Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (second from right) attended an online conference reviewing Party building work in 2017 and deploying tasks of 2018. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi, (VNA) – Building a streamlined and effectiveapparatus for the political system is one of the key tasks that the CommunistParty of Vietnam (CPV) has set for the 12th tenure.
With high political resolve, Resolution 18-NQ/TW adopted bythe 6th plenum of the 12th CPV Central Committee emphasisedstreamlining personnel in combination with re-organising, improving the qualityof, and effectively using the contingent of officials, public servants andcivil workers; cutting regular spending and contributing to reforming salarypolicies.
To carry out the resolution along with related plans andresolutions of the CPV Politburo and the National Assembly, the Governmentissued a resolution on a Plan of Action on February 3, 2018, urging drastic andurgent actions.
Under the resolution, the Government requires ministries,ministry-level agencies and Government agencies to review, re-arrange andstreamline their apparatus, cut the numbers of general departments,departments, sections and sub-sections. The establishment of new organisationsor sections under departments will not be allowed, except for special casesthat need approval of competent authority. The number of project managementunits must be reduced to the minimum. Public non-business agencies must bemerged and re-arranged to reduce their number and personnel.
Right in the first quarter of 2018, ministers, heads ofministry-level agencies, heads of Government agencies, and Chairs of People’sCommittees of provinces and centrally-run cities were ordered to design andissue plans to implement Resolution 18-NQ/TW and related plans and resolutionsof the Politburo, the National Assembly and the Government.
With a detailed plan and roadmap, the Plan of Actiondemonstrates the Government’s high resolve to concretise the Party’s policy,thus helping create remarkable changes in the awareness and actions ofofficials, public servants and civil workers at all levels as well as workersacross all sectors and society as a whole regarding the reform of the politicalsystem’s apparatus.
Previously, at a working session with the Government inAugust 2017, an inspection team of the National Assembly which monitored thereform of the State administrative apparatus during 2011-2016, noted that therewere yet any remarkable changes in the Government’s organisation and structure inthe direction of compactness and focusing on macro management and policymaking, while cutting involvement in direct management and execution work.
In the period from 2011 to 2016, the number ofadministrative units under ministries and ministry-level agencies increased by28, while those under general departments rose by 822. As of June 2017, therewere 42 general departments, double the number in the Government’s 11th tenure. The numbers of departments and sections also increased by between 4.7and 13.6 percent compared to 2011.
It is noteworthy that such an expanded apparatus was unableto cover all aspects of State management. According to the Government’sreports, in 2011 there were two aspects that had not been subject to Statemanagement and the problem was not solved until August 2017. At present, there are18 aspects under overlapping management, or affected by differing viewpoints onthe scope of responsibility among ministries and sectors.-VNA
