Gia Lai is stepping up administrative reforms at the commune level.

This also calls for accelerating administrative reforms at the grassroots level, gradually affirming the effectiveness of the two-tiered local government model.

Urgent with many tasks

In July and August 2025, communes and wards in Gia Lai province must urgently complete many important tasks to ensure the effective operation of the Public Administrative Service Center (PASC) in accordance with Government Decree No. 118/2025/ND-CP dated June 9, 2025, on implementing administrative procedures under the one-stop and integrated one-stop mechanisms at the One-Stop Service Department and the National Public Service Portal.

Communes and wards are assigning additional officials and youth union members to assist citizens when they come to carry out administrative procedures at the Public Administrative Service Center. **Photo: Nguyen Muoi**

According to the guidance of the Provincial People's Committee Office, in July, localities must review and improve the institutional framework, infrastructure, and information security related to the operation of the commune-level Public Service Centers. The Director of the Center must issue working regulations and announce specific task assignments to each position, especially clearly defining responsibilities in each area at the application reception counter. All these documents need to be publicly posted for citizens to monitor and supervise.

In addition, it is necessary to fully equip all civil servants receiving applications with necessary facilities: computers, printers, scanners, and digital signatures. A comfortable transaction space, posted procedure boards, computers for online application submission, access for people with disabilities, and a coordination team in areas without automated queuing systems… all need to be ensured immediately.

Mr. Le Dung Linh, Head of the Administrative Procedure Reform and Control Department (Office of the Provincial People's Committee), stated: "The principle of serving the people must be thoroughly ensured; those who arrive first should have their applications submitted first. Priority should be given to vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and pregnant women..."

The Public Administrative Service Center is fully equipped with facilities: computers, printers, scanners, and digital signatures for 100% of the civil servants receiving applications. **Photo: Bá Bính**

According to Mr. Linh, many localities still do not fully understand the functions and tasks of the Commune-level Public Service Center. According to Government Decree No. 118/2025/ND-CP dated June 9, 2025, the Public Service Center has three main tasks: managing all activities of the Center; controlling administrative procedures; and building e-government and monitoring the application of information technology at the Commune-level People's Committees. Therefore, it is necessary to review the assignment of civil servants and officials to receive applications to ensure sufficient personnel to perform and complete the Center's tasks according to its assigned functions and duties.

Regarding personnel for receiving applications at the Center, localities must assign civil servants from specialized departments under the People's Committee at the commune level to perform the task of receiving administrative procedure applications. At the same time, they must arrange personnel from the public postal service provider to carry out the tasks of guiding, receiving, digitizing, and returning the results of application processing.

Regarding technical infrastructure, Mr. Tran Ngoc Vinh, Deputy Head of the Technology and Postal and Telecommunications Department (Department of Science and Technology), said: “We are coordinating on-site surveys in 135 communes and wards to plan for stable transmission lines, ensuring the smooth operation of the Center.” According to Mr. Vinh, Gia Lai currently leads the country in the percentage of communes and wards ready to implement digital signatures, facilitating the resolution of administrative procedures at the commune level.

Absolutely no irresponsibility towards the people.

Speaking at an online training conference on improving the quality of operation of the People's Public Service Centers at the commune level, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Lam Hai Giang directed localities to urgently complete the conditions for the smooth operation of the People's Public Service Centers at the commune level. The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized: "What needs to be done immediately must be done right away, and what needs to be done long-term should have a roadmap. Absolutely no irresponsibility towards the people must be neglected."

The principles of service must be thoroughly ensured in order to improve the satisfaction rate of citizens and businesses. **Photo: Bá Bính**

Regarding the request from the People's Committee of Chu A Thai commune about the lack of some equipment such as automatic queue number dispensers, display screens, and smart administrative procedure kiosks, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Lam Hai Giang stated: These are supplementary amenities. The province will gradually equip localities with these in the coming time, prioritizing the option of mobilizing resources from social contributions so that each commune has about 1-2 smart kiosks to serve people in searching for and submitting online applications more conveniently.

From July 1st to 5th, the rate of online applications submitted to the commune-level Public Service Centers reached 59%. This is a very positive result, especially considering the numerous tasks involved in the administrative reorganization and the fact that the commune-level Public Service Centers have only been operational for one week. Initial observations indicate that Gia Lai province's administrative procedure processing system is operating smoothly. The Provincial People's Committee also highly appreciates the efforts of the remote and disadvantaged communes, while urging central localities—which have advantages in infrastructure—to further enhance their leading role in serving the people and businesses.

"Commune-level leaders must clearly understand that the scale and role have changed significantly. Communes are no longer small administrative units, but rather a microcosm of the provincial government," emphasized Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Lam Hai Giang.