General Cương: The Ministry of Public Security has undergone a revolution in its organizational structure.

On the afternoon of August 7th, the Ministry of Public Security held a conference to implement the Government Decree stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security. Nghe An Newspaper conducted an interview with Associate Professor, Doctor – Major General Le Van Cuong, former Director of the Institute of Strategic Science of the Ministry of Public Security, on several related issues.

The Ministry of Public Security announced that it will eliminate intermediate levels of government and streamline public service units, including those in education, journalism, and healthcare within the People's Public Security Force. (Source: Internet)

PV:General, as someone with many years of experience in the police force, could you explain why the Ministry of Public Security is undergoing such a major organizational change?

Major General Le Van Cuong:It is true that in recent times, the leadership of the Ministry of Public Security and the Central Party Committee of Public Security have been preparing a new model to change the operation of the apparatus and improve efficiency. In my opinion, the root cause of this change stems from two reasons.

This change in the model of the Ministry of Public Security stems from the effective implementation of Resolution No. 6 of the Central Committee (12th Congress) on continuing to innovate and reorganize the organizational structure of the political system to be streamlined, effective, and efficient.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc reviews the People's Police Honor Guard.

Furthermore, in practice, previous organizational adjustments by the Ministry of Public Security have resulted in an bloated apparatus with too many intermediate levels, increasing the number of general departments from 4 to 8, and the number of departments and bureaus from over 50 to 120, making the system cumbersome, inefficient, and ineffective.

Besides the great achievements of the police force in ensuring security, social order and safety, and bringing peaceful lives to the people, the People's Police force has never had so many "blemishes" that significantly affect the people's trust.

For example, the case of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hoa - former Director of the Department of Police for Combating High-Tech Crimes and Mr. Phan Van Vinh - former Director General of the General Department of Police, who abused their positions and authority while performing their duties, aiding and abetting international gambling…

It's safe to say that in just six months, nearly a dozen police generals have been disciplined. I believe this is an inevitable consequence of the cumbersome, multi-layered bureaucratic system that has existed for quite some time.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc with leaders of the Ministry of Public Security. Photo: Internet

PV:The Ministry of Public Security has undergone numerous organizational changes and adjustments. What is your assessment of this latest change?

Major General Le Van Cuong:From 1945 to the present, the Ministry of Public Security has undergone five changes to its organizational structure. However, the basic framework remained largely the same throughout these five changes, with only adjustments or additions. This latest change, however, sees the Ministry of Public Security establishing a completely new framework: the Ministry's organizational structure now comprises units at the departmental level, reducing the number of General Departments by six, the number of departmental-level units by nearly 60, and the number of divisional-level units by nearly 300 compared to the previous structure.

Local police merged 20 fire prevention and fighting police units into provincial and city police forces, streamlining the organization of provincial and district-level police, reducing more than 500 departmental-level units and nearly 1,000 team-level units. This is truly a comprehensive and thorough reform revolution in the implementation of the organizational structure according to the new regulations of the Ministry of Public Security.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc congratulated the leaders of the Ministry of Public Security.

PV:General, how were the leaders of the Ministry of Public Security and the Central Party Committee of Public Security able to achieve this when organizational restructuring is considered very difficult?

Major General Le Van Cuong:Resolution No. 6 (12th Party Congress) of the Central Committee, the Politburo, and the Prime Minister require 25 ministries under the Government to streamline their organizational structures, eliminating intermediaries to improve efficiency and effectiveness. I believe that, at this point, the Ministry of Public Security has taken the lead among all ministries and units under the Government. Currently, other ministries have only reduced the number of departments or merged a few bureaus, but have not yet implemented such a thorough, comprehensive, and revolutionary approach as the Ministry of Public Security.

For the Ministry of Public Security leadership to achieve this, to carry out this comprehensive revolution, the collective leadership of the Public Security and the Central Public Security Party Committee must be composed of individuals with strong political determination, firm convictions, and high Party loyalty, aiming to effectively implement Central Resolution 6 (12th Congress) by all means.

Furthermore, the leaders of the Public Security and the Central Public Security Party Committee must have clear minds and clean hands. Because interfering with the organizational structure means interfering with people and vested interests, leaving hundreds of high-ranking officials and generals without jobs. Therefore, those making decisions, like Mr. To Lam and the Central Public Security Party Committee, cannot succeed without clean hands and clear minds.

PV:Public opinion is very interested in the implementation of the new model and believes that the leaders of the Ministry of Public Security and local police are facing many difficulties. In your opinion, what does the Ministry of Public Security need to do to implement the model effectively?

Major General Le Van Cuong:The first difficulty of this reform revolution was that it directly impacted the interests of hundreds of generals and senior officers of the Ministry and 63 provinces and cities. This was the biggest obstacle that the Ministry of Public Security and the Central Public Security Party Committee had to overcome.

Accordingly, this is a new organizational model, a comprehensive and thorough reform revolution, requiring new mechanisms, but these mechanisms are not easy to establish, so there will be many limitations and obstacles in the process of operation and implementation.

Mobile police forces train and are ready to ensure absolute security for the APEC 2017 High-Level Week. Photo: Zing

PV:According to him, what should the Ministry of Public Security do to make this new organizational structure more streamlined, with fewer intermediate layers, more efficient, and with a better grasp of the situation?

Major General Le Van Cuong:I believe that Comrade To Lam - Member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Central Public Security Party Committee, Minister of Public Security - and the collective leadership of the Central Public Security Party Committee need to establish working regulations, clearly defining and assigning responsibilities and powers to the Deputy Ministers, Ministers, and Directors of Departments in order to manage the work effectively.

At the same time, we will build relationships between the Ministry and local authorities, and between the Ministry's leadership and its departments and 63 provinces and cities... in order to build a centralized, unified, specialized, and streamlined organizational structure for the Ministry of Public Security, ensuring effective and efficient operation and strengthening the grassroots level in the direction of "a lean Ministry, strong provinces, comprehensive districts, and grassroots-oriented communes".

Regular training sessions are organized to promote a dedicated, grassroots-oriented, and situationally-focused work style for leading officers from the Director and Deputy Director levels down to district police chiefs…

PV:Thank you very much, Major General!