1. First, I wholeheartedly agree with the draft documents submitted to the 14th National Congress of the Party. The content was meticulously prepared by the Central Committee, with many innovations, including the first-ever integration of three reports into a single Political Report, demonstrating comprehensiveness, generality, and a high level of abstraction. The structure is tight, the writing style is concise and scientific, reflecting the strategic vision and thinking, closely aligned with the country's realities and the global and regional situation. It builds upon the achievements of previous Congresses, and notably, the draft documents submitted to the 14th National Congress have just included new additions from the summation of practical experience.
In that context, I wholeheartedly agree with the view on building a streamlined, efficient, effective, and effective state apparatus. In Part 2, Section 2.4 (page 175), the direction, tasks, and solutions for Party building work during the 14th Party Congress term state: Continue to study the arrangement and streamlining of the organizational structure of the political system and administrative units at all levels, aiming to reduce the number of subordinate units directly under the Central Committee and reduce intermediate administrative levels in accordance with practical realities... build a team of cadres, civil servants, and public employees with sufficient qualities, capabilities, and prestige to meet the requirements of national development in the new era.
This is the opportune moment, with all the necessary elements of favorable timing, location, and human resources, for our Party and State to implement reforms and reorganize the political system's apparatus – a particularly urgent task that fosters initiative, creativity, and breakthroughs to meet practical demands while simultaneously enhancing national governance and administration. The draft report summarizing some theoretical and practical issues concerning the socialist-oriented reform process over the past 40 years also clearly analyzes this issue.
Building a team of officials who "do the right job and are assigned the right person for the job," combined with the application of modern technology, will serve the people even better. (In the photo : People completing administrative procedures at the Kim Lien Ward Public Administrative Service Center, Hanoi )
Photo: Tuan Minh
2. I would like to emphasize the following key points:
Firstly , during his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh always emphasized the need for a streamlined administrative apparatus to "do more beneficial things for the people." Streamlining the apparatus is not a temporary strategy but a regular, systematic task. He clearly stated: Streamlining the apparatus must be carried out comprehensively, encompassing both the apparatus and personnel, from top to bottom and from bottom to top. Revolutionary ethics is the strength to streamline the apparatus, and it is necessary to fight against individualism.
Secondly , throughout the revolutionary leadership process, our Party has always paid attention to this issue. After streamlining, the Government for the 2021-2026 term has 14 ministries and 3 ministerial-level agencies (a reduction of 5 ministries and ministerial-level agencies), and a reduction in general departments, divisions, and bureaus. In particular, the streamlining process has resulted in 100,000 workers leaving the public sector, a 30% increase in the efficiency of administrative procedures, and budget savings of over 2,000 billion VND per year, contributing to increased resources for development and enabling Vietnam to take off in the new era.
However, in section 4, page 162 of the assessment of limitations, the Central Committee also stated: The restructuring and streamlining of the organizational apparatus in some places is still mechanical and has not truly met the requirements for improving effectiveness and efficiency. The organizational structure of the political system remains cumbersome, with many points of contact and intermediate levels; the functions, tasks, and powers of many agencies and organizations are still overlapping and unclear... The new staffing reduction in number has not been linked to improving the quality and restructuring of the workforce of cadres, civil servants, and public employees.
According to a report by the Ministry of Interior, up to 20% of agencies and units are found to have overlapping functions. Due to the cumbersome bureaucracy, nearly 70% of the budget is currently spent on salaries, operating expenses, and other operational costs. If the budget is managed in this way, there will be no money left for development investment, as well as for national defense, security, poverty reduction, and social welfare… This is also the main reason why we have not yet been able to reform the salary system.
Thirdly , in practice, developed countries around the world have all established streamlined, efficient, and effective state apparatuses.
Japan focused on decentralization and downsizing, cutting its civil service by 20% within 10 years (2000-2010); Singapore excelled in building a professional civil service and using information technology to optimize work processes. The practices of these countries not only provide us with experience in approaching state apparatus reform but also offer specific methods such as reorganizing functions and responsibilities, applying information technology, and encouraging autonomy for public institutions.
Thus, it can be said that streamlining the current political system is an urgent, central issue of vital importance to the country's development. At the same time, this is an inevitable task that must be accomplished when the time is right, the place is favorable, and the people are united, along with the highest determination and decisive action of the entire Party and political system, and the consensus and support of the people, contributing to building a peaceful, independent, democratic, prosperous, civilized, and happy Vietnam, steadily advancing towards socialism.
3. In order for the revolution to streamline the political system's apparatus to continue to be effective in the future, in my opinion, the following basic solutions need to be thoroughly understood and implemented simultaneously:
Firstly , it is necessary to continue reviewing and evaluating the functions and tasks of agencies to eliminate overlaps and build mechanisms and policies to support the restructuring of the apparatus. Therefore, it is essential to correctly define the functions and tasks of the state apparatus. The model of the state apparatus must be appropriate, the legal regulatory system must be synchronized, and officials must be assigned to enforce the law. The recent extraordinary session of the National Assembly created a legal framework that not only facilitates the effective operation of state agencies but also demonstrates innovative thinking in lawmaking, namely eliminating the "if you can't manage it, ban it" approach and implementing the "wait and watch" approach.
Secondly , we must train and develop a highly specialized workforce, objectively and transparently evaluate and classify cadres, and build a rational policy for rewarding and utilizing talent. We must strongly innovate personnel management to overcome the situation of "following the correct procedures but not the right people." We must focus on building a team of cadres at all levels, especially leaders, who possess the necessary qualities, capabilities, and prestige to meet the demands of their tasks. Furthermore, we must effectively implement policies to encourage and protect cadres, fostering their dynamism, creativity, and willingness to think outside the box, act boldly, and take responsibility for the common good. This includes cadres who are dedicated to the common cause, possess strategic thinking, and know how to "step up and step back" to reform the political system for the future advancement of the Vietnamese nation.
Thirdly , we must promote the application of digital transformation, utilizing modern technologies such as AI, big data, and cloud computing to automate workflows, saving time, costs, and resources. The signing of a cooperation agreement between Nvidia Chairman Jensen Huang – the world's largest semiconductor chip design and manufacturing corporation – and Vietnam to establish an AI Research and Development Center and an AI Data Center demonstrates Nvidia's strong determination and commitment to Vietnam as its "second home," as well as its confidence in the country's development potential. This also reflects the determination of the Party and State of Vietnam in digital transformation and the development of science and technology.
Fourth, improve the effectiveness of propaganda work, creating social consensus and gaining the support and trust of all strata of the people. Recently, we have seen that when the Party and State's policies were introduced, agencies and units from the central to local levels implemented restructuring and merger plans, starting with agencies of the Party, the National Assembly, the Government, the Fatherland Front, and many leading officials requested early retirement... At the same time, we must resolutely fight against hostile forces that distort the Party and State's views on the revolution to streamline the political system's apparatus.
Our Party has determined that building a streamlined, strong, efficient, effective, and effective Party apparatus and political system at all levels is a very correct policy based on scientific, practical, legal, and political grounds, and is also a long-awaited aspiration of the people. Therefore, we reaffirm that this streamlining of the entire political system is not a mechanical merger or "random reduction," but a restructuring based on scientific research, grounded in the practical situation, with the motto: "Fast, cautious, objective, scientific, thorough, and systematic" so that our country can have a "lean, strong, efficient, effective, and effective" apparatus, thereby enhancing the responsibility of the workforce, coupled with appropriate remuneration policies for talented individuals, so that "the right people do the right jobs, and the right people are chosen for the right jobs."
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tang-them-nguon-luc-dua-dat-nuoc-cat-canh-trong-ky-nguyen-moi-18525102618242515.htm
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