Nghe An reorganizes and reduces 222 public administrative units

Officials from the Hung Nguyen District Agricultural Service Center inspect the Burdock ginseng growing model in Long Xa Commune, Hung Nguyen District. Photo: Mai Hoa

Arrange and reduce 222 administrative and career units

The Anh Son District Agricultural Service Center was established in August 2020 on the basis of merging 3 units, including: Plant Cultivation and Plant Protection Station; Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Station; Animal Husbandry - Veterinary Station. Accordingly, the apparatus was streamlined from 3 to 1 unit, reducing 2 focal points and reducing the number of employees, from 13 to 8 people.

Comrade Nguyen Trong Son - Director of Anh Son District Agricultural Service Center said that the important thing after reorganizing the unit's operations is to be more effective. Because when merging 3 stations into one focal point, although the expertise is still arranged into 3 departments (cultivation and plant protection, animal husbandry-veterinary, agricultural extension, rural development and services), each specialty has times that require higher concentration on tasks such as the time of fighting African swine fever, the unit can easily mobilize human resources from other departments to join in, creating strength to perform tasks better.

Staff of Anh Son District Agricultural Service Center check the quality of the lotus orange variety grown by the unit. Photo: Mai Hoa

On the other hand, the transfer of the Center from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to the district for management and direction has resolved the tasks more promptly, especially in emergency situations of disease prevention and control for livestock and crops or in providing agricultural services, limiting the situation of floating supply, affecting the efficiency of agricultural production.

In Anh Son district, along with the arrangement of agricultural service units to reduce 2 public service units, recently, the locality has also arranged and merged the Center for Continuing Education and the Vocational Training Center into the Center for Continuing Education - Vocational Training; merged the Center for Culture - Sports and District Radio - Television Station into the Center for Culture, Sports and Communication; at the same time, arranged and reorganized kindergartens and general schools, formed multi-level general schools and reduced the number of school locations.

Leaders of Anh Son district inspected the sugarcane growing model in Tuong Son commune. Photo: Mai Hoa

Comrade Hoang Quyen - Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Anh Son district said that the district has reduced 10 public service units compared to 2017, overcoming the fragmentation, dispersion of focal points and overlapping functions and tasks, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the units. Along with the arrangement, the locality focuses on streamlining the payroll and restructuring, improving the quality of the staff, better meeting the requirements of assigned political tasks.

Implementing Resolution No. 19, dated October 25, 2017 of the Party Central Committee on continuing to innovate the organization and management system, improving the quality and efficiency of public service units; Resolution No. 08, dated January 24, 2018 of the Government on the action program to implement Resolution No. 19 of the Party Central Committee; Plan No. 111, dated January 2, 2018, Project No. 09, dated April 18, 2018 of the Standing Committee of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee on reorganizing the apparatus, streamlining the payroll and restructuring the team of cadres, civil servants and public employees, Party committees at all levels, departments, branches and localities, and public service units in the province have focused on reorganizing public service units in a streamlined and effective direction.

A teaching session connecting teachers and students of Hung Dung 2 Primary School (Vinh city) with an Indonesian international primary school. Photo: Mai Hoa

As of December 2023, Nghe An Education and Training Department has reduced 91 public service units. Including 28 kindergartens, 37 primary schools, 24 secondary schools, 1 project management board, 1 provincial general technical - vocational center; reduced 101 kindergartens, 142 primary schools and 5 secondary schools.

The health sector has reduced 58 focal points; including 10 general hospitals and 21 district-level population and family planning centers due to merging into district-level health centers; 5 provincial-level health centers reduced due to merging and establishing the Provincial Center for Disease Control; 1 department-level unit under the Department of Health and 1 department-level unit under the Department; 20 commune-level health stations reduced due to the rearrangement of commune-level administrative units.

A laparoscopic surgery to remove kidney stones through the skin using a small tunnel at Vinh City General Hospital. Photo: Mai Hoa

Along with that, the Department of Health has transferred 1 unit to operate as a public service unit with autonomy in regular and investment expenses (group 1); transferred 18 units to operate as public service units with autonomy in regular expenses (group 2).

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development reorganized and reduced 3 public service units; transferred 69 agricultural stations under district management to establish 21 agricultural service centers; transferred 4 public service units to be autonomous in regular expenditure. Along with that, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development focused on directing public service units to reorganize their internal organizations, with the total number of departments and stations reduced after the reorganization being 102...

By the end of December 2023, the whole province had 1,685 public service units, a decrease of 222 units with a decrease rate of 11.6% compared to 2017.

In conjunction with the arrangement and reduction of public service units, all levels, sectors, localities and units have also proposed many solutions to strengthen staff management and streamline staff, improve the quality of human resources; promote the provision of public service according to market mechanisms, promote the socialization of public service; improve the management capacity of public service units... In the total period of 2014-2023, the whole province streamlined 4,156 staff; including 3,344 civil servants.

Research to solve difficulties and problems

Besides efforts and positive results, reality still poses some difficulties and problems that need to be addressed.

According to comrade Nguyen Trong Son - Director of Anh Son District Agricultural Service Center, the reduction in the number of employees in the unit after the reorganization is due to the fact that the staff has reached retirement age and voluntarily quit their jobs. In reality, to meet the requirements of the center's tasks, it is necessary to add more staff. In 2024, the unit was assigned by the province 9 positions receiving salaries from the budget and 2 self-financed contracts. Meanwhile, Decree No. 120, dated October 7, 2020 of the Government requires that public service units must ensure a minimum number of 15 employees. Currently, the unit's revenue from public services is low, not enough to pay salaries and regular expenses; on the other hand, in Anh Son district, there is no public service unit with similar functions and tasks to the unit. Therefore, it is proposed that the Central Government and the province increase the staff for the unit to meet the requirements of the tasks or organize and merge in the direction of an inter-district center.

Officials of the Provincial Land Registration Office, a public service unit under the Nghe An Department of Natural Resources and Environment, review and determine land locations on the map. Photo: Mai Hoa

Regarding the planning of the network of public service units by sector and field under the responsibility of central ministries and branches to serve as a basis for local implementation, up to now, ministries and branches have not consulted the Government for approval. This causes confusion and difficulties for localities in arranging, reorganizing and dissolving public service units.

Currently, the policy of rearranging and reorganizing public service units and improving the level of autonomy of public service units is continuing to require implementation with the goal that by 2025, at least an average reduction of 10% of public service units and 10% of public service staff receiving salaries from the state budget compared to 2021; having at least 20% of financially autonomous units compared to 2015; meanwhile, in some sectors, task requirements are increasingly large, and staff numbers are lacking.

Staff of Nghi Hoa Ward Health Station, Cua Lo Town vaccinate children. Photo: Mai Hoa

Currently, based on the prescribed number of employees and actual task requirements, the Department of Health proposes that the Central and the province allow the sector to maintain the current organizational structure of the health sector.

Comrade Tran Minh Tue - Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Health

From the practice of the health sector, comrade Tran Minh Tue - Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Health proposed that in the period of 2021 - 2025, the Central Government and the province should allow the sector to maintain the current organizational structure of the health sector; at the same time, in units where the State ensures salary payment sources, the policy of reducing the minimum payroll by 10% compared to 2021 as prescribed is not implemented, the total payroll assigned by the State each year remains the same as that assigned in 2021.

Comrade Dao Cong Loi - Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training also proposed that the Central Government study the arrangement and streamlining of public service units to be suitable to the specific characteristics of the field of study and level of education, meeting the needs of learners.

In order for the work of rearranging and reorganizing public administrative units to continue to be effectively implemented and meet the set goals, the issue is that all levels and sectors need to evaluate the implementation practices in the past time and propose synchronous solutions for the coming time.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/nghe-an-sap-xep-giam-222-don-vi-hanh-chinh-su-nghiep-cong-lap-post285480.html