Lessons from the unprecedented “revolution” in organizational arrangement

Along with pointing out the shortcomings in the cumbersome, multi-layered apparatus, General Secretary To Lam requested to complete the arrangement and consolidation of the political system's apparatus in the first quarter of 2025 according to the motto "working from top to bottom" and the spirit of "running and queuing at the same time".

Supporting this policy, Politburo member and former Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi emphasized that the time has come and it is necessary to reform and streamline the apparatus.

"The new thing about this streamlining of the apparatus is that the Central Committee decided to start from the top, without conducting a pilot project, nor holding too many seminars and discussions like usual, but the entire political system immediately started implementing it, setting a very clear time frame for completing each task," the former Secretary of Hanoi said in an interview with Dan Tri reporter.

Sharing stories and lessons learned 16 years ago when Hanoi and Ha Tay merged, Mr. Pham Quang Nghi said that arranging people, choosing who to be the leader, who to be the deputy, who to stay, who to transfer, or even who to quit, is always the most difficult task.

Every revolution has its difficulties. Looking back at 2008, when the administrative boundaries of the Capital were expanded , merging Hanoi, Ha Tay, Me Linh district (Vinh Phuc) and some communes of Hoa Binh province , what were your thoughts and feelings as the head of the Hanoi Party Committee?

– The overwhelming feeling at the time of merging Hanoi, Ha Tay, Me Linh district – Vinh Phuc province and 4 communes of Luong Son district (Hoa Binh province) was anxiety. Anxiety because the workload was not only large but also very new and difficult, while the pressure of time to complete the work was very urgent.

As the head of the Party Committee, I had been involved in discussing this matter beforehand, so when I started working, I had already planned out what needed to be done, how to do it, and the difficulties that might arise. And the most difficult part was arranging the staff.

The decision to merge the apparatus is only an administrative decision, so it is not too difficult. The decision to arrange and assign cadres - matters related to people, touching on people's thoughts, feelings, rights and interests - is difficult. Having to arrange when "two chiefs remain one", the number of deputies doubles, choosing who will be chief, who will be deputy, who will stay, who will have to be transferred, or even resign, is very difficult.

Those difficulties are variables that are difficult to predict, because they depend on the operation after the decision is made and the awareness of the person executing it. Even if the new apparatus is better organized, if the people are not properly or appropriately assigned, it will not be effective.

Therefore, the issue of apparatus and human resources needs to be considered and innovated promptly and synchronously. In which, the human factor, especially the leader and the head, plays a decisive role.

Another concern is that the staff of the two localities will merge but their working style, qualifications, and experience will not be the same, and they will not be able to cooperate with each other, which will affect the work. Because all plans have been prepared, everything went smoothly.

At that time, Hanoi mobilized all staff to participate with the motto "solidarity, cooperation, responsibility".

Surely at that time in Hanoi there will also be opinions not supporting the merger because they do not want to share resources with other localities?

– It is true that a part of Hanoi officials at that time were also worried and did not want this merger, because sharing resources would lower development indexes, for example, indexes on education development, health care, per capita income, new rural construction, etc. In addition, there were other concerns.

As the head of the Party Committee, I explained to my comrades that it was for the long-term development of the Capital and for the responsibility to the whole country. As the capital of a country of one hundred million people, Hanoi needs a larger area and space. In the future, to build schools, hospitals, industrial parks, urban areas, etc., the city must borrow land from other localities.

The city leaders have analyzed so that everyone understands that it is not just a matter of one-sided support and sacrifice, but in return, Hanoi after the merger will have better conditions for development. Everyone must put the common interest first.

As you said, when merging, the most stressful thing was to arrange the staff appropriately and reasonably. How did the Hanoi leadership team discuss and calculate at that time?

– The policy of merging provinces and cities is not the first time it has been implemented. Previously, we also merged 2-3 provinces into one, but in general, it brought a feeling of failure, leading to the story of “merging and then separating”.

This reality caused anxiety when the policy of merging Hanoi and Ha Tay began to be implemented, because many people were worried that they would follow the same path of “merging and then separating”. This was both a warning and a reminder to us.

At that time, I myself also heard many warnings that "merging will sooner or later lead to separation", so the challenge for Hanoi at that time was how to make this merger successful.

Hanoi's political position was also a pressure, because Hanoi was the capital, after the merger if the situation was not stable, it would not only affect the economic and social development of the locality, but also affect the whole country. Therefore, at that time, our mood was "worrying even more".

But in the face of difficulties, I always think of finding positive factors to promote. With its political position, large economic resources, and a team of capable officials, Hanoi also has many advantages to implement the policy of expanding its administrative boundaries.

Hanoi also determined that when merging, it must be proactive, seeing what is good and what is right, then proposing, especially regarding mechanisms and policies in arranging staff and organizing the apparatus.

Up to now, separation is easy, integration is difficult. The ease and difficulty are both objective. Separation doubles the apparatus, staff is supplemented, and more leaders and deputies are promoted and appointed, while integration is the opposite, everything is reduced and reduced.

Therefore, in organizing the implementation of the policy of streamlining the apparatus, there are two important things that need to be done. First, we must do a good job of ideological work, explaining and motivating appropriately and promptly, along with appropriate mechanisms and policies for cadres.

Second, the methods and approaches must be public, democratic, and fair to create consensus among staff.

The problem of arranging the staff for those in charge 16 years ago was an unprecedented challenge. At that time, what unprecedented mechanisms and policies did Hanoi apply, sir?

– To implement the unification policy, Hanoi took the initiative in proposing a number of specific mechanisms and policies. At that time, the advantage was that only Hanoi carried out the unification, so it was not bound to follow any model. The city proposed its own mechanisms and policies and most of them were approved by the Central Government.

For example, when merging Hanoi and Ha Tay, the two Party Committees and the two People's Councils will retain the same number of personnel. Discussing with the Central Organizing Committee, I said that although this plan is large, the Party Committees are elected by the Party Congresses of the two localities, and the People's Councils are elected by voters, so even if there are many, they must remain the same and wait until the next term to reduce them. As for departments, branches, sectors, associations, etc., the number of heads and deputy heads and focal points must be reduced.

The second special policy is that those who are leaders but are no longer leaders due to the merger will keep their salaries and responsibility allowances until the end of their term. They have not made any mistakes or shortcomings, because they are implementing the merger policy, their benefits should not be cut.

At that time, the number of deputy heads generally doubled, in some places more than doubled. For example, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism at that time had 2 heads and 13 deputies. After that, the City had to transfer some comrades to districts.

Third, officials currently working in the city who are now transferred to localities or bases will receive travel allowances.

Fourth, encourage cadres to apply for early retirement and enjoy pension benefits at the time of retirement.

In addition to material mechanisms and policies, it is necessary to encourage and call for exemplary behavior, sacrifice, and tolerance from cadres. This is no less important than material support, because with a clear ideology, cadres are willing to accept sacrifices and disadvantages to implement the common policy.

So, with your position at that time - Politburo member, Secretary of Hanoi - and Secretary of Ha Tay, how did the two leaders agree to join hands for common work?

– In exchanging and discussing work, Hanoi does not put itself in a superior position, bigger or higher than Ha Tay, but Hanoi is the capital so it needs to be more proactive.

In the first meeting between the Standing Committees of Hanoi and Ha Tay, I told my colleagues in the Standing Committee of the Hanoi Party Committee that we had to attend a meeting in Ha Dong. This was a small matter but had great political significance, making them feel that right from the beginning there was democracy and equality.

During the meeting, I encouraged everyone to speak up, discuss and propose personnel before voting to assign who would be the leader and who would be the deputy leader in the new apparatus.

Was there anything surprising about the secret ballot results at that time, sir?

– Due to democratic discussion and secret ballot, the results were very focused and not unexpected. Staff were assigned based on capacity, experience, and prestige.

Not every agency has a chief just because Hanoi is the capital.

When I was Secretary of the Ha Nam Provincial Party Committee, I understood the mentality of cadres of a province that had undergone more than 20 years of unification. That was the “deputy mentality”, always feeling inferior, even if you were capable, you would only be a deputy. When merging Hanoi with Ha Tay, I tried to overcome that mentality.

Doing such a big, difficult and complicated job, do you ever worry about the judgment of the next generation, that you did not do it right, did not do it well?

– Yes. And even though we have done things very democratically and fairly, there may still be cases where the staff is not properly assigned.

I do not work for praise or rewards, but to make the common work better. During the work process, I always have to pay attention to problems that may arise.

Commenting and evaluating people is always a difficult task, but in the eyes of the people, you cannot hide whether you speak well or do poorly. On the other hand, no matter how talented an individual is, he cannot do it alone.

Looking back at the overall picture of Hanoi now compared to 16 years ago, do you feel relieved about the decisions you made when implementing the unification policy?

– Not only me but everyone was happy to see the results of the implementation of the National Assembly’s resolution on expanding Hanoi’s administrative boundaries. It was a big, difficult and new task, but the Hanoi Party Committee and cadres performed very well the task that many people at that time thought was very difficult.

16 years have passed, which is enough time to demonstrate the results in practice. In the working sessions between the Party and State leaders with Hanoi, they have acknowledged and praised Hanoi's success in expanding its administrative boundaries, especially in the work of arranging and assigning cadres.

At that time, a part of Hanoi cadres were also afraid of the expansion. Ha Tay cadres were also worried, not knowing how everyone would cooperate when merged into Hanoi, would they be treated equally? How would the cultural traditions of the Eastern and Western regions be preserved and promoted? Many thoughts and feelings…

But over time, it can be affirmed that the personnel work at that time had no negativity, no power or position-seeking, and not everyone who was good at talking and talking was assigned a good position. Doing this was not easy because it required capacity, insight, impartiality, and ethics. That was a great lesson learned.

Hanoi at that time was very democratic but also very strict with cases of non-compliance with assignments.

I still remember a deputy director of a department was assigned to be the vice chairman of a district. Because he did not want to go to the locality, the officer said, "I do not have the ability to be a government leader and manager, so please let me stay."

At the Standing Committee meeting, I said that since this comrade admitted that he was not capable of doing leadership and management work, he could stay, but he could not hold the position anymore. My opinion was conveyed and the comrade immediately received the decision to return to the district. At that time, if we agreed to let that cadre stay, many other cadres would also ask to stay.

Previously , Hanoi's new apparatus arrangement only affected the director level of departments and branches, now it's the Minister level , do you think this will be more difficult?

There are certainly difficulties, but from another perspective, for ministers and heads of Central Committees, the sense of responsibility, self-awareness, pioneering spirit, exemplary behavior, and setting an example must also be higher.

The important thing I want to reiterate is that the methods and approaches must be democratic and public; the accompanying mechanisms and policies must be scientific, reasonable and logical.

The effectiveness and efficiency of the new apparatus is not automatically better if it is streamlined or streamlined. The more important and decisive issue is to arrange the right people for the right jobs.

Thank you!

Content: Hoai Thu

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/bai-hoc-tu-cuoc-cach-mang-sap-xep-bo-may-chua-tung-co-tien-le-20241217183833855.htm