A perspective from Thanh Hoa

Having undergone numerous reorganizations of district and commune-level administrative units, Thanh Hoa province has gained its own experience in solving the problem of personnel arrangement when streamlining the administrative apparatus.

A view of Thanh Hoa City.

Historically, most provinces and cities in Vietnam have undergone changes in administrative boundaries, including mergers or separations at various stages. However, some provinces and cities have maintained their original boundaries since their establishment without ever being merged with other localities, including Thanh Hoa province.

In this streamlining of the administrative apparatus, Thanh Hoa, along with 10 other provincial-level units, will remain unchanged: Hanoi , Hue, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh.

Although it has never been merged, split, or renamed, Thanh Hoa province has a wealth of experience in arranging and selecting officials to remain and continue working in the new administrative apparatus. This locality is considered to be among the top localities in rearranging district and commune-level administrative units in recent years.

The right person for the right job, with the right skills.

According to the history of the formation of Thanh Hoa province in modern times, up to around 1969, the number of officials and staff in Thanh Hoa province increased dramatically. Entering 1970, the Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department had to streamline its apparatus and reduce staff to improve work efficiency, in accordance with the directives of the Politburo and the Government Council.

To streamline the bureaucracy and address the surplus of staff, Thanh Hoa province has implemented a policy of transferring those with weak professional skills but strong production abilities to direct production work. For those scientific and technical staff and workers currently working in unrelated fields, they will be reassigned to their original professions or transferred to production facilities.

Later stages saw Thanh Hoa province implement personnel restructuring and streamlining, focusing on selecting the right people for the right jobs, and properly addressing the relationship between qualified personnel and those with practical experience. Personnel who were incapacitated, had poor health, or reached retirement age were granted retirement benefits according to current regulations and policies.

At that time, Thanh Hoa province prioritized production development, so officials who lacked sufficient capacity, experience, or formal training could retire early, creating opportunities for training and developing a team of young, capable officials to serve the task of expanding production and services.

By 1992, the Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee had issued a Resolution on reorganizing the administrative apparatus and streamlining personnel in administrative and public service agencies. During this period, Thanh Hoa aimed for a staffing level that was appropriate to the functions, tasks, and powers of each unit and locality.

To streamline the administrative apparatus, reduce staffing levels, and select and retain "top-tier" officials, Thanh Hoa province requires all units to ensure objectivity and democracy; and to properly address the relationship between officials with academic qualifications and those with practical experience and work capabilities.

Those officials who are not selected to be retained, but have completed the required years of service, will have their benefits processed without a medical examination. Other officials who meet the criteria will also receive a one-time severance payment or be assigned work while awaiting retirement.

Around 2008, the selection of officials in Thanh Hoa province was based on an assessment of their competence, professional qualifications, moral character, and reputation. Priority was given to officials with experience, management skills, and a high sense of responsibility.

The key elements are fairness, openness, and transparency.

At its sixth conference in October 2017, the 12th Central Committee issued Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW on some issues concerning the continued reform and restructuring of the political system's organizational apparatus to be streamlined, effective, and efficient. Thanh Hoa is one of the localities that has been seriously and systematically implementing this resolution.

Specifically, during the period 2016-2021, Thanh Hoa province merged 143 communes to form 67 new communes, reducing the total number by 76; and merged 3,100 villages and residential areas to form 1,522 villages and residential areas, reducing the total by 1,578. With these results, Thanh Hoa is one of the localities that has implemented the most administrative unit restructuring at the commune and village levels nationwide.

During this period, Thanh Hoa province also exceeded its target for downsizing the workforce in accordance with Resolution No. 39-NQ/TW, reducing the number of cadres, civil servants, and public employees by over 10%.

Furthermore, as part of the district and commune-level administrative unit restructuring plan for the 2023-2025 period, the province successfully merged Dong Son district into Thanh Hoa city and consolidated 23 communes into 11 new communes. Currently, Thanh Hoa province has 26 district-level administrative units (22 districts, 2 towns, and 2 cities) and 547 commune-level administrative units.

Besides the commendable results in streamlining the administrative apparatus, Thanh Hoa province has successfully implemented personnel reduction and restructured its workforce to ensure it possesses the necessary qualities and capabilities to meet the demands of the new tasks. This is truly a challenging and complex undertaking.

The problem of relocating surplus personnel in the aforementioned period was successfully solved by Thanh Hoa province based on the principle of transparency and openness; and a reasonable, harmonious, and humane approach to balancing policies and regulations for officials and civil servants with the organizational structure after reorganization.

Dong Son District was merged into Thanh Hoa City at the end of 2024. Photo: Minh Hieu

In addition, Thanh Hoa province has temporarily suspended the recruitment and acceptance of officials and civil servants in units undergoing restructuring; conducted ideological work to encourage and persuade officials to retire early; encouraged the election of civil servants to assume official positions in newly established units; assigned civil servants to concurrently hold non-specialized positions; and resolutely refused to appoint individuals who do not meet the required standards.

In the current revolution to streamline the administrative apparatus, the selection and arrangement of personnel is a top priority. Thanh Hoa province will select officials who possess the necessary qualities, capabilities, and dedication to the people, ensuring fairness, objectivity, and evaluating the quality of the workforce in accordance with the new situation and tasks.

To ensure that the selection of officials is open and transparent, Thanh Hoa province is determined to remove corrupt, wasteful, and negative officials; and to prevent situations where officials who have just been appointed or reappointed are immediately transferred to a new position.

At the same time, strict supervision will be implemented to prevent corruption and negative practices. Party committees and leaders at all levels must provide close leadership and guidance, strengthen inspection and supervision, and absolutely prevent any instances of lobbying, group interests, corruption, or negative practices in personnel work when implementing the reorganization of the organizational structure and administrative units.

Reorganizing the workforce during the streamlining of the administrative apparatus is not only an important task but also a complex problem requiring transparency, fairness, reasonableness, and humanity. Thanh Hoa province, with its experience in reorganizing administrative units at the district and commune levels many times, has demonstrated a systematic and scientific approach, prioritizing the common good. By selecting the right people, assigning the right tasks, and eliminating negative elements, Thanh Hoa province has created a more effective and efficient operating apparatus, meeting the requirements of development in the new era.

According to the Industry and Trade Newspaper

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/lua-chon-can-bo-khi-tinh-gian-goc-nhin-tu-thanh-hoa-244280.htm