Rejecting information about continuing to arrange and merge provinces and cities

Tan My Ward Public Administration Service Center (HCMC) guides and supports people. Photo: THU HUONG

According to Mr. Phan Trung Tuan, Director of the Department of Local Government ( Ministry of Home Affairs ), currently, the Party, National Assembly, and Government have no policy to continue to reorganize and merge provinces, cities, or commune-level administrative units. The information that the current 34 provinces and cities will be reduced to 16 provinces and cities in the coming period is completely inaccurate.

With the drastic participation of the entire political system, from July 1, 2025, the 2-level local government model (including provincial and commune/ward levels) has officially operated in all provinces and cities. The whole country has 34 provinces/cities and 3,321 communes, wards and special zones.

Previously, social networks circulated a document believed to be from the Ministry of Home Affairs signed by Mr. Truong Hai Long, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, sent to the Ministry of Justice to review the draft Decree guiding the collection of public opinions on the establishment, dissolution, merger, division, adjustment of boundaries and renaming of administrative units. Regarding this information, Mr. Truong Hai Long said that the draft being reviewed is a document on processes and procedures, not a project for implementation.

According to Mr. Phan Trung Tuan, currently, the Ministry of Home Affairs is drafting a Decree guiding the collection of public opinions on the establishment, dissolution, merger, division, adjustment of boundaries and renaming of administrative units to replace Decree No. 54/2018/ND-CP (guiding the collection of voters' opinions on the establishment, dissolution, merger, division, adjustment of boundaries of administrative units) and Decree No. 66/2023/ND-CP (amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 54/2018/ND-CP). Accordingly, the draft decree does not have an appendix with a list of arrangements and mergers from 34 provinces and cities to 16 provinces and cities as is being spread on social networking sites.

The drafting of this decree is to implement the provisions of the Law on Organization of Local Government and Decision No. 1589/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister promulgating the Plan for implementing the Law on Organization of Local Government.

DO TRUNG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/bac-bo-thong-tin-tiep-tuc-sap-xep-sap-nhap-tinh-thanh-post823874.html