First meeting of Steering committee for re-organizing administrative units held

At the first meeting of Steering committee for restructuring, re-organizing administrative units and developing a two-level local administration model, held on March 13,  Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh, who is also Head of the Steering Committee, provided further details on the Government’s proposal, which involves transferring about one-third of the responsibilities currently handled by district-level administrations to provincial authorities, while decentralizing the remaining two-thirds to the commune-level administrations, according to a report from the Vietnam News Agency.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh said that amendments to the Law on Organization of Local Governments will be made soon to enable a two-level administrative system, more clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of provincial administrations and their subordinate levels, while addressing the transition of duties, powers, and organizational structures as part of the reorganization.

According to Minister Ninh, his ministry will discuss with National Assembly (NA) agencies to determine whether a resolution is necessary to resolve certain issues arising from the reorganization of administrative units.

Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy said that there is currently no official timeline for the conclusion of the district-level administration model. If this is to occur by June 30, a NA resolution will be required to address pressing issues affecting both people and businesses.

He proposed that a NA resolution be passed in May, with amendments to relevant laws expected in October.

Ms. Nguyen Phuong Thuy, Vice Chairwoman of the NA’s Committee for Legal and Judicial Affairs, held that as the tasks of communal administrations will increase following the re-organization, amendments to the State Budget Law will be a priority to adjust financial allocations for local administrations.

Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra said that the steering committee is scheduled to submit a report on restructuring and re-organizing administrative units to the Party Central Committee in mid-April, which means the workload ahead is huge.

Noting that there are currently 10,035 commune-level administrative units, which will be reorganized into around 2,000, Minister Tra underlined that once the necessary legal frameworks such as the amended Constitution and the revised Law on Organization of Local Governments are in place, the committee will focus on the reorganization of provincial-level administration units before other related processes.

Concluding the meeting, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh highlighted the significance and the complication of the restructuring and re-organizing administrative units, asking for a high sense of responsibility and strong efforts from ministries, sectors and members of the steering committee in the work.

According to the Permanent Deputy Prime Minister, the Politburo will decide on the names of communes and implementation timelines, with consultations scheduled for the following week with party organizations, ministries, and localities.

The Deputy PM assigned specific tasks to various ministries and agencies, encouraging them to proactively propose measures related to legal procedures and jurisdiction in the context of the restructuring process.