General Secretary: 'If you can't do it, you have to bring books to learn'

Continuing the 9th Extraordinary Session, this morning (February 13), National Assembly deputies discussed in groups two drafts of the Law on Government Organization (amended), the Law on Organization of Local Government (amended) and the draft Resolution of the National Assembly regulating the handling of a number of issues related to the reorganization of the State apparatus.

“Slimming down the organization to save money is only part of it.”

Speaking at the working session, General Secretary To Lam said that the work of streamlining the apparatus has received the approval and support of the people, organizations and agencies, and has been implemented very quickly and very well.

“This is a very correct policy, something that has been long expected by the people. Streamlining to save money is only one part, more importantly, the efficiency, effectiveness and efficiency of the apparatus, developing the country and improving people's lives is what is most desired. If you want to develop and make a breakthrough, you have to do it” – the General Secretary emphasized.

The General Secretary also pointed out two very important tasks among many tasks that must be done to achieve the above goal.

Firstly, there must be growth, thereby improving people's lives, satisfying the people's increasing needs in all aspects. This is the consistent goal. We cannot say that the growth numbers are high but people's lives do not change, if so where does the growth go?

Second, streamline the organizational model and perfect the legal system to mobilize the strength of the whole society. Along with that, arrange a team of officials to improve law enforcement.

“The model has been arranged and the people have agreed, from the Central to the National Assembly, the Government, and the grassroots. As for how to do it, we are amending the legal regulations. Next, we will arrange for cadres to carry out their duties and serve the people wholeheartedly,” said Mr. To Lam.

General Secretary To Lam also analyzed that the Resolutions of the Central Committee of many terms have assessed the apparatus as cumbersome and ineffective. The 13th term continues to summarize and implement, because now is the golden opportunity to prepare for the 14th Congress.

During the above process, there was careful research from domestic practice and experience of other countries and it was found that all countries take into account the efficiency of the apparatus, the satisfaction of the people, have criteria to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the apparatus; pay attention to the leadership ability, long-term vision, adaptability and innovation of the government.

“To develop a socialist-oriented market economy, the apparatus and legal policies must ensure that goal. Completing the legal framework must be implemented by all people, not just the National Assembly, the Government, or this or that ministry,” the General Secretary noted.

Along with that, we must take into account the ability to coordinate, the capacity to implement policies and the quality of efficiency; and the ability to manage the budget. The General Secretary raised the question of why the country's potential is not developed? How complicated are the regulations on public investment that the State cannot spend money? What can the Chairman of a province or city do when at the beginning of the term, the superiors have allocated 5 years, all the money to buy salt, all the money to buy rice, and if they do otherwise, it is a violation.

“The budget management model has problems. Sometimes I wonder if the city chairman is the most relaxed because he has already decided everything, otherwise he will die. If he also requests land from his superiors, how can he decide on investment? So what does he do every day, how can he be active and creative?”, according to Mr. To Lam.

“Must do, no other way”

Another point that the General Secretary noted is that we must take into account the competitiveness of the market; the national position in the international arena. Because the achievements are great, but looking at many countries, we see that we are still slow, and the national competitiveness is very difficult.

Citing the story of Singapore, South Korea, and China, which all had remarkable development from difficulties, the General Secretary said: “Like Singapore, in the past, they said that going to Cho Ray Hospital for medical treatment was a dream. Looking back 50, 60 years later, we now dream of going there for medical treatment. When China opened up, it had a similar level of development, now per capita income is 12,000-15,000 USD, while ours is less than 5,000 USD.”

Or the Malaysian leader once told him that “if you go like this, you will never catch up with us. If you innovate and recalculate, you will have a much greater advantage than us.” In fact, that is a manifestation of the risk of falling behind that our Party has recognized since the 6th Congress…

Asked whether to achieve the goal, we must develop very high and fast, but with a heavy apparatus, can we fully exploit its potential, the General Secretary said that now is only the initial arrangement, and we will continue to research and evaluate how efficient and effective the government apparatus is.

“Dong Anh and Hoan Kiem districts collect several trillions of dong, many times more than many provinces, which is something worth thinking about. With limited population and land, why can districts do it but the whole province can’t? We have to bring books to learn” – the General Secretary stated the reality and said that there must be an assessment and lessons to be learned.

Emphasizing reform for growth, General Secretary To Lam said that only growth can provide money to implement policies, eliminate the risk of falling behind, and firmly protect the Fatherland.

“There is no other way. To promote the development capacity of the whole society, the apparatus must serve society and motivate the people. Whatever hinders our development, whatever is a bottleneck, must be resolved. The whole society changes, everyone must think to implement,” said General Secretary To Lam.

Regarding the issue of whether the national government should be 3-level or 4-level, the General Secretary said that 80% of countries have 3-level governments. In our country, the police should conduct a pilot study first, and abolish the district-level police. According to him, the people will be happy if the regular police are in the commune. Because everything can be handled from household registration, car and motorbike registration, even investigations...

“There are also opinions that China has a large area and a large population but has fewer provinces and cities than us. We also have to calculate. Some provinces have developed very well when separated, but some provinces have said they have run out of space and will only combine into regions. That is why there are regional councils. Therefore, we need to continue researching. Stick to the goal of developing the country and serving the people better. If you see it, you have to do it,” said General Secretary To Lam.