Comments on the 14th Party Congress Documents: Party building work - a key task of decisive significance to the country's development

The draft Political Report to be submitted to the 14th National Party Congress was carefully and scientifically prepared, demonstrating a strategic and comprehensive vision and high political determination in building a clean and strong Party and political system, and developing the country quickly and sustainably.

I am particularly interested in the content of personnel work - an area that our Party has identified as "the key of the key". During the past term, this work has had many positive innovations: planning, training, rotation, and arrangement of personnel have been carried out openly and transparently; discipline and handling of violations have been strict; assignment and decentralization have been clearer, associated with the two-level government model, contributing to improving the leadership capacity and fighting strength of the Party.

However, in practice, there are still many limitations and shortcomings that need to be frankly acknowledged. There are many cases where officials are evaluated "according to procedures", have good backgrounds, and have grand appointment ceremonies, but are then disciplined or even prosecuted. This reality reflects the situation where the evaluation of officials is still formal, emotional, and respectful. Along with that, the control of power is not really effective; the work of declaring assets is still formal; at the grassroots level, many officials have weak practical capacity, not keeping up with the requirements of innovation.

To meet the requirements of the new period, I suggest that the 14th Congress Documents need to deepen the viewpoint: "cadres are the root of all work", and since they are the "root", they must be regularly cared for and "cultivated". Establish a mechanism to control power in a practical and effective manner, consider power as limited, link authority with responsibility and strict sanctions. Strengthen the assignment and decentralization along with inspection and supervision; take care of training and fostering grassroots cadres, helping them "know many things, but be proficient in the tasks they undertake".

Leaders and managers at all levels must be truly exemplary, honest, and practice what they preach to strengthen the people's trust in the Party. That is the foundation for building a team of cadres at all levels who are "both red and professional", with sufficient qualities, capacity, prestige, and equal to the task - a decisive factor for successfully implementing the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress.

The draft Political Report submitted to the 14th National Party Congress clearly demonstrates a strategic, comprehensive and profound vision, reflecting the Party's mettle, intelligence and innovative thinking in planning the country's rapid and sustainable development path on the basis of science - technology and innovation; continuing to build a clean and strong Party and political system, promoting the people's mastery, and arousing the aspiration to develop a prosperous and happy country.

I am particularly impressed with the viewpoint of “continuing to strongly innovate the Party’s leadership and governance methods in new conditions” - a fundamental issue that determines the Party’s prestige, capacity and vitality in the current development stage. This is a strategic requirement, not only ensuring that the Party maintains its comprehensive leadership role, but also helping the relationship between the Party, the State and the People become closer, more substantial and more effective.

The document needs to continue to clarify and emphasize the requirement to innovate the Party's leadership and governance methods in conjunction with ensuring the principle of "Party leadership - State management - People's mastery", along with establishing a substantive and effective power control mechanism, thoroughly overcoming the situation of excuses, overlaps or laxity in the leadership role.

Along with that, it is necessary to strongly innovate the process of building and organizing the implementation of Party resolutions in the direction of brevity, clear objectives, clear focus, clear resources, clear responsibilities and clear results. When the resolutions are truly put into practice, creating concrete changes in socio-economic development, national defense, security and political system building, the Party's leadership role will be firmly affirmed.

I also really appreciate the content of "taking care to build, consolidate and effectively promote the core leadership role of Party committees, especially the leaders". I suggest that the Party needs to continue to improve institutions, implement decentralization and delegation of power associated with responsibility, inspection and supervision, so that each Party committee and leader is truly proactive, dares to think, dares to do, dares to take responsibility and dares to sacrifice for the common good. Innovation in the Party's leadership and governing methods is not only an objective requirement but also a prerequisite to improve the Party's leadership capacity and fighting strength.

The Party cell is the “cell” of the Party, the place where Party members are directly trained, tested and promoted to play the vanguard and exemplary role; the core of leadership at the grassroots level, the place where Party resolutions are put into practice. However, in many places, Party cell activities are still formal and monotonous; self-criticism and criticism are not really frank; the capacity to detect and combat signs of degradation, “self-evolution”, and “self-transformation” is still limited.

Notably, most of the violations and shortcomings of cadres and party members when discovered and disciplined do not originate from the party cell - the place that should be the "eyes and ears" and the "lighthouse" most promptly. This shows that the role of educating, supervising and training party members in many party cells has not been promoted to its full extent, and the work of inspection, reminders and prevention of violations is still heavily formalistic.

In order to "continue to promote the building and rectification of a clean and strong Party in all aspects", the Documents of the 14th Party Congress need to further emphasize the requirement to build Party cells that are truly a solid "foundation" and a "nucleus" of leadership at the grassroots level. First of all, it is necessary to perfect the regulations and criteria for assessing the quality of Party cell activities in a more substantial and quantitative direction; considering the results of training and self-cultivation of Party members as criteria for assessing the vitality of Party cells. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the training of leadership capacity, skills in organizing activities, methods of supervision, and setting an example for the team of Party cell secretaries - the "soul" of the Party cell.

Along with that, it is necessary to promote the role of the People in supervising cadres and Party members; replicate creative models of activities, link theory with practice, and specific work of localities and units. When each Party cell is truly strong, closely connected with the People, proactively detects and handles violations early, from the grassroots, then the Party's strength will certainly be consolidated from the root, creating a solid foundation to continue to fulfill its leadership and governing role in the new era.

As a cadre working for the Front at the grassroots level, I am particularly interested in and impressed by the consistent viewpoint in the Draft Documents of the 14th Party Congress:"People are the root",The people are the subject and center of the cause of innovation, construction and protection of the Fatherland. All policies and guidelines of the Party and the State must truly originate from the needs, aspirations, legitimate and legal rights and interests of the people; taking the happiness and satisfaction of the people as the measure and goal of struggle.

Practice shows that when the People are truly masters, participate, and benefit, the strength of the great national unity bloc is multiplied, becoming the decisive driving force for all successes of the revolution. I believe that the Document needs to continue to deepen the content of promoting socialist democracy associated with the People's real mastery, especially in the current conditions of digital transformation and two-level government arrangement. There needs to be a clear mechanism for the People to participate in building, supervising, criticizing, and evaluating the effectiveness of the political system, ensuring that the motto "People know, people discuss, people do, people inspect, people supervise, people benefit" comes into real life, not in formality.

At the same time, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations need to be more clearly identified as the center of solidarity, the political bridge between the Party, the State and the People, strongly promoting the core role in practicing democracy, representing and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the People. The Front must not only mobilize and gather but also become a pioneering force to arouse patriotism, the spirit of dedication, and the aspiration for development in all classes of people; be a pioneering force to protect the Party's ideological foundation, proactively refute bad and toxic information, and strengthen the people's trust.