell secretary who is also the hamlet chief, then the Deputy Party cell secretary is organized to be the hamlet chief. In places where party members do not have enough capacity, health, or prestige to organize the hamlet chief or block chief, then the mass organization is organized, but only in truly exceptional hamlets. The masses expected to be organized as hamlet chief or block chief must be those with the will to strive and the motivation to strive to join the Party.

Standing Deputy Secretary of Do Luong District Party Committee Le Minh Giang, in his report to the provincial working delegation, said that with the above solution at the end of the Party cell congress for the 2017-2020 term, the district has successfully directed this policy when the rate of Party cell secretaries who are also hamlet chiefs has increased compared to the previous term and hamlet chiefs who are not party members has decreased.

Many party members will be arranged to run for hamlet chief.

The implementation of the policy of party secretary concurrently being hamlet chief has brought about many results, but the question is why the achievement rate is still low because according to data from the Provincial Party Committee's Organizing Committee, 41.6% of block and hamlet chiefs in the province are not party members, accordingly, the rate of party cell secretaries concurrently being block and hamlet chiefs is even lower.

Through research in many localities, one of the main difficulties is selecting personnel. Even in Do Luong district, through the performance assessment of the 2015-2017 term, the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee recognized that the source of cadres and party members with enough capacity and health to take on the role of Party cell secretary, hamlet chief, and block chief is very difficult.

The reason is that the majority of party members are old, retired party members account for a large number, and young party members directly involved in agricultural production are very few. The work of creating resources for training and fostering cadres is still limited, so the number of secretaries who are also hamlet chiefs who have not received professional training and have not received political theory training is very large.

At the recent meeting of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, Vinh City Party Secretary Vo Viet Thanh said that although the Party cell congress elected the Party cell secretary and then introduced him as a candidate for the position of hamlet or block chief, there were some places where people did not vote for that secretary to be the block or block chief. Therefore, Comrade Vo Viet Thanh suggested that the term of office for block, hamlet and Party cell officials should overlap and that the election of block and hamlet chiefs should be organized first with the orientation that the candidates should be Party members.

During the working trip with the Standing Committee of Do Luong District Party Committee in early December as well as during the recent working session of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Dac Vinh affirmed that implementing the position of Secretary cum Hamlet Chief is the Party's policy. Therefore, to increase the proportion of Hamlet Chiefs and Block Chiefs who are Party members, the Provincial Party Committee Secretary proposed the solution of putting forward many candidates who are Party members for the people to choose to elect to the position of Hamlet Chiefs and Block Chiefs.

After that, the Party cell will elect or appoint a Party cell secretary who is an elected Party member to be the hamlet or block leader. In case the hamlet leader is elected by the people but is not a Party member, the task must be assigned to the grassroots Party committee to mobilize and train them to join the Party. Thereby, both ensuring the leadership role of the Party at the grassroots level and meeting the people's aspirations.

Thanh Duy