Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to make administrative reforms one of its key tasks in 2012 and in the following years.

At a working session with the ministry in Hanoi on Jan. 14 to outline its tasks for 2012 and launch the administrative reform master plan for the 2011-2020 period, PM Dung pointed to the existing shortcomings that need to be resolved. They included slow progress in dealing with administrative procedures as well as cumbersome and inefficient state administrative apparatus.

The PM particularly asked the home affairs sector to pay special attention to improving the quality of cadres and officials.

He also requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to urgently complete the salary reform plan to submit to the government and continue to well implement the state management on religion, ensuring people’s rights to religious freedom as well as political security and social orders.

The administrative reform master plan for the 2011-2020 period, issued by the Government on November 8, 2011 is one of the three breakthroughs set forth by the Party in the implementation of the socio-economic development strategy until 2020.

The master plan specified five goals that must be achieved, including completing the socialist-oriented market economic institutional system; creating an equal, open, favourable and transparent business environment, and creating an efficient system of administrative agencies from central to grassroot levels.

The plan also identified administrative reform tasks in six sectors, including administrative institution and procedures; state administrative apparatus; the contingent of cadres and State employees, and public finance.

The plan will be implemented in two phases, 2011- 2015 and 2016-2020./.