Streamlining the apparatus: Urgent but not hasty!

PV:To carry out innovation and streamline the political system's organizational structure to operate effectively and efficiently according to Resolution No. 18 of the 6th Conference of the Central Committee (12th tenure), how has the Hoang Mai City Party Committee implemented it, comrade?

Comrade Vo Van Dung:Although not a unit under the provincial command, the implementation of Resolution No. 18 was led by the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee with a spirit of urgency and high political determination. The City Party Committee issued an implementation plan, established a Steering Committee, and assigned tasks to members of the support team.

Based on the plans, the Party Committee has developed detailed plans and survey forms for all agencies, units, communes, wards, party committees and party cells according to the provincial form. The survey objective is to base on the current situation on the basis of comparing with the job placement project and the spiritual contents of Resolution No. 18 so that each level and organization can proactively develop their own plans. In the survey, the Party Committee of the City requires a thorough assessment and clarification of the advantages of the current apparatus and the shortcomings, weaknesses and difficulties.

The most important thing is to point out the difficulties and obstacles, from which each organization can propose its own solutions, so that the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee and the Steering Committee can synthesize and issue a Project to reorganize the apparatus, streamline the payroll and restructure the team of cadres, civil servants and public employees to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the political system in the period of 2018 - 2021 and the following years as a basis for implementation.

Officials of Quynh Di ward (Hoang Mai town) talk with people. Photo: Thanh Duy

This is also a solution to unify the thinking of each organization and individual. Because restructuring the apparatus to be streamlined will have many impacts on political tasks, human factors, and cadres. If awareness is not clearly communicated from the beginning, it will be difficult to implement later.

PV:So, based on that survey, how is the progress of Hoang Mai's implementation project so far, comrade?

Comrade Vo Van Dung:Up to now, the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee has listened and commented on the draft Project twice and will continue to listen and comment for the third time before approving it. The general viewpoint in directing the implementation determined by the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee is: The arrangement of the organizational apparatus must uphold the discipline and order of the Party and the law of the State, ensuring the unity of leadership of the Party Committee and the Party organization in the arrangement of the apparatus; taking the effectiveness of implementing political tasks and professional tasks as the top priority for arrangement.

We also determined to ensure comprehensiveness, synchronization, and connectivity; both inheritance and stability, and innovation and development; linking innovation of the apparatus with innovation of leadership methods, streamlining the payroll; focusing on the quality of the staff, especially promoting people with real capacity and talent.

When organizing the apparatus, the principle must be ensured: one agency performs many tasks and one task is assigned to only one agency to preside over and take primary responsibility, especially promoting the role of the leader.

The general spirit is to implement urgently and firmly. Clear tasks should be done early, and unclear tasks should be piloted step by step, without haste.

PV:Can you tell us some specific goals of the town?

Comrade Vo Van Dung:From a general perspective, from this year to 2021, the town sets the goal of: Basically completing the arrangement and consolidation of a number of organizations and internal focal points of each organization in the direction of reducing focal points, minimizing intermediate levels, minimizing deputy levels; amending, supplementing, and perfecting a number of regulations related to functions, tasks, and organizational apparatus of the political system to promptly overcome the situation of duplication and overlap of functions, tasks, and management areas.

The town does not establish additional departments, offices, or units under the Party, mass organizations, or town government agencies, except in special cases directed by superiors; does not establish new public service units, except in cases of real necessity due to increased population and student numbers, or real requirements in State management work; 100% of agencies, units, and localities complete the arrangement of organizational apparatus according to the roadmap set out in the Project.

During this time, the town also completed the arrangement and rearrangement of party agencies, unions, government, and public service units of the town, focusing on the following areas: agriculture and rural development; culture, sports, tourism; health, labor, war invalids and social affairs; project management board; site clearance board; associations; vocational and social centers; radio and television; education and training...

For example: Merging economic public service units: Livestock and veterinary stations, crop and plant protection stations, agricultural extension stations into Agricultural Service Centers under the Town People's Committee; arranging a unified model in the town with only one multi-functional medical center performing the following tasks: preventive medicine, population, medical examination and treatment, rehabilitation and other medical services;... At the same time, the town also arranges, reorganizes, and merges blocks and villages that do not meet the prescribed standards.

Officials of Quynh Di ward (Hoang Mai town) discuss with people about planning work. Photo: Thanh Duy

Regarding the staffing, staff, civil servants and public employees, by the end of 2018, 100% of agencies and units will have completed determining job positions, civil servant rank structure, public employee job title structure and professional standards, competency framework for each job position according to regulations.

Hoang Mai will focus on rotating cadres, including rotation from the town down and rotation at the same commune level, in which rotation will be carried out between party secretaries or chairmen and vice chairmen of commune-level People's Committees, reducing the number of non-professional activities below the prescribed level.

From 2018 to 2021, pilot the arrangement of concurrently holding cadres, unifying a number of leadership positions at the town and commune levels where conditions permit. For example: unifying a number of district-level positions: Chairman of the Party Committee's Inspection Commission with the Chief Inspector, Head of the Party Committee's Organization Board with Head of the Internal Affairs Department, Head of the Party Committee's Mass Mobilization Board with Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee at the same level (when the province has a policy of wide implementation).

Arrange for concurrent positions for library, equipment, accounting, and clerical staff... in schools; transfer the duties of school health workers to commune-level health stations (except for preschools); or each commune-level unit shall arrange a maximum of 8 people for non-professional positions; establish a commune-level office to serve the entire Party Committee, government, Fatherland Front, and organizations...

Regarding finance, strive to reduce an average of 15% of direct budget expenditure for public service units compared to the 2011-2015 period according to the province's roadmap...

On the basis of that goal, when issued, the Project will point out specific tasks and solutions for each level to serve as a basis for leadership and organization to achieve high efficiency.

PV:Thank you, comrade!