With the new mechanism, is the HCMC apparatus strong enough to implement?

(Dan Tri) - In order for Resolution 98 to come into practice and not be stalled, experts say that Ho Chi Minh City needs to avoid barriers related to cadres being hesitant and afraid of responsibility internally, and eliminate the "ask - give" story in the relationship with central ministries and branches.

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Resolution 98 of the National Assembly on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Ho Chi Minh City took effect from August 1. With 44 specific mechanisms and policies, including new and unprecedented contents in draft laws, the resolution is expected to become a powerful legal tool for the country's economic locomotive to break through obstacles and create breakthrough momentum in the coming period.

Speaking to Dan Tri reporter, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, acknowledged that the passing of Resolution 98 is a great success not only for Ho Chi Minh City but also for the whole country. In addition to economic development indicators, if successful, the resolution can be considered a breakthrough in empowering localities, bringing the spirit of institutional and policy reform to the whole country.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute (Photo: Q.Huy).

However, the expert also emphasized that the successful implementation of a resolution on specific policies and mechanisms is not simple. In order for each content in Resolution 98 to come into practice without being stagnant, Ho Chi Minh City needs to avoid barriers such as cadres being hesitant and afraid of internal responsibility, and eliminate the story of "asking - giving" in the relationship with central ministries and branches.

"If successful, the resolution will be a model for turning specific mechanisms and policies into regulations applied in all localities across the country. However, it should be noted that implementing a specific, outstanding resolution is not easy," Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien stated.

The National Assembly has passed Resolution 98 on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Ho Chi Minh City. In your opinion, how important is this new resolution to Ho Chi Minh City and the whole country?

- We need to fully evaluate that the promulgation of Resolution 98 is the success of a very long-term effort not only by Ho Chi Minh City but also by the whole country. If successfully implemented, the resolution will be a model for turning specific mechanisms and policies into regulations applied in all localities across the country.

However, it should be noted that implementing a specific, outstanding resolution is not easy.

I believe that the success of this resolution does not stop at the results of socio-economic development. The greatest success of Resolution 98 is to bring the spirit of institutional and policy reform to the whole country.

With this perspective, the implementation of Resolution 98 is not the sole responsibility of Ho Chi Minh City and the responsibility for implementation is not only of this locality. The participation of central agencies to support and remove obstacles in the process of realizing the resolution is mandatory and is a basic premise for success.

In our country, it is difficult to set up a policy, but it is much more difficult to put new policies into practice. Moreover, most of the most difficult and biggest parts lie with the central ministries and branches. Therefore, the implementation of Resolution 98 requires clear decentralization, delegation of authority, and division of responsibilities between the central and local levels to create smooth and synchronous coordination to solve each problem.

The limitations in coordination between Ho Chi Minh City and central agencies have been mentioned many times, and this is also one of the reasons why Resolution 54 did not meet expectations. In your opinion, what role did the involvement of central agencies play in the success of Resolution 98?

- The lack of overall coordination is a weakness that exists not only in Ho Chi Minh City. With this resolution, the city is facing the opportunity to reorganize activities, accountability and improve connectivity from the local level to ministries and branches.

For example, major policies and resolutions only create breakthroughs when they are associated with major projects. Furthermore, major projects, even those proposed by Ho Chi Minh City, require strong intervention from the Central Government. To unblock a project, a series of actions and moves from the Central Government are required.

The clearest illustration is the slow progress of Ho Chi Minh City's beltway, metro line 1 and other major projects stuck in capital and legal issues. At that time, the projects would have difficulty reaching the finish line without intervention from the Central Government.

Major projects in Ho Chi Minh City will find it difficult to reach the finish line without the intervention and support of central agencies, a clear example being Metro Line 1 (Photo: Hai Long).

Therefore, in the process of implementing Resolution 98, decentralization, delegation of authority, and assignment of responsibilities from ministries, branches to localities need to be focused on.

This decentralization and delegation of authority also helps the implementation of Resolution 98 of Ho Chi Minh City avoid the story of "asking for permission" and asking back and forth between ministries and branches. The "asking for permission" in the implementation of this resolution causes everything to stagnate, reduces efficiency, causes many projects to be lost and also negatively affects the apparatus.

The prerequisite for Ho Chi Minh City to realize this resolution is still to increase autonomy, change the approach and have the path opened by central agencies from policy to finance.

Basically, I see Resolution 98 as an opportunity for decentralization and empowerment, so the "asking for" should be eliminated, establishing a clear and equal mindset between the Central and local governments. If this Resolution is successful, it will also be a pilot for the whole country in changing the substantive relationship in practical actions between the Central and local governments.

Recently, the issue of a number of officials in Ho Chi Minh City being hesitant, afraid of responsibility, and having a declining spirit of daring to think and daring to do has been mentioned many times by public opinion. In implementing Resolution 98, what should Ho Chi Minh City do to remove this psychological barrier for the implementation team?

- The problem of hesitation and fear of responsibility makes everything stagnate and slow down, this is something that needs to be avoided in implementing the new resolution. Moreover, the content of this resolution is innovative, and innovation means doing things differently, the gap between doing things differently and doing things wrong is very fragile. As mentioned above, implementing outstanding mechanisms and policies is not easy.

In fact, in the content of Resolution 98, there is a tool for Ho Chi Minh City to remove this barrier, which is the word "pilot". This is the legal basis for Ho Chi Minh City to avoid many risks in realizing specific mechanisms and policies.

Ho Chi Minh City has been very impatient with this resolution, just waiting for it to be passed and implemented, having this additional tool is very important.

The new resolution still retains the word “pilot” for specific mechanisms and policies. Although we are familiar with this word, in the current context, piloting is an extremely important tool in the policy implementation process.

When fears are eliminated, those who implement superior policies and mechanisms will feel more secure. On the contrary, without the word "pilot", the risk of caution, fear of doing wrong, fear of going astray will make Resolution 98 very difficult and very slow to come into life.

At the same time, Ho Chi Minh City needs to pay special attention to improving the capacity of the apparatus, personal responsibility, and responsibility for each task. At that time, Ho Chi Minh City will have a new look and attitude to realize this resolution and overcome current fears.

As someone who has repeatedly given comments on the new Resolution of Ho Chi Minh City, as well as the development of this locality, do you think the new Resolution is strong enough for Ho Chi Minh City to eliminate existing problems and limitations and accelerate in the coming time?

- With Resolution 98, Ho Chi Minh City has been given more power, and local bottleneck projects have gradually had their mechanisms revealed. I think that the piloting of specific mechanisms and policies needs to be placed in inter-regional relationships, especially with neighboring localities, to maximize their effectiveness.

The provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau also need to enjoy autonomous mechanisms in decentralization and delegation of power to create connectivity. When Ho Chi Minh City and these three provinces combine their strengths, strong development will arise and cannot be stopped. Currently, the above localities have gradually formed connections in space and transport infrastructure, and in the future, there will need to be institutional connections.

In addition to traffic connections, neighboring provinces of Ho Chi Minh City also need connections in terms of institutions, mechanisms, and specific policies to create resonance.

Through the contents of the new specific mechanisms and policies, I see that overall, the new resolution is a big step forward in giving more autonomy to Ho Chi Minh City. However, I think that these new contents are not really specific or outstanding in the true sense of the word, but still just stop at adding a little more or loosening a little.

Personally, I expect Ho Chi Minh City to be given many more truly unique and outstanding mechanisms, especially in terms of organizational structure.

Ho Chi Minh City is a special megacity, a metropolis, so it needs a functional apparatus that is appropriate to its role, stature, future and expectations of the entire nation. The apparatus of this city cannot be like any mountainous or delta province.

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