Urgently seek public opinion on administrative unit merger

Just a few days after the 11th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee concluded, in the middle of last week - April 16, the Politburo and the Secretariat held a national conference to disseminate and implement the Resolution of the 11th Central Committee Conference.

At the Conference, delegates listened to 3 topics, including the topic on continuing to streamline the organization, efficiency, effectiveness and efficiency; Directive No. 45-CT/TW of the Politburo on Party Congresses at all levels towards the 14th National Congress of the Party. Two days earlier - on April 14, on behalf of the Politburo, Politburo member, Standing member of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu also signed and issued Conclusion 150-KL/TW guiding the development of personnel plans for provincial Party committees subject to consolidation, merger and newly established communes.

On April 14, the Central Steering Committee for the summary of Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW issued Plan No. 47 on the implementation of the arrangement and merger of administrative units (ADUs) at the provincial and communal levels and the organization of a two-level local government system. Attached to this Plan is an appendix with the contents and tasks of implementing the arrangement and merger of ADUs at the provincial and communal levels and the construction of a two-level local government system. The appendix clearly states that at each point in time in 2025 and 2026, relevant agencies, provinces, and cities must complete specific tasks.

Also on April 14, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh signed Decision No. 758/QD-TTg promulgating the Plan to implement the arrangement of administrative units and build a model of organizing 2-level local governments; Decision No. 759/QD-TTg approving the Project to arrange and reorganize administrative units at all levels and build a model of organizing 2-level local governments. The Project clearly states the specific arrangement plan for 52 provincial-level administrative units; The Plan clearly indicates the amendment and supplementation of many laws and resolutions to serve the arrangement of the apparatus...

Based on the close and timely guidance, clearly outlining each task and completion time of the Central Government, a number of localities have met and agreed to establish Joint Working Groups to carry out the tasks assigned by the Central Government regarding the merger, such as Yen Bai and Lao Cai; Quang Ngai and Kon Tum; Hung Yen and Thai Binh... Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh directly had a working session on the afternoon of April 19 with the Standing Committees of the Provincial Party Committees of 3 provinces, including Binh Thuan, Lam Dong, Dak Nong on the implementation of the Resolution of the 11th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee. The Permanent Deputy Prime Minister welcomed the 3 provinces for sharing, uniting, unifying, coordinating well, actively and proactively implementing the tasks as directed.

Some localities have soon made decisions to reorganize administrative units and build a 2-level local government organization model. Typically, on April 18, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council approved a plan to reorganize 273 commune-level administrative units into 102 new administrative units with 78 wards and 24 communes, ensuring the central government's target of reducing by 60-70% and meeting the criteria on commune and ward area.

On April 20, although it was Sunday, the People's Council of Soc Trang province, term X, 2021 - 2026, still held a meeting to review and unanimously approve the Resolution on the arrangement of provincial and commune-level administrative units. Accordingly, the total number of grassroots administrative units in the province after the merger is 43 communes and wards (including 35 communes and 8 wards), a decrease of 60.19% compared to the present. The delegates also discussed and agreed on the plan to arrange provincial-level administrative units, which is to establish Can Tho City directly under the Central Government on the basis of merging administrative units of Soc Trang province, Hau Giang province and Can Tho city. The administrative - political center of the newly established provincial-level administrative unit will be located in Ninh Kieu district (Can Tho city).

Other localities are organizing public consultation on the Project to arrange and merge provincial and commune-level administrative units. Notably, on April 20, the Hanoi People's Committee issued a document announcing the plan to arrange commune-level administrative units. Accordingly, Hanoi, with a total area of nearly 3,360km2, 30 district-level administrative units and a population of more than 8.5 million people, will be reduced from 526 wards and communes to 126. On the morning of April 20, Bac Ninh also launched a campaign to collect public consultation on the draft Project to arrange Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces and the draft Project to arrange commune-level administrative units of Bac Ninh province...

The fact that localities proactively and actively carry out tasks according to the direction from the Central Government and coordinate synchronously, rhythmically and closely among localities has clearly demonstrated the spirit of solidarity and unanimity, without the ideology of yours, my rights, this locality, that locality, but all for the common interests of the country and the people. This is the opportunity and premise for our country to develop strongly in the new period as expected and desired by General Secretary To Lam.

At the National Conference to disseminate and implement the Resolution of the 11th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee on April 16, General Secretary To Lam noted the need to overcome both trends: Merging communes and wards that are too large to cover the area and not proactively serve the people; Merging communes and wards that are too small, leading to limitations in space, development space, and more focal points, leading to cumbersomeness and inefficiency.

T. Hoang

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/khan-truong-lay-y-kien-nhan-dan-ve-sap-nhap-don-vi-hanh-chinh-post546159.html