Major challenges in managing and using public assets

To prevent the risk of wasting public assets after the arrangement of administrative units, a comprehensive system of solutions is needed - from institutions, technology to people.

An abandoned redundant office in Nga Son district, Thanh Hoa province, causing waste. (Photo: VNA)

In recent times, Vietnam has resolutely implemented the policy of restructuring the administrative unit system to streamline the apparatus, improve the effectiveness of state management and create a modern governance model, suitable for the requirements of sustainable development in the new context. The biggest goal of this process is to streamline the apparatus, save the budget and create momentum for socio-economic development, especially in localities with many difficulties, scattered population, and high administrative management costs.

Mergers and consolidations not only help reduce staff numbers and streamline focal points, but also aim to standardize the staff of civil servants, improve the quality of local governance, and reallocate public investment resources in a more concentrated and effective direction. At the same time, through restructuring, the State expects to promote digital transformation, build e-government and improve the capacity to provide public services at the grassroots level.

However, the implementation of administrative restructuring in many localities shows that the merger process is not only a problem of organizational structure, but also poses a big challenge in the management and use of public assets. After the merger, a series of administrative headquarters, offices, public houses, cars and office equipment... became redundant because they were no longer suitable for the new scale and organizational structure.

Many headquarters have prime locations but do not have plans to convert their functions, leading to the risk of great waste of land resources and public assets.

Many headquarters are in prime locations but do not have a plan to convert their functions, leading to a risk of wasting large amounts of land and public assets. Not only real estate, many means of transport, specialized machinery, fixed assets, etc. are also in a state of "waiting for liquidation", causing budget waste, while the demand for using those assets in some other units is still very large but there is no effective coordination mechanism.

Loopholes in local governance

From the perspective of public administration, one of the underlying causes leading to the waste of public assets after administrative restructuring is the lack of perfection in the management, supervision and exploitation of assets at the local level. These loopholes are not only technical and administrative in nature but also reflect the inadequacies in institutions, organizational capacity for implementation and accountability of government levels.

After the merger of commune and provincial administrative units and the abolition of the district level, a large amount of public assets fell into a state of surplus, no longer suitable for the new organizational structure. However, the classification, assessment, valuation and plan for handling these assets have not been strictly regulated, leading to a passive and confused situation in practice. Many localities do not have a clear set of criteria to determine which assets should be retained, which assets should be liquidated or converted to other purposes. Even the determination of the agency in charge of handling assets after the merger has not been unified, causing overlap and prolonging the processing time.

After the administrative units were merged, the roles and responsibilities between the provincial government and the affiliated public service units were not yet specifically defined. This created a situation of "passing the buck" or leaving assets unmanaged and unexploited. In many localities, the newly formed government did not clearly have any rights to the assets of the dissolved units, while the old units no longer had the legal authority to continue handling them.

As a result, the assets are in a state of “ownerlessness”, not only not being used effectively, but also potentially being lost, misappropriated or exploited illegally. Especially in cases where the assets are located in a different location than the new unit’s headquarters, the coordination and decision-making on usage becomes more complicated, increasing administrative costs and prolonging processing time.

In the digital transformation era, public asset management is still being held back by the lack of database systems and information technology platforms. Many localities have yet to build a synchronous, complete and interconnected public asset database system between government levels. Updating, counting and inventorying assets are still mainly done manually and periodically, so they cannot meet the requirements of regular monitoring and quick response to asset fluctuations after restructuring.

In addition, it is also necessary to recognize that in many localities, public asset management officials lack professional skills and are not properly trained in public finance, which increases the risk of incorrect procedures and improper handling, leading to long-term legal and financial consequences.

Perfecting institutions, tools and monitoring mechanisms

To overcome the waste of public assets after administrative restructuring, moving towards an effective and economical governance model, quickly having synchronous and feasible solutions is an urgent requirement for local authorities. First of all, it is necessary to review, catalog and digitize all public assets arising after the administrative restructuring process. It is necessary to establish a centralized digital database system, synchronously connected between all levels of government from the province to the commune, ensuring the ability to update in real time and interconnectivity in management.

In addition, publicizing the entire list of public assets, including current status, value, usage or disposal plans on local government information portals will contribute to increasing transparency, creating conditions for the Fatherland Front , People's Councils, the press and people to participate in supervision. This is also the basis for attracting socialized resources in reinvestment and conversion of unused public assets.

Faced with the reality of a series of assets remaining after mergers, it is necessary to develop a flexible handling mechanism, suitable to the conditions of each locality while still ensuring compliance with the principles of transparency and efficiency. Leasing, auctioning, transferring or converting functions must be carried out according to clear procedures, with the approval of specialized agencies, and with the participation and supervision of social organizations, elected agencies and the people.

Regarding the orientation of use, priority should be given to reuse options for public purposes such as: converting into schools, medical facilities, commune-level administrative centers, cultural-sports-public service institutions, instead of abandoning or seeking ineffective commercial transfers. Facilities that are no longer suitable for public use should be handled quickly through a transparent auction mechanism, creating revenue for the budget and minimizing maintenance and protection costs.

In addition, unclear decentralization is also the direct cause of the situation of shirking responsibility, causing many assets to be abandoned. Therefore, it is necessary to perfect the institutional system on decentralization of public asset management, in the direction of clearly defining the roles, powers and responsibilities between government levels: provincial level, commune level, as well as public service units.

It is necessary to bind accountability to the heads of agencies, units, and localities in the management, use, and handling of public assets. Periodic inspection, monitoring, and evaluation mechanisms need to be built synchronously, linked to the results of handling surplus public assets, as criteria for evaluating emulation, rewards, or discipline for management staff.

Currently, part of the reason for the lack of strict management of public assets is due to the limited capacity of grassroots cadres, lack of professional skills and modern management. Therefore, localities need to organize training programs, specialized training on public asset management skills, planning skills, valuation, auction, contract management, and the use of technology in asset monitoring.

At the same time, it is necessary to promote the application of public asset management software connected to the local public information system, allowing for inventory, updating, and monitoring of asset fluctuations in real time. These software can also integrate tools to evaluate asset efficiency, warn of asset degradation, expiration, or underutilization.

The waste of public assets after the merger of administrative units is not only a technical management issue, but also partly reflects the lack of uniformity in the design and implementation of administrative restructuring policies at the local level. While goals such as streamlining the apparatus, saving budget and improving administrative efficiency are clearly established in resolutions of the Central and the National Assembly, the system of institutions, tools and monitoring mechanisms related to public assets have not been completed and implemented in a uniform manner.

To prevent the risk of wasting public assets after the reorganization of administrative units, a comprehensive system of solutions is needed - from institutions, technology to people. Good management of public assets is not only a measure of management capacity at the local level, but also demonstrates respect for national resources, people's trust and the sustainable development goals that our Party and State are persistently pursuing.

Without drastic reforms in public asset management, the administrative arrangement policy will not be able to achieve comprehensive effectiveness, and may even risk creating new burdens on the budget and public opinion. Therefore, it is necessary to approach public assets as a development resource, a strategic asset that needs to be effectively exploited to serve the community and promote growth.

Perfecting institutions, enhancing transparency, applying digital technology and binding accountability are inevitable ways to prevent the risk of waste, bring administrative reform policies into real depth and bring practical benefits to the people.

VU TRUNG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/thach-thuc-lon-trong-quan-ly-va-su-dung-tai-san-cong-post922123.html