Decentralization so that 'locals decide, locales do, locales are responsible'

The Prime Minister emphasized that decentralization and delegation of power go hand in hand with resource allocation, improving implementation capacity, enhancing feasibility at all levels, and strengthening supervision and inspection work.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs a Government meeting on decentralization. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

On the evening of May 29, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a Government meeting on decentralization, delegation of power and assignment of authority associated with the implementation of the two-level local government organization model.

Also attending the meeting were Politburo members, Party Central Committee members, Deputy Prime Ministers, Government members, leaders of ministries, branches and Government agencies.

Implementing the direction of the Politburo; the plans and conclusions of the Politburo and the Secretariat on decentralization and delegation of power; in a short period of time, the Government and the Prime Minister have directed, developed plans and conducted reviews, and at the same time developed Decrees on decentralization, delegation of power and delegation of authority associated with the implementation of the 2-level local government organization model, achieving quite comprehensive, inclusive and positive results.

After reviewing 5,076 legal documents, the total tasks and powers of the Government, Prime Minister, Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and Ministers and Heads of ministerial-level agencies were determined to be 6,939 tasks. Based on the review, it was proposed to decentralize, delegate power and assign authority to 2,614 tasks and powers.

In which, it is proposed that: The National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee decentralize and transfer 58 tasks to the Government and the Prime Minister; the Government decentralize 309 tasks to the Minister; the Government, the Prime Minister, and the Minister decentralize and transfer 988 tasks to local authorities; Ministries and ministerial-level agencies decentralize 1,248 tasks to local authorities at 2 levels.

Thus, after decentralization, the number of tasks and powers remaining under the management of central state agencies is 4,309 tasks, focusing on macro-management, promulgation of legal documents, policies, plans, long-term strategies, and management of sectors and fields; at the same time, carrying out large-scale tasks requiring conditions, facilities, modern science and technology, and complex techniques that are difficult for localities to carry out. Local authorities undertake 2,236 tasks.

At the meeting, Government members assessed that in recent days, ministries and branches have devoted time, resources and high concentration to conduct thorough reviews on all aspects of state management, decentralization and active delegation of power to localities.

Deputy Prime Ministers and Ministers attend the Government meeting on decentralization and delegation of power. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

Some ministries have had creative and quick ways to receive feedback from localities. In particular, they have listened to and promptly resolved difficulties and problems of localities. The proposal to decentralize and delegate authority ensures content requirements and is associated with cutting administrative procedures, simplifying processes, cutting down on documents, reducing time and compliance costs for people and businesses.

However, implementing the major policy of decentralization and delegation of power in the context of restructuring the political system's apparatus, from the central to the grassroots level, especially when changing the local government organization model from 3 levels to 2 levels, the organization and implementation inevitably encountered difficulties and confusion in the initial stages.

Meanwhile, the legal system is large in number, diverse in terms of promulgation and number of articles, clauses, and points, but must be implemented in a short time, so there may be aspects that do not ensure consistency, unity, or have tasks that are not clear about administrative procedures for localities to organize implementation, requiring close coordination and guidance from ministries and branches.

The implementation of decentralization, delegation of authority and assignment of authority must be associated with ensuring resources, budget, finance and human resources. Therefore, there are still many initial difficulties, and they have not been implemented synchronously and promptly; they must continue to be supplemented and improved during the implementation process of local authorities.

After the delegates gave their opinions and concluded the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the spirit of "local decision, local action, local responsibility"; decentralization and delegation of power go hand in hand with resource allocation, improving implementation capacity, enhancing feasibility at all levels, while strengthening supervision, inspection, and fighting negativity and corruption.

The Prime Minister proposed to unify the data on decrees on decentralization and delegation of power from the Government to ministries, branches and localities; 28 decrees have been developed and by May 30, all 28 decrees have been appraised and need to be updated in the report submitted to the Politburo.

From now until June 10, 2025, the Ministries and branches will collect comments and review the contents to ensure they are practical, without omissions or overlaps; the Deputy Prime Ministers in charge must review and ensure that the decree is issued by June 15 at the latest.

After June 15, choose a day to organize a conference to disseminate the Government's Decree to localities, and complete it by June 18 at the latest according to the direction of the Politburo. The Prime Minister also requested that the 2 Decisions of the Prime Minister be completed.

Regarding work, the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Home Affairs to review the data and revise the report submitted to the Politburo. Regarding decentralization, in the report submitted to the Politburo, it is proposed to decentralize from the National Assembly to the Government, decentralize from the Government to ministries, branches and localities.

According to Pham Tiep (Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/phan-quyen-de-dia-phuong-quyet-dia-phuong-lam-dia-phuong-chiu-trach-nhiem-post325550.html