The "key" to smooth operation, creating a 2-level local government model

While the shortcomings in infrastructure are gradually being resolved, the provinces of Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, and Dak Lak have identified training and improving the quality of the team of cadres, civil servants, and public employees at the commune level in the short and long term as the "key" to the stable, smooth, and creative operation of the 2-level local government model.

Continued professional support for commune level

Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 16-TB/TU requesting the Standing Committees of Party Committees of communes, wards and special zones to be responsible for reviewing and arranging local cadres and civil servants appropriately, with the right expertise, profession, strengths and work experience, maximizing the capacity of the existing cadres and civil servants; reviewing and providing information on cadres and civil servants with expertise and professions that are surplus or lacking compared to the needs and job positions so that competent authorities can transfer civil servants between localities in accordance with practical tasks, ensuring the right person, right job, right expertise according to Conclusion No. 183-KL/TW of the Politburo and Secretariat.

In addition, proactively strengthen connections and support in expertise and profession between communes, wards and special zones; contact, agree on exchanges and select surplus cadres, civil servants and public employees in communes, wards and special zones to propose receiving them to work in localities where there is a shortage.

Departments, branches and sectors continue to maintain the Team to receive and resolve difficulties and problems; second officers and civil servants to support and help communes, wards and special zones in terms of expertise and profession, focusing on communes, wards and special zones with recommendations and requests for support; at the same time, pay attention to seconding officers and civil servants with expertise in the fields of land administration, natural resources and environment, finance, etc. to communes and wards, especially localities with key national and provincial projects.

Regarding long-term solutions, the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee assigned the Provincial People's Committee to lead the Provincial People's Committee to prioritize the allocation of funding for short-term professional training and development for civil servants in specialized fields that are lacking and difficult at the grassroots level such as information technology, digital transformation, digital skills, finance, investment, land administration, construction, justice, etc. to ensure that the commune level properly performs the functions and tasks of fields that require professional expertise and skills to meet the requirements of operating local government at the commune level.

Improving the capacity of commune-level cadres

Gia Lai province identifies training and fostering of staff as a key task for the two-level local government model to operate effectively.

Accordingly, Gia Lai continues to send about 5% of civil servants and public employees of departments and branches to rotate to the commune level for a maximum of 6 months.

At the same time, short-term reinforcements lasting from 1 to 2 weeks are maintained to provide timely support to communes and wards lacking specialized and professional civil servants and public employees.

The province prioritizes the placement of officials with in-depth expertise in key areas such as finance, accounting, economics, construction, land, agriculture, information technology, education and training, and health. These are positions that require high expertise, while many newly merged localities still lack suitable human resources.

Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan said that in the first months of implementing the two-level local government model, the staff of departments and branches had almost no days off on weekends.

Taking advantage of Saturdays and Sundays, units organize training courses for commune-level officials on business processes, digitizing records, building a shared document system, and even building a knowledge repository for AI so that commune-level officials can look up and ask questions when encountering problems in handling work.

People come to do administrative procedures at the Duc Co Commune Public Administration Service Center, Gia Lai Province. (Photo: Quang Thai/VNA)

Along with that, many departments and branches sent working groups to the grassroots to directly guide and "show hands on work," especially in remote, isolated, and border communes. Each specialized officer was assigned to support about 7 sessions/commune, focusing on areas lacking human resources such as minerals, land, environment, information technology, etc. This approach initially helped to remove many difficulties for localities in the phase of operating the 2-level local government model.

Through the direct support process, commune cadres have the opportunity to learn and accumulate more knowledge and practical experience. This is considered an effective form of on-the-job training, contributing to improving the capacity of the team right from the grassroots.

The training, education, and arrangement of personnel for the two-level local government of the province in the coming time must aim to ensure the apparatus operates smoothly, effectively, efficiently, the new must be better than the old, words must go hand in hand with actions, and unity must be achieved to serve the people, Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan added.

Faced with urgent requirements for mechanisms and policies to remove difficulties in implementing two-level local government, especially in terms of human factors, Dak Lak province has been implementing many solutions.

Dak Lak Provincial Party Committee issued Project No. 01-DA/TU dated October 9, 2025 on "arranging and organizing the team of commune-level cadres and civil servants" which is expected to contribute to clearing bottlenecks in the organization of two-level local government.

According to the Project, Dak Lak province has 64 communes and wards that are short of 619 cadres and civil servants compared to the number of staff assigned in professional and technical positions, in which the commune and ward with the most shortage is Cu Bao ward, which is short of 29 cadres and civil servants. Meanwhile, there are 33 communes and wards with 182 cadres and civil servants in excess of the number of staff assigned in professional and technical positions.

To solve the human resource problem for the commune level, Dak Lak province rotates, mobilizes, seconds, and strengthens civil servants and public employees of departments, branches, sectors and equivalents, and public service units at the provincial level to work in communes and wards.

Heads of agencies, organizations, units, departments, branches, sectors and equivalents, and provincial-level public service units shall review and evaluate the capacity of cadres under their management to carry out rotation, transfer, secondment, and reinforcement of 5-7% (current civil servants and public employees and those planned to lead departments, branches, and sectors of the province or higher), with experience, capacity, and development prospects in arranging leadership positions at the commune level, leaders of specialized departments and divisions (deputy/head level) or specialized civil servants in communes and wards that are lacking, especially in difficult, remote, and isolated areas.

People come to carry out administrative procedures at the Public Administration Service Center of Binh Kien Ward (Dak Lak Province). (Source: VNA)

Director of the Department of Home Affairs of Dak Lak province, Truong Ngoc Tuan, said that Project No. 01-DA/TU is a major policy of the Provincial Party Committee to remove the bottleneck of human resources for the commune-level government. Especially the policy of increasing from 5-7% of existing civil servants and public employees and having a planning of leadership at the department level of the provincial departments, branches and sectors and above to arrange leadership and management positions at the commune level.

As of mid-November 2025, the Departments of Industry and Trade, Construction, Science and Technology, Home Affairs, Culture, Sports and Tourism have dispatched officials to communes and wards according to Project No. 01-DA/TU.

According to Mr. Truong Ngoc Tuan, to promote work efficiency during the 36-month secondment, the seconded civil servants must promote the spirit of "working until the end of the work day," solidarity and responsibility with the team of commune-level cadres and civil servants to complete their tasks well; be ready to take on difficult and new tasks, share the workload with the assigned place, not avoid or push it away, consider this an opportunity to practice to mature, accumulate practical experience, and develop comprehensively./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/chia-khoa-van-hanh-thong-suot-kien-tao-mo-hinh-chinh-quyen-dia-phuong-2-cap-post1079649.vnp