Removing bottlenecks in implementing two-level local government, streamlining internal apparatus

The 10th session of the 15th National Assembly will open on October 20. At the session, the National Assembly will consider and pass 49 laws and 4 resolutions on legislative work. This is the session with the largest number of legislative contents since the beginning of the 15th National Assembly's term, including many amended law projects related to the issue of decentralization, delegation of power, and implementation of 2-level local government.

The 10th session of the 15th National Assembly will have many amended draft laws related to the issue of decentralization, delegation of power, and implementation of two-level local government. Illustrative photo: VNA

To ensure the quality of the draft laws passed by the National Assembly so that they can soon come into effect and be effective in implementation, the National Assembly delegations held conferences to contribute opinions on the consistency of the draft laws with the current legal system; ensuring decentralization, delegation of powers and feasibility when the draft laws are passed; the impacts of new policies when implemented, especially in the context of implementing the current two-level local government.

At the Conference organized by the National Assembly Delegation of Dak Lak province on October 16, delegates contributed many profound opinions, in line with reality, especially the content related to the draft Law on Construction (amended) and the draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Geology and Minerals... These are extremely important draft laws, with a wide scope of regulation, directly affecting many areas of socio-economic life, resource management, environment, urban and rural planning and development. The passage of these laws will contribute to removing bottlenecks and difficulties in socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security, building a political system, in line with the reality of organizing the state apparatus and two-level local government.

Regarding the draft Law on Construction (amended), delegates suggested clarifying the relationship between commune-level investors and commune-level professional agencies in project appraisal, inspection and supervision; and proposed shortening the time for appraisal and approval of documents for small-scale projects with little impact on the environment and community safety.

Regarding the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Geology and Minerals, delegates proposed to more clearly define the responsibilities of the Provincial People's Committee in delimiting, licensing and supervising mineral activities, avoiding overlap between central and local agencies; adding regulations to strengthen the supervisory role of the Commune People's Committee and the community in protecting minerals and the environment...

Commenting on the draft Law on Vocational Education (amended), the National Assembly delegate of Bac Ninh province suggested keeping the name "Intermediate School" and adding the function of organizing training for "vocational secondary school" programs to create conditions for intermediate schools to continue to operate stably; re-planning the network of vocational education institutions, forming a number of vocational secondary schools on the basis of high-quality intermediate schools.

According to Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Bac Ninh Province Tran Thi Van, the amendment and supplementation of laws at the 10th Session is of great significance in continuing to institutionalize the Party's resolutions and policies, especially on fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training; streamlining the apparatus, and improving the quality of civil servants.

Review and streamline internal apparatus

Implementing Conclusion No. 195-KL/TW of the Politburo, last week, ministries, branches, agencies and localities continued to review and streamline their internal apparatus, ensuring that the apparatus operates smoothly, effectively and efficiently.

The Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front held a press conference for its affiliated press agencies. This was the first conference after the merger, aiming to strengthen unified leadership and direction and improve the operational efficiency of the press agencies under the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front.

Information from the Conference shows that the affiliated press agencies have synchronously deployed the arrangement and streamlining of the apparatus, proactively and seriously implementing Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW on continuing to innovate and arrange the apparatus of the political system to be streamlined, effective and efficient. This process includes merging, dissolving, restructuring departments/offices/units, streamlining the payroll and rearranging personnel to ensure effective and efficient operations.

Dai Doan Ket Newspaper has reorganized the Editorial Board and rearranged the apparatus and personnel management of the departments. Lao Dong Newspaper has reorganized the apparatus, stopped and reduced the activities of 2 departments and 5 offices. Thanh Nien Newspaper has been streamlined from 25 units to 19 affiliated units through merger, dissolution and restructuring; resolved for 40 officials and employees who wish to retire early. Nong Thon Ngay Nay Newspaper has merged with Nong Thon Moi Magazine and reduced from 22 departments and offices to 12, reducing the number of employees from 186 to 175 people...

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that the first units of the City's health sector have begun to be merged according to the plan to comprehensively reorganize the public health system in the 2025-2027 period. Before the reorganization, the entire City had 118 public service units, including 18 units with regular expenditure guaranteed by the budget, 48 units with partial self-sufficiency, 45 units with full self-sufficiency in regular expenditure and 7 units with both regular and investment expenditure.

According to the proposed arrangement, inefficient units will be restructured or dissolved, while units with similar functions will be merged to streamline the organization and reduce budget costs. After completing the arrangement, Ho Chi Minh City will have 114 public service units, including 17 units with regular expenditures covered by the budget, 45 units with partial self-sufficiency, 45 units with full self-sufficiency, and 7 units with both regular and investment expenditures.

Mr. Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, said that the reorganization of public health facilities based on renaming, merging, and streamlining the organization aims to avoid overlapping functions and tasks, ensuring compliance with the 2-level local government model. This is a strategic step with the goal of improving service quality, optimizing resources, and ensuring effective state management in the health sector, creating a big push to build a modern, synchronous, flexible, and closer-to-the-people health system.

In recent days, the People's Committees of communes and wards in Quang Ninh province have merged educational institutions under the direction of the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Education and Training. According to Plan No. 253/KH-UBND of the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee on streamlining internal organizations, public service units and state-owned enterprises in the province, the People's Committees at the commune level have arranged public educational institutions in the area to reduce about 50% of educational institutions or more, but must ensure at least kindergartens and junior high schools. Accordingly, the People's Committees of communes, wards and special zones will arrange units under their authority, appraise and approve according to their authority; complete the arrangement before October 15, 2025.

At the Workshop on providing comments on the draft Law on Public Employees (amended) recently organized by the Vietnam Association of Administrative Sciences, Dr. Tran Anh Tuan, Chairman of the Association, said that comprehensive research and amendment of the Law on Public Employees is very necessary to clear the current "bottlenecks", strongly implement the decentralization and delegation of authority to public service units, shift from management to administration, and grant autonomy and self-responsibility for organizing and implementing work.

According to Mr. Thai Quang Toan, former Director of the Department of Organization and Personnel (Ministry of Home Affairs), the arrangement and reorganization of public service units of each sector and field is based on the principle that in case it is necessary to establish a new public service unit, that unit must fully ensure its finances (except in cases where it must be newly established to provide basic and essential public service services). A public service unit can provide many public service services of the same type to significantly reduce the number of focal points, overcome overlaps, dispersion, and duplication of functions and tasks.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/thao-go-diem-nghen-khi-thuc-hien-chinh-quyen-dia-phuong-2-cap-tinh-gon-bo-may-ben-trong-20251019121019776.htm