The National Assembly's Law Committee said the country has reduced 8 district-level administrative units and 561 commune-level administrative units.

On the morning of September 12, at the National Assembly House, the National Assembly Standing Committee conducted a thematic supervision on "Implementation of resolutions of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the arrangement of district- and commune-level administrative units in the 2019-2021 period".

Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Law Hoang Thanh Tung, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Supervisory Delegation, said that through supervision, the Supervisory Delegation determined that the implementation of the arrangement of administrative units (ADUs) at district and commune levels in the 2019-2021 period achieved a number of outstanding results.

Specifically, the Government and local authorities have urgently and seriously implemented the review of administrative unit standards to develop plans and projects to arrange administrative units and submit them to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly to issue a total of 48 resolutions on the arrangement of 21 district-level administrative units and 1,056 commune-level administrative units in 45 provinces and centrally-run cities, thereby reducing 8 district-level administrative units and 561 commune-level administrative units nationwide.

The whole country has reduced 3,437 agencies at the commune level and 429 agencies at the district level.

The country has reduced 3,437 agencies at the commune level and 429 agencies at the district level. Of which, the administrative sector reduced 752 agencies; the mass organization sector reduced 2,856 agencies; the sector of agencies belonging to the vertical sector system of the Central Government located in localities reduced 73 agencies; the sector of public service units reduced 185 units.

The total number of district-level cadres and civil servants of 21 district-level administrative units present at the time of arrangement was 2,411 people; the number arranged according to regulations was 1,705 people; the surplus number was 706 people. The total number of commune-level cadres and civil servants of 1,056 commune-level administrative units present at the time of arrangement was 20,417 people; the number arranged according to regulations was 10,712 people; the surplus number was 9,705 people.

The arrangement and merger of rural administrative units into urban areas not only aims to streamline the organizational structure and reduce staffing, but also provides an opportunity to expand urban development space, develop the urban economy, and create opportunities for urban areas to have development momentum. After the arrangement, the total urban area and urban population scale increased compared to before. The review, amendment and supplementation of urban planning and urban development programs after the arrangement of administrative units have been carried out in accordance with regulations.

Some localities have converted the functions and purposes of headquarters of district-level agencies very effectively.

By the time the Working Group visited some localities (March 2022), the facilities and offices of agencies and units had basically met the working needs. Some localities had effectively converted the functions and purposes of the headquarters of district-level agencies.

By August 2022, 43/45 provinces and cities had organized the implementation of the work of establishing new, adjusting and supplementing records and maps of administrative unit boundaries at all relevant levels according to regulations, while 2/45 provinces had not yet implemented the work (including Kien Giang and Vinh Long).

The conversion of seals and documents for people and organizations is carried out promptly, in accordance with regulations, ensuring convenience for people and organizations and free of charge; carried out when people have a need or in combination with other programs and policies...

The review, assessment and determination of specific policies for newly formed district- and commune-level administrative units after the rearrangement have been carried out by localities on the basis of the provisions of Resolution No. 32/NQ-CP of the Government (the highest specific policy of one of the district- and commune-level administrative units before the rearrangement is applied). Some localities have reviewed and reported to competent authorities for consideration and approval of the list of particularly difficult communes, communes in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, and safe zone communes as a basis for implementing specific policies at the post-rearrangement administrative units at the provincial level or for recognizing new rural communes according to their authority.

Expanding development space, concentrating resources, promoting potential and available advantages of localities for sustainable development

Chairman of the National Assembly's Law Committee Hoang Thanh Tung, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Supervisory Delegation, affirmed that the arrangement of administrative units for the 2019-2021 period was a great success, ensuring the completion of the goals, requirements and tasks set out in Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW of the 6th Central Conference (12th tenure) and Resolution No. 37-NQ/TW of the Politburo.

For the first time in history since the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, our country has had a comprehensive review and arrangement of district-level administrative units on a national scale like the 2019-2021 period.

The results of the arrangement of administrative units at district and commune levels not only contribute to streamlining the apparatus, reducing staff, restructuring and improving the quality of cadres, civil servants, public employees and non-professional workers as the Party's policy has set out, but more than that, it also expands development space, concentrates resources, promotes the potential and available advantages of localities for sustainable development.

In addition to the positive results achieved, the arrangement of administrative units at district and commune levels in the period of 2019 - 2021 also has some difficulties and problems. The work of arranging, organizing, and resolving regimes and policies for cadres, civil servants, public employees and non-professional workers who are redundant due to the arrangement of administrative units is still confusing, and the number of redundant people that need to be further resolved is still large.

There are still many working offices of agencies and organizations in the administrative units that have been reorganized and have not been arranged and used effectively; the organization of liquidation and auction of headquarters and surplus public assets after the reorganization is still slow and faces many difficulties. Guidance on the implementation of special regimes and policies for newly established administrative units is not timely, synchronous, and has not been fully connected with other relevant policies and laws.

Urban quality and urban population density in some urban administrative units formed on the basis of merging with rural administrative units have not been guaranteed; after the reorganization, the need for investment in construction and upgrading of urban infrastructure is very large while the State budget is still limited, the socialization and mobilization of social resources are still limited. In the initial stage after the reorganization, the people's lives in some localities were also affected and affected to a certain extent due to having to adjust information, change addresses, etc.

Based on the assessment of positive results, shortcomings, limitations, difficulties and problems, the Monitoring Results Report pointed out the subjective and objective causes of the limitations and shortcomings, the responsibilities of agencies, organizations and individuals and drew 6 lessons learned to serve the arrangement of public service units in the period of 2022 - 2030.