'Who should be streamlined when 99% of officials and civil servants complete their tasks well?'

Nghe An Administrative Reform Inspection Team talks with people when they come to carry out administrative procedures at the Provincial Public Administration Service Center. Photo: Thanh Le

The highlight of the work of organizing and arranging the administrative apparatus of State agencies from the central to local levels is the completion of the arrangement of administrative units at the district and commune levels, and the arrangement of villages and residential groups. Regarding staff streamlining, agencies and units have reduced the number of civil servants by over 27,500. In addition, the number of civil servants from the district level and above has been reduced by 40,000, and nearly 148,000 commune-level cadres, civil servants and non-professional workers in villages, hamlets and residential groups has been reduced by nearly 148,000.

According to Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra, although there are still many difficulties and obstacles from the central to local levels, ministries, branches, especially localities, have made great efforts. Up to now, the results have been quite good, a large proportion of administrative units as well as public service units have been reduced (about 25%), the number of staff has been reduced quite impressively, over 10% of civil servant staff and nearly 11% of public employee staff. This is also a good experience for us to continue to innovate the political system to be clean, strong, streamlined, and operate effectively and efficiently.

In the effort to streamline the payroll in ministries, branches and localities, Quang Ninh is considered one of the localities that proactively and resolutely reorganize the political system to be streamlined, operate effectively and efficiently, and implement staff streamlining according to job positions. All 13 districts, towns and cities in the province have also merged the Party Committee's Organization Board with the District-level Department of Internal Affairs into the Organization and Internal Affairs agency; the Inspection Committee with the District-level Inspectorate into the Inspection and Inspection agency.

Hanoi is one of the localities that is considered to be leading the country in implementing the job position project. After 3 years of implementing the job position project, the city has had 646 cases of job position changes, of which 96 cases were transferred to suit professional qualifications and job position requirements; 317 cases had to be trained and supplemented to suit the job position and 154 cases had to stop streamlining the payroll, 79 cases were laid off and assigned to other jobs," Ms. Lieu added.

In 2021, Hanoi's administrative staff will be more than 9,000 people, of which nearly 8,000 will be civil servants, a decrease of 115 people compared to 2020. Along with reducing the number of civil servants, Hanoi will also reduce the number of public employees by more than 6,000 compared to 2020.

Streamlining is not effective, "tightening here, swelling there"

Although ministries, branches and localities have drastically implemented the streamlining of staff, according to the assessment of some experts in the field of personnel organization, the streamlining of staff has not brought about the desired results. The total staff of the whole country has not only not decreased but in many places has tended to increase.

Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Quang Tho - former Director of the Institute of Workers and Trade Unions, stated that in reality, we have streamlined, but here and there are bulging, which is not yet done. There are places to review, even some ministries and branches have voluntarily streamlined the management apparatus, but we have not yet done it or have not had great results, bringing effectiveness to state management.

First, the awareness and positivity of leaders at all levels, especially the heads of agencies, are not active in this work. Second, we have policies, we have focused, but somewhere they have not been implemented seriously, there are no sanctions, praise or criticism, so there is a mentality that if you can do it, do it, if you can't do it, then leave it alone. Third, somewhere there is still respect, if you keep it, you keep it, and relatives still bring it in.

“The leader of a state agency in a big city once declared that about 40% of the people cannot do the job and cannot reduce the staff because they are all “children and grandchildren”, Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Thanh Can cited.

Not basing on position and capacity when selecting staff leads to a cumbersome apparatus and a lack of qualified staff, which is also the opinion of Dr. Dinh Duy Hoa - former Director of the Department of Administrative Reform, Ministry of Home Affairs.

“In general, the assessment is not standard. When evaluating cadres, civil servants and public employees, the results of their work are based on those results, and on that basis, criteria are established,” Mr. Hoa emphasized.

Streamlining the payroll has been implemented everywhere, but in reality, there are still people with poor capacity and qualifications in state agencies and organizations. The disease of “going to work with an umbrella in the morning and going home with an umbrella in the evening” still exists in almost all agencies and units. It is just that the number of such officials and civil servants is more or less. Laziness, indolence and lack of awareness still exist somewhere in the ranks of officials and civil servants.

Decree 143, one of the milestones to clarify further on staff streamlining

To solve the problem of streamlining the payroll, at the end of 2020, the Government issued Decree 143 with specific conditions for streamlining civil servants and public employees. These solutions are expected to reduce those who are incompetent and lack discipline from the system.

Associate Professor Dr. Ngo Thanh Can said that Decree 143 is one of the milestones to clarify the streamlining of staff. After many years of implementation, we still have not been able to remove those who are not qualified for the job, nor have we been able to develop those who are capable and have the desire to contribute.

Therefore, Decree 143 creates a corridor for agencies and units to more easily and reasonably handle a number of specific titles of cadres, civil servants and public employees in specific cases to resolve, for example, job redesign, organizational restructuring, redundant objects, job position project design... creating better opportunities for leaders to manage, use and streamline job positions, streamline the number of staff, to focus on retaining capable people who are suitable for the position.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Pham Bich San, a sociologist, the Government has issued many policies and decrees related to streamlining the payroll, but the results have not been as expected. Therefore, he believes that in order to streamline the focal points and streamline the payroll, we must be determined and implement 3 solutions synchronously: First, we must strengthen the supervision of the effectiveness of the administrative apparatus, who works effectively, who does not, to keep and remove who in a convincing manner. Second, we must expand the market mechanism, people are willing to leave. Third, it is a solution from society, society also needs supervision, if the reformed apparatus still does not work well, then of course it must be cut and reduced.

Absolutely not accepting increasing staff and swelling the apparatus, this does not stop at political determination but must be turned into action, drastic action, otherwise the staff will not only not decrease but may continue to swell./.