Streamlining the organizational structure: A revolution towards a better future.

General Secretary To Lam , Secretary of the Central Military Commission, delivers a speech. Photo: Thong Nhat/TTXVN

Streamline the system to eliminate lazy people.

On December 16th, attending the National Conference summarizing Party building and organizational work in 2024 and outlining tasks for 2025, General Secretary To Lam emphasized the need to do a good job of advising and streamlining the organizational structure of the political system in conjunction with restructuring the cadre. Streamlining the political system's apparatus is a difficult, even very difficult, task. When streamlining the apparatus, it will affect the feelings, aspirations, and interests of some individuals and organizations. Therefore, this work must be carried out objectively, cautiously, democratically, scientifically, and systematically.

According to the General Secretary , streamlining the organizational structure must adhere to and ensure the correct implementation of the Party's and Central Committee's agreed principles and viewpoints, closely following the Constitution, the Political Platform, and the Party Charter, ensuring overall coherence, synchronicity, and interconnectedness. One agency should perform multiple tasks, with each task assigned to only one agency responsible for it. This will thoroughly eliminate overlapping functions and responsibilities, and fragmentation across geographical areas and sectors. Intermediate organizations should be limited, and specific functions, tasks, and responsibilities should be clearly defined based on Party principles, rationality, and legality. The functions and tasks of each organization and the entire apparatus must be reviewed.

Speaking at the national online conference summarizing the work of 2024 and implementing the tasks for 2025 of the Ministry of Interior on December 21st, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh emphasized that streamlining the organizational structure of the political system is one of the six key tasks for 2025. Although a significant number of people will be affected, approximately 100,000, the process must be boldly pursued. The Ministry of Interior will continue to research how to attract, retain, train, and reward talented individuals; and accurately assess cadres for proper utilization.

As the advisory body on this matter, how can the Ministry of Interior "eliminate lazy people from the system and attract talented people into public administration," as General Secretary To Lam has said?

According to Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra, streamlining the apparatus is not only a revolution in organizational restructuring but also a "revolution in liberating thought so that we all can change together, moving towards a better future"; especially changing mindsets, visions, and new perceptions, and particularly reforming, innovating, and developing, making the best use of human resources to promote the development of productive forces and lead the country into a new era: an era of strength, prosperity, and happiness, as the General Secretary has said.

This is a revolution full of difficulties, challenges, complexities, sensitivities, and obstacles, requiring courage, willpower, intelligence, unity, commitment, bravery, and sacrifice from officials, leaders, and heads of the political system, with a spirit of solidarity, determination, and decisiveness to ensure that implementation proceeds quickly, actively, and effectively.

There are policies in place to stabilize the lives of workers after the restructuring.

The most important issue, and one that has garnered much attention, is the need for policies to ensure the stability of the lives of officials, civil servants, and contract workers during the restructuring and streamlining of the administrative apparatus. Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra stated that the Ministry of Interior has been working tirelessly to develop regulations and policies, submitting them to competent authorities for timely consideration. The Ministry has now completed the draft Decree on regulations and policies for officials, civil servants, and contract workers during the restructuring of the political system's organizational apparatus. This content has been reported to the Party Committee and the Government Steering Committee for submission to the Politburo.

The spirit of the policy is that "to carry out a revolution in streamlining the organizational structure, the mechanisms and policies must also be revolutionary." Therefore, this policy demands speed, strength, prominence, humanity, fairness, and a reasonable balance between different groups, aiming to stabilize lives and ensure the rights and interests of officials, civil servants, and workers so that "no one is left behind in the process of reorganizing and streamlining the organizational structure."

Policy development should be linked to the responsibility of heads of agencies and units in evaluating, screening, and selecting civil servants and public employees for retirement, linking downsizing with restructuring and improving the quality of the workforce of officials, civil servants, and public employees.

Spreading the "heat" of the revolution

With the spirit of the entire Party and people, comprehensively, synchronously, scientifically, cautiously, systematically, and swiftly, the revolution to streamline the administrative apparatus is being carried out actively and effectively from the central to local levels.

Presiding over the conference summarizing the coordination work between the National Assembly Party Committee and the Party Committee of the National Assembly Office on December 19th, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man emphasized the need to continue focusing on decisively directing the implementation of the summary of Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW, completing the projects, regulations, and documents, ensuring timely submission to the Central Committee Conference in mid-February 2025 and the National Assembly session at the end of February 2025. At the same time, he stressed the importance of completing the review and proposing amendments and additions to laws and resolutions related to the restructuring and streamlining of the apparatus, reporting to the National Assembly Standing Committee, and submitting them to the National Assembly for consideration and decision; and completing the restructuring and streamlining of the National Assembly Committees, agencies under the National Assembly Standing Committee, and departments, units, and organizations under the National Assembly Office, ensuring adherence to the schedule and plan set by the Central Committee.

At the 5th session of the Government Steering Committee on summarizing the implementation of Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW of the 12th Central Committee, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh directed the study and proposal of an organizational structure and advisory and support apparatus for the Government Party Committee to ensure it is streamlined, strong, effective, and efficient, reducing intermediate steps and points of contact, promoting decentralization and delegation of power, assigning one task to one person and allowing one person to perform multiple tasks; clearly defining the position, role, function, tasks, powers, and working relationships of advisory and support agencies; establishing job positions, defining titles and positions, etc.

At the same time, continue to do a good job in political and ideological education, raising the awareness of cadres and Party members about the arrangement and streamlining of the organizational apparatus associated with downsizing the workforce, restructuring and improving the quality of cadres, civil servants, and public employees, and enhancing the leadership capacity and fighting strength of Party organizations and Party members.

According to the plan to consolidate and merge several ministries and agencies, the government apparatus is expected to reduce by 5 ministries and 3 agencies directly under the Government; 12 out of 13 general departments and equivalent organizations under ministries and ministerial-level agencies will be reduced; 500 departments and equivalents under ministries and general departments will be reduced; 177 divisions under ministries and ministerial-level agencies and equivalents will be reduced; and 190 public service units under ministries and agencies within ministries will be reduced. This figure is higher than the target set by the Central Committee.

After restructuring and consolidation, the number of organizational units will be reduced by 35-40%, while the remaining organizations will be restructured internally, reducing their number by at least 15%. Essentially, general departments and equivalent organizations will be eliminated.

With utmost urgency and to ensure timely progress, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has implemented directives from the Central Government and the Government, proposing a plan to resolutely reorganize and streamline the Ministry's organizational structure, ensuring a minimum reduction of 15-20% of internal organizational units as required by the Government Steering Committee. Accordingly, the focus will be on reorganizing and streamlining the organizational structure and stabilizing the Ministry's operations after the reorganization plan is approved by the competent authority, ensuring that the reorganized agencies, units, and organizations operate smoothly, effectively, and efficiently immediately, without disrupting work and other normal activities.

Based on the results achieved after 7 years of implementing Resolution 18-NQ/TW, the Ministry of Health has finalized and submitted to the Government's Steering Committee a plan for restructuring and streamlining the Ministry's apparatus, which involves taking over some tasks from the Central Committee for Health Protection and Care, and taking over state management of: social welfare; children; and prevention and control of social evils from the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs. At the same time, it is proceeding with the drafting of a Decree stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and structure of the Ministry of Health according to the restructuring plan…

Localities have also basically completed the plan for reorganizing and streamlining the organizational structure in accordance with the directives of the Central Committee, the Politburo, the Central Steering Committee, and the guidance and suggestions of the Government's Steering Committee. Accordingly, the reorganization of specialized agencies under the Provincial People's Committee will ensure that the total number of departments under the Provincial People's Committee does not exceed 14. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will have no more than 15 departments. Following this directive, after the reorganization, Quang Nam province will reduce 6 departments and agencies. The total number of specialized agencies and administrative organizations under the Provincial People's Committee of Quang Nam after the reorganization will be 13 specialized agencies and 1 administrative organization under the Provincial People's Committee.

Dong Thap province plans to reduce 24 units under the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee. Specifically, the Party sector will reduce 12 units directly under the Provincial Party Committee (including 1 specialized agency, 1 dual-role agency, 1 Party Committee of a bloc, 8 Party groups, 3 Party Committees of cadres, and 2 Party committees directly under the Provincial Party Committee); and reduce at least 36 units directly under district-level Party committees. The government sector will reduce at least 12 units under the Provincial People's Committee (including 6 departments, 4 public service units, and 2 supporting organizations); reduce at least 22 internal organizational structures and at least 31 units under district-level People's Committees…

The Executive Committee of the Tay Ninh Provincial Party Committee has approved a plan to streamline the organizational structure of the political system. It is expected that after the restructuring, Tay Ninh will reduce 49 organizational units. Of these, 19 will be reduced at the provincial level and 30 at the district level…