Early completion of the report proposing the merger of three national target programs

A corner of Dak Pxi commune, Quang Ngai province. (Photo: nhandan.vn)

On October 28, the Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions issued document No. 2474/BDTTG-VP in response to the petition of Cao Bang province.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions received the petition of the People's Committee of Cao Bang province transferred by the Government Office in Official Dispatch No. 10140/VPCP-QHDP dated October 20, 2025 on responding to the petitions of localities, accompanied by Official Dispatch No. 15769/BTC-KBNN dated October 10, 2025 of the Ministry of Finance on synthesizing the results of responding to the petitions of localities under Working Group No. 6 according to Decision No. 1544/QD-TTg dated July 16, 2025 of the Prime Minister, including the petition of Cao Bang province to the Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions.

Ethnic minorities take care of Ngoc Linh ginseng plants. (Photo: PHUC THANG)

The document requests the Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions to provide the following contents.

Firstly, soon have a plan to allocate funds to implement the Program in the period 2026-2030 and 2026; issue guiding documents and amend and supplement the subjects to implement the National Target Program on socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas phase II, allocate capital to implement the Program (including investment capital and career capital) right from the first year of phase II: from 2026 to 2030 for localities to be proactive in implementing the program. Propose a reasonable arrangement of resource structure, specifically investment capital 70%; career capital 30-40%.

Second, there are specific guidelines for investment content of projects, adjusting beneficiaries of the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development for Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas and the National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction accordingly to remove difficulties and obstacles in the implementation process.

Third, research and coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs to advise and propose to the Government to issue policies and regulations on staffing and organization for agencies and units doing ethnic work from the provincial to local levels in accordance with the current context and situation.

Fourth, consider issuing written instructions on approving the organization of ceremonies outside of religious establishments and legal locations; approving the organization of congresses of religious organizations, affiliated religious organizations, and organizations granted certificates of registration for religious activities.

Fifth, for the approval of prestigious people among ethnic minorities, consider and propose competent authorities to amend or abolish the step of sending dossiers to the provincial ethnic and religious affairs agency for review and written comments to ensure simplification of administrative procedures.

Soldiers of Ban Giang Border Post, Ha Tinh and people grow rice. (Photo: nhandan.vn)

Responding to the petition of the People's Committee of Cao Bang province, the Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions has the following opinion:

Firstly, implementing Notice No. 560/TB-VPCP dated October 17, 2025 of the Government Office announcing the conclusion of Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh at the meeting on consolidating national target programs: new rural construction, sustainable poverty reduction, socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, the Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions is coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to complete the report proposing investment policies for the national target program on new rural construction, sustainable poverty reduction and socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2026-2035.

Based on the investment policy of the National Target Program on new rural construction, sustainable poverty reduction and socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the 2026-2035 period approved by the National Assembly, the Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions will speed up the investment approval process and issue documents guiding the Program for the 2026-2030 period.

Second, the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas and the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction will be integrated into the National Target Program for New Rural Development, Sustainable Poverty Reduction and Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas for the 2026-2035 period. After integrating the above programs, it will ensure that problems regarding subjects and locations are resolved according to local recommendations.

Third, based on legal regulations, currently, there is no general regulation setting a fixed number of staff (for example: each ward/commune must have 2 staff, each province must have 5 staff) specifically for ethnic work nationwide. Instead, the determination of the number of staff for this work is carried out appropriately based on the principles and regulations on public employee staff management in general.

Specifically, according to Decree 62/2020/ND-CP dated June 1, 2020 of the Government, the general payroll or payroll for ethnic work is determined based on two factors:

(i) Job position project: Each agency and unit (from central to local level) must develop a job position project. This project clearly describes the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure, thereby determining the list of required job positions and the corresponding competency framework to complete the assigned tasks. If the agency has the function of state management of ethnic groups, the project will have corresponding job positions.

(ii) The total number of civil servants assigned by the competent authority: The Politburo will decide on the total number of civil servants of the entire political system. On that basis, the Government and the Ministry of Home Affairs will allocate the number of staff to ministries, branches and localities. Agencies and localities will balance, arrange and allocate the number of staff for each field, including the ethnic field, within the total number of staff assigned. Based on the above basis, the People's Committee of Cao Bang province will base on the provisions of law and the specific situation of the locality to direct and decide on the management and use of the assigned staff.

Fourth, the above-mentioned recommendations have been stipulated in Articles 18 and 19 of Decree No. 124/2025/ND-CP dated June 11, 2025 of the Government regulating decentralization, delegation; and delimitation of authority of two-level local authorities in the field of ethnic affairs, beliefs, and religions. In particular, the implementation procedures are stipulated in Sections XIII and XIV of Appendix I issued with Decree No. 124/2025/ND-CP.

Thus, the approval authority of these two procedures has changed (transferred from the district-level People's Committee and the provincial-level specialized agency on beliefs and religions to the commune-level People's Committee and up to the provincial-level People's Committee) according to the provisions on the division of authority in Decree No. 124/2025/ND-CP (According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 13 of Resolution No. 190/2025/NQ-QH15 of the National Assembly, Decree No. 124/2025/ND-CP amended the Law on Belief and Religion to conform to the two-level local government).

Along with the delimitation of authority for the People's Committee at the provincial level, Article 23 of Decree No. 124/2025/ND-CP also stipulates: "The People's Committee at the provincial level, according to its authority, decides on the decentralization and authorization of the specialized agency on ethnicity, belief and religion at the provincial level to perform the tasks and powers delimited in this Decree in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Organization of Local Government 2025 and the capacity and practical conditions of the locality".

Therefore, depending on the local situation, the Provincial People's Committee may decentralize or authorize specialized agencies on ethnicity, belief and religion to perform their competent tasks.

Fifth, implementing the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh in Official Dispatch No. 9656/VPCP-QHDP dated October 8, 2025 of the Government Office, the Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions is researching and drafting a Government Decree regulating criteria for selecting and recognizing prestigious people and policies for prestigious people among ethnic minorities.

The Ministry of Ethnic Minorities and Religions will accept the proposal of Cao Bang province to study and advise on regulations on procedures for recognizing prestigious people in the coming time. In the immediate future, Cao Bang province is requested to continue implementing procedures for recognizing prestigious people in accordance with regulations.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/som-hoan-thien-bao-cao-de-xuat-hop-nhat-ba-chuong-trinh-muc-tieu-quoc-gia-post918620.html