'Ministry of Science and Technology needs to review 154 non-decentralized tasks'

On the afternoon of May 23, at the Government Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung met with the Ministry of Science and Technology on decentralization and delegation of authority related to the Ministry's sectors and fields of operation.

Reporting at the meeting, Deputy Minister Bui Hoang Phuong said that the Ministry of Science and Technology has reviewed more than 600 documents under the Ministry's state management that are still in effect, discovering 38 documents with content related to district-level authorities, including 1 law, 14 decrees, 3 decisions and 20 circulars.

Of these 38 documents, the number of documents containing decentralization and delegation of authority to the People's Committees at the district level is 9 (1 law, 4 decrees and 4 circulars). The Ministry is drafting a Decree on the decentralization of state management authority in the field of science and technology according to the 2-level local government model and decentralization and delegation of authority in state management of the field of science and technology.

Regarding the proposal to decentralize, delegate and assign authority according to the provisions of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Government according to the 2-level local government organization model, out of a total of 303 tasks in the field of state management of the Ministry, there are 8 tasks under the authority of the Government. The Prime Minister proposed to decentralize and delegate authority to the Minister of Science and Technology and local authorities (3 tasks for ministries and branches, 6 tasks for localities, including 1 task decentralized to both ministries, branches and localities).

The functions and tasks of the Minister of Science and Technology proposed to be decentralized and delegated to local authorities are 90 (80 tasks for the provincial level and 10 tasks for the communal level).

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui Hoang Phuong speaks. (Photo: Van Diep/VNA)

There are 5 contents under the authority of district-level local authorities transferred to commune-level local authorities under the science and technology sector. The number of tasks proposed by the Minister of Science and Technology to be decentralized to ministries and sectors is 46, the number not decentralized is 154.

Deputy Minister Phuong explained that the non-decentralized tasks are mainly the tasks of building strategies, planning, and plans; building laws to create development; building mechanisms and policies to promote rapid and sustainable development of industries and fields or tasks implemented nationwide.

The Ministry of Science and Technology will continue to review and update the contents of decentralization and delegation of power in the process of drafting draft laws expected to be passed at the 9th and 10th Sessions of the 15th National Assembly; draft decrees and circulars on decentralization and delegation of power in the fields of state management of the Ministry when organizing 2-level local governments to ensure that decentralization and delegation of power are feasible and effective.

At the meeting, representatives of ministries and branches expressed their views that the Ministry of Science and Technology needs to review all laws of the National Assembly, resolutions and decrees of the Government, and decisions of the Prime Minister, without leaving out any tasks.

Deputy Head of the Government Office Pham Manh Cuong said that among the 154 tasks of the Minister that are not decentralized, it is necessary to continue to review which tasks are really necessary to keep in the Ministry, and advise the Minister to report to the Prime Minister. Tasks that are not really necessary to keep must follow the direction of the Politburo, the Secretariat, and the General Secretary to thoroughly decentralize, and the Minister and Head of the ministerial-level agency must be responsible to the Politburo and the Secretariat for this.

He also gave an example of a Ministry that previously, when sending a report to the Prime Minister, only proposed decentralizing 5 tasks under the Minister's authority to localities, but after receiving a directive from the Secretariat, it reassigned more than 100 tasks.

Appreciating the seriousness and efforts of the Ministry of Science and Technology in thoroughly implementing the Politburo's policy and the Prime Minister's direction on reviewing tasks to implement decentralization and delegation of power, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung requested the Ministry to study and absorb the opinions of ministries and branches at the meeting, continue to perfect the draft, and complete it on schedule (issued before June 25, 2025).

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the spirit of the State only retaining macro-management tools (building strategies, planning, plans, and institutions), strengthening inspection and supervision work; thoroughly decentralizing in the spirit of "locality decides, locality acts, locality takes responsibility." If there are any problems, the Ministry of Science and Technology must coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Home Affairs to handle them immediately in the spirit of "doing it quickly but must do it correctly, only doing it once."

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung gives a directive speech. (Photo: Van Diep/VNA)

First of all, the Ministry must review all laws, ordinances, resolutions, decrees, decisions, and circulars, and separate them into two decrees on the division of authority and decentralization to provinces and communes. Along with that, there must be clear procedures to ensure the principle of not missing any work, not causing interruptions, and affecting the activities of people and businesses.

“Decentralization and delegation of authority must be clearly explained, and if there is no decentralization, it must be clearly stated in the submission, with convincing arguments,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized when looking at the figures of the percentage of tasks delegated by the Minister of Science and Technology to local authorities at 29.7%, the tasks proposed by the Minister to be delegated to ministries and branches at 15.2%, and the percentage of tasks performed by the Minister without delegation at 50.83%; he said that “the numbers are very difficult to accept, they must be reviewed.”

The Deputy Prime Minister requested a review of 154/303 non-decentralized tasks to see if they really cannot be decentralized and need to be retained; emphasizing that "time is urgent, the work is very important, very demanding, must be carefully reviewed and issued so that they can be implemented and are feasible"./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/bo-khoa-hoc-va-cong-nghe-can-ra-lai-154-nhiem-vu-khong-phan-cap-post1040304.vnp