Mr. Pham Tuan Long: Need to decentralize more strongly to ward level

From July 1 this year, the two-level local government officially operates nationwide. As the capital, Hanoi will of course have many unique features, and within Hanoi, Cua Nam is the core ward, so the uniqueness is even greater. Thoi Dai had an interview with the Secretary of the Party Committee of Cua Nam Ward, Mr. Pham Tuan Long, about this content.

-Sir, up to now, the two-level local government has been in operation for a while, although not long, but enough to evaluate. From the reality in Cua Nam ward, what issues do you see that need special attention?

- It can be said that although the time of operating the 2-level local government model in Cua Nam ward is not long, it is enough for us to clearly identify the core issues that need to be focused on.

The first is the problem of streamlining the apparatus while still ensuring effectiveness and efficiency in handling daily work - especially in areas directly related to people's lives such as social security, administrative reform, and urban order.

Second, in the context of a newly established ward, data infrastructure and coordination methods between departments need to continue to be improved to ensure smooth information flow and accurate and quick work processing.

The third point - which is also the point we are always concerned about - is how to maintain the pace of socio -economic development while creating a civilized and orderly living environment worthy of the central position of the Capital. These are all issues that require close attention, determination, creativity and synchronization in all activities.

-Currently, public opinion is wondering about the story of overloaded workload in a part of the ward level. Is there this phenomenon in Cua Nam Ward, sir?

- Recently, there have been many concerns about the overload situation at the One-Stop Department in some wards, when the volume of documents and people's needs increased compared to the previous period. In Cua Nam Ward, we also noted that this is the department under the greatest pressure because it is the place that has direct and frequent contact with the people.

Mr. Pham Tuan Long, Secretary of the Party Committee of Cua Nam Ward, Hanoi

However, even though there are times when the number of applications increases dramatically – especially during peak periods of administrative procedures, residence registration, and social security – the ward’s One-Stop-Shop department is not overloaded. We proactively coordinate human resources between departments, classify applications according to their complexity, and increase online support to reduce waiting time for people.

The good news is that the One-Stop staff always work with a high sense of responsibility, a standard service attitude and do not leave any backlog of documents. There is a lot of pressure, but it is that pressure that helps us review the process, improve the way we work and gradually improve the quality of service. Our goal is always consistent: People coming to the ward must be supported as quickly, clearly and conveniently as possible.

- Thoroughly applying digital transformation to work is considered one of the hopes for reducing workload, but to achieve it is certainly not easy. How is this work implemented in Cua Nam Ward, sir?

-Digital transformation is not only a solution but also an inevitable requirement if we want to reduce workload and improve efficiency in serving people. At Cua Nam Ward, we implement it in the spirit of serving people best and most responsibly.

The ward has focused on 3 groups of tasks:

-Digitize data on population, labor, urban order, business, etc. to create a shared database.

- Standardize document processing procedures , reduce manual operations, increase the use of professional software and digital signatures.

- Increase online interaction with people , from receiving feedback, registering procedures to monitoring progress.

Of course, digital transformation is not a one-day or two-day affair, but we set a clear goal: every step must be faster - more accurate - more transparent, and especially people must feel real convenience.

Along with that, the ward has contacted a unit to provide AI Robot to support people related to administrative procedures, so that people can carry out procedures more easily and conveniently. At the same time, it also reduces the pressure on the team of civil servants, thereby reducing the burden of guiding documents for each citizen.

-According to the latest request of the Politburo , it is necessary to "overcome the situation of contradictions, overlaps, and inconsistencies with the 2-level local government model, especially in the fields of: Finance, science and technology, internal affairs, justice, agriculture and environment...", from the reality in Cua Nam Ward, in your opinion, what order of priority should be implemented to handle this situation?

-The new direction of the Politburo is very correct and accurate. Regarding the reality of Cua Nam Ward, the overlapping needs to be resolved in 3 priority orders.

Firstly, we prioritize the financial and budget management areas, because this is the stage directly related to the allocation of resources for all tasks at the grassroots level. Clear processes, strong but controlled decentralization will help units be more proactive.

The second is the group of internal affairs and justice sectors - where regulations, procedures and documents still have points of intersection between levels, so it is necessary to unify immediately to avoid the situation where each place understands it differently, causing difficulties for people and officials when performing their duties.

Third, we prioritize addressing overlaps in urban management, the environment, and the science and technology sector. These areas require accurate data, rapid inter-sectoral coordination, and clear responsibilities. If not improved, it is easy to fall into the situation of “common work but no one takes ultimate responsibility.”

-As the Party Secretary of the Ward, what recommendations will you make to the competent authorities to improve the efficiency of the two-level government in the coming time?

-With the responsibility of the Ward Party Secretary, I have the following recommendations:

Firstly, it is necessary to strengthen decentralization and decentralization to the ward level along with perfecting the inspection and supervision mechanism. If the ward is more proactive, serving the people will be much faster and more effective.

Second, it is recommended that the City continue to invest in digital infrastructure, shared software and put into operation a unified database to avoid the situation of each place having its own application, causing waste and difficulty in connection.

Third, there needs to be appropriate training and remuneration policies for ward staff, because people are still the key factor to ensure the smooth operation of the two-level model.

Finally, we hope to have a regular feedback and dialogue mechanism between superior leaders and wards to promptly remove obstacles, ensuring that the urban government model truly works effectively in life.

-Thank you very much!

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/ong-pham-tuan-long-can-phan-cap-manh-hon-nua-cho-cap-phuong-217863.html