Maintain the existing model of local government while implementing the restructuring of the administrative apparatus.

On February 15th, the National Assembly held a discussion on the draft Law on Organization of Local Government (amended).

One of the issues of concern to National Assembly deputies is that the draft law retains the current model of local government organization. Accordingly, all administrative units at the provincial, district, and commune levels have local government organizations consisting of People's Councils (HĐND) and People's Committees (UBND), except for special cases stipulated by the National Assembly.

Delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap delegation) expressed his agreement with maintaining the current model, emphasizing the need for both People's Councils and People's Committees, and stating that "it is impossible to do without a People's Council at the commune level."

However, he suggested that the drafting committee conduct further research on the urban governance model, ensuring uniformity nationwide, not only for centrally-administered cities but also for cities under provincial administration.

Regarding the organizational structure of the district-level People's Committee, delegate Pham Van Hoa stated that, in the draft Law, the organizational structure of the district-level People's Committee does not include members who are also district police officers or district military commanders.

According to delegate Pham Van Hoa, although there will no longer be district-level police forces, the district-level Military Command will continue to operate with many important tasks at the local level. Therefore, he proposed adding the head of the district-level Military Command to the list of members of the district-level People's Committee to ensure rationality and effectiveness in operations.

Meanwhile, delegate Ha Sy Dong (Quang Tri) emphasized that the Party's policy, through many recent congresses, has consistently directed the reform of the organization and operation of local governments to suit the characteristics of urban areas, rural areas, and islands.

Practical experience also shows that, after amending the Law on Organization of Local Government in 2019, Da Nang City, Ho Chi Minh City, and now Hai Phong City have been allowed by the National Assembly to implement a single-tier urban government system, which has proven to be very effective.

"Under current conditions, as we are carrying out a revolution to streamline the organizational structure, the local government structure also needs to be redesigned to suit the characteristics of urban and rural areas. This is not contrary to the Constitution," Representative Ha Sy Dong expressed.

Therefore, the delegates suggested that the drafting agency should study the need to strongly reform the organization of local government in urban areas while reforms to local government organization are not yet feasible, in order to promote development.

Ensuring the smooth operation of the local government apparatus.

In explaining and clarifying some issues, Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra emphasized that the principle behind the drafting of the amended Law on Organization of Local Government is to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of local governments according to the motto "local authorities decide, local authorities act, and local authorities are responsible".

The Minister stated that one of the key objectives of the draft Law is to build a robust legal framework, removing bottlenecks and inadequacies in specialized laws to ensure the effective implementation of the mechanism of decentralization, delegation, and authorization between the central and local governments.

"We propose a fundamental and comprehensive reform. However, there are also immediate stability issues to ensure the smooth operation of local governments during the current organizational restructuring process," Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra said.

The Minister cited that currently, 177 out of 259 specialized laws detail the authority of ministers, 152 laws regulate the authority of the Prime Minister, 141 laws address the authority of People's Councils and People's Committees, and 92 laws contain overlapping provisions between different levels of government. Without a clear legal mechanism to address these inadequacies, the implementation of decentralization and delegation of power will face many difficulties.

Furthermore, the draft Law will continue to inherit and adjust to clarify the duties and powers of the People's Council, the People's Committee, and the Chairman of the People's Committee, ensuring clear accountability between individuals and collectives, and avoiding overlapping in state management. Local authorities will need to issue specific regulations to effectively implement the new provisions.

Regarding the model of local government organization, the Minister stated that the current model will be maintained because we are continuing to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the organizational model of the entire political system. Adjustments and rearrangements will be made accordingly, but for the time being, it will remain unchanged.

"If we don't temporarily maintain the status quo, there will be disruptions in the operation of the local government organizational system as well as the local government model. As for urban governments, we will continue to implement them as per the National Assembly's Resolution."

"In the context of our organizational restructuring, the Ministry of Interior is coordinating with the Central Organization Committee to conduct a comprehensive assessment and study of the organizational model, including the local government system. I ask the delegates to support this plan and maintain the current situation for the time being," Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra said.