Ministries, state agencies to undergo mergers in national apparatus overhaul

According to proposals announced at a national conference organized on December 1 by the Politburo and the Party Central Committee's Secretariat to discuss a plan on organizational apparatus model of the country's political system, five ministries and two government agencies will be included in mergers.

Accordingly, mergers are planned between the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF), and between the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and the Ministry of Construction (MoC).

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) will be merged with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) for national missions on science-technology and digital transformation. Some of their scope of work will be assigned to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST), the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) and other relevant departments.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) is expected to be merged with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to carry out state management tasks related to agriculture and natural resources.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs is planned for dissolution, with their scope of work transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), the MoET and the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs.

The Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC) and the National Financial Supervisory Commission (NFSC) will also be dissolved, with their operation tasks to be divided between the MoF, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and other relevant departments.

The Government Committee for Religious Affairs will be moved under the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs to form the National Committee on Ethnic Minority and Religious Affairs.

The two academies of social sciences and science-technology, as well as the two national universities, can also expect apparatus reorganizing to optimize their operations as research and training institutions.

The National Academy of Public Administration is planned to be merged with the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

The operation model of general departments under ministries, such as the State Treasury, the General Department of Taxation, the General Department of Customs or the General Department of Civil Judgment Enforcement, can also expect an overhaul to boost efficiency.

The television broadcasting departments under the Vietnam News Agency, the Voice of Vietnam and VTC are expected to be dissolved, with their functions and tasks transferred to Vietnam Television (VTV).

The direction is to develop the Vietnam News Agency as the national news agency and the Voice of Vietnam as the national radio broadcaster, focusing on radio, print and online press.

Reviews will also be conducted for press agencies under ministries as well as steering committees to retain only essential ones.