Need a mechanism to resolve the overload situation for provincial citizen reception agencies

On the afternoon of November 11, National Assembly deputies discussed in groups three draft laws, including: Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Citizen Reception, the Law on Complaints, the Law on Denunciation; the Investment Law (amended) and the Law on Drug Prevention and Control (amended).

Delegate Be Minh Duc, Cao Bang National Assembly Delegation. Photo: PT

Avoid overloading

Commenting on the provisions amending the Law on Citizen Reception, Delegate Luong Van Hung, National Assembly Delegation of Quang Ngai province, said that in order to be consistent with the 2-level local government model, the draft Law stipulates the removal of the district-level citizen reception location. However, when the contents of the people's petitions, reflections, complaints and denunciations have not been considered and resolved at the commune level, citizens have the wish to be received by higher authorities to direct the resolution of the case. This will cause overload for provincial-level citizen reception agencies. On the other hand, citizens coming to register to receive citizens at higher levels will also face more difficulties due to the long distance and difficult travel.

With such reality, Delegate Luong Van Hung proposed to consider researching and supplementing appropriate mechanisms to resolve this situation.

Delegate Pham Van Hoa, National Assembly Delegation of Dong Thap province, said that after the merger of provinces, the administrative boundaries are wider, there is more work, this is also a difficulty for the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee in receiving citizens. Therefore, Delegate Pham Van Hoa said that it is necessary to study and have regulations allowing the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee to authorize the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee or the Director of the Department to receive citizens. However, for cases where citizens only request to meet the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee because the settlement of the citizen's petition is not satisfactory, the delegate said that authorization is not allowed, and at the same time, there should be clear regulations on this issue.

Ensuring feasibility when receiving citizens online

The draft Law has added Article 3a to the current Law on Citizen Reception, which stipulates the form of citizen reception by agencies, organizations and units in two forms: direct and online citizen reception.

According to Delegate Be Minh Duc, Cao Bang National Assembly Delegation, after the merger of provincial level, implementing the two-level local government model, many provincial and communal areas have been expanded. There are some localities after the merger between the old and new administrative centers up to 200 km apart. Most communes are currently still working at two to three headquarters, of which, the commune headquarters in mountainous areas are 8 to 15 km apart, and travel is still difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to regulate the form of online citizen reception. Besides, with the development of science and technology, digital transformation is taking place strongly in our country today, it is possible to meet the conditions for online citizen reception, resolving complaints and denunciations through the electronic data system.

"Implementing this method will create conditions for faster and more convenient resolution, creating the most favorable conditions for organizations, individuals, people and businesses, reducing pressure on citizen reception work at citizen reception offices like in the recent past," said Delegate Be Minh Duc.

Delegate Luong Van Hung, National Assembly Delegation of Quang Ngai province agreed with the draft Law which stipulates the addition of the form of online citizen reception, but according to the provisions of the current Law and the draft amended Law, there are no provisions regulating the basic contents of the form of online citizen reception, such as: responsibility for information security and personal data; legal value of online citizen reception, responsibilities of agencies in chairing and coordinating online citizen reception; rights and obligations of citizens in online citizen reception.

Therefore, Delegate Luong Van Hung proposed to consider supplementing basic regulations on the form of online citizen reception, on that basis assigning the Government to specify in detail the process and procedures for online citizen reception.

Delegate Pham Van Hoa, National Assembly Delegation of Dong Thap agreed with the regulation of receiving citizens online, because the province has now expanded, but it is necessary to have specific regulations on receiving citizens online. Specifically, such as requirements on machines, transmission lines, locations for citizens to attend online meetings, and the form of reception: individual or group. In addition, the delegate also said that after implementing the 2-level local government model, no longer having the district level also raises issues for citizen reception work at commune and ward levels.

Delegate Pham Van Hoa raised the issue of whether it is feasible to apply this regulation to the commune level, and whether the commune has enough staff when there is a lot of work at the commune level. The delegate suggested that the Drafting Committee should study and consider this issue further.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/can-co-che-giai-quyet-tinh-trang-qua-tai-cho-cac-co-quan-tiep-cong-dan-cap-tinh-20251111195408630.htm