Commune cadres will become... "elite"

The revolution to streamline the Party and State apparatus is entering a crucial stage, with the focus on reorganizing commune-level administrative units, moving towards abolishing the district level. This is a particularly important step in the administrative reform process, helping to streamline the apparatus, improve management efficiency and bring the government closer to the people.

However, for this policy to be truly effective and bring practical benefits, careful preparation is needed, especially improving the capacity of communal-level cadres to be both "red" and "specialized".

“Each commune is almost a small district”

The local government model in the coming time will be reorganized into two levels: provincial level and commune level (grassroots level). This means that the district level will be abolished. Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra said that the whole country currently has 10,035 commune-level units and will be reorganized to only about 2,000 communes. With the current population of the whole country of about 100 million people, if the number of communes is reduced to 2,000, each commune will have about 50,000 people. Accordingly, "each commune is almost a miniature district".

A corner of Hong Thai commune, Bac Binh district.

The district level will cease to operate, which means that decentralization and delegation of authority at the commune level will be stronger, and there will be a “reverse” decentralization of some tasks at the district level to the provincial level. According to the Government, about 1/3 of the tasks at the district level will be transferred to the province and 2/3 of the tasks will be transferred to the commune level.

Many experts have analyzed that in the 3-level government model, the commune level is the unit closest to the people. Although it clearly understands the actual needs of the locality and the people, it lacks the necessary autonomy. On the contrary, the district level is responsible for determining planning and making development plans, but does not grasp the specific needs of each commune. This process is still fragmented, perfunctory, and not very effective. When the district level is abolished and the commune level is merged, the commune level government will have more authority, the right to decide on many new procedures, and will no longer be passive; which means that people will not have to wait too long to resolve their work. At this time, the commune level, with its role as a "production fortress" and "main fighting force", becomes the starting point for development programs, from small infrastructure projects to large programs that are implemented closely to reality and promptly. The commune level government will directly handle many administrative procedures for citizens, without having to wait for the district level. From here, people will enjoy many benefits such as saving time, costs, etc. This also reduces the current situation of "passing the buck" to the district level.

Mr. Phan Van Dang - Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee (far right) inspected the facility.

Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra said: The process of organizing a two-level local government is being implemented very urgently with the spirit of "running and queuing at the same time". It is expected that the entire arrangement of commune-level administrative units will be completed before June 30 so that by July 1, commune-level administrative units will operate under the new organization.

Implementing Conclusion 127 of the Politburo and Secretariat (term XIII) on implementing research and proposing to continue to reorganize the apparatus of the political system, Binh Thuan Provincial Party Committee has directed the city Party Committee, town Party Committee and district Party Committees to lead and direct the implementation of a number of contents to take a proactive step in organizing implementation when there is an official policy of the Central Government on reorganizing commune-level administrative units.

Selecting commune cadres in the coming period is very important.

Building a team of commune-level cadres to meet job requirements

In the coming time, a commune may merge from many communes, so the workload is very large. Therefore, the problem is to restructure the organization of the commune level in a scientific and effective way. At the same time, improve the capacity and quality of the team of commune-level civil servants to meet the new requirements. Because the "bigger" the commune, the more qualified the cadres must be.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, currently, about 82.3% of commune-level civil servants have university degrees, 3.5% have college degrees, but 13.71% still have intermediate or elementary degrees. This is a big challenge when the policy of raising the standards of the staff is being put on top. With the ongoing streamlining and arrangement, those who are not qualified and cannot meet the new job requirements will be forced to retire early or transfer to other jobs. This direction will be inevitable and necessary for the apparatus to operate effectively, but humane policies are still needed to ensure the rights of those who leave.

Mr. Tran Xuan Dat (Phu Thuy Ward, Phan Thiet City) is one of those who regularly follow important events of the country through information channels. The policy of streamlining the political system, especially the work of cadres, is also one of the issues that he has paid special attention to in recent times. Mr. Dat said: He strongly supports the policy of the Politburo and the Secretariat, hoping that the competent authorities must select the most elite cadres after streamlining the apparatus. Among the current cadres, he said, it is necessary to select the best cadres, the most suitable in the new situation to serve the development of the country and society. This is not an easy task in the context of a busy work but it is an important task. “Commune officials are those who are directly close to the people, closely involved and in daily contact with their lives. Therefore, it is imperative to select officials who have both professional qualifications and innovative thinking to meet and solve problems for the people. Along with that, the moral qualities must be correct, serious with work, with comrades, colleagues, family, friends and the masses; actions, words and deeds must be exemplary. If done well, this will be an opportunity for the administrative system to operate more effectively, serve the people better and promote socio-economic development in localities…”, Mr. Dat shared.

At the working session with the Standing Committee of the Binh Thuan Provincial Party Committee on March 8, as Head of the inspection delegation of the Politburo and the Secretariat regarding the reorganization of the apparatus, Comrade Nguyen Hoa Binh, Politburo member, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister of the Government emphasized: In addition to the merger, the quality of commune-level cadres will also be improved, equivalent to provincial-level cadres. After the merger, the Party Secretary of the commune can become a member of the Provincial Party Committee, even participating in the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee. Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh also said: The merger will change the scale of commune-level administrative units, so localities need to carefully calculate documents and personnel. The Party Congress at the commune level will be held after the merger is completed, expected in the second half of June and early July.

The streamlining of the payroll will certainly affect tens of thousands of civil servants. Therefore, the Party and the State have been issuing policies to ensure reasonable support. In fact, only when the screening is truly based on capacity and dedication, will the grassroots administrative apparatus be truly streamlined, effective and receive consensus from the people. This is also what the people expect and wish to see in the coming time.

The policy of merging provinces and communes and abolishing the district level is an important step in administrative reform, helping to streamline the apparatus, improve management efficiency and bring the government closer to the people. This change is not simply to reduce the number of administrative boundaries, but it also poses an urgent requirement to improve the quality of civil servants. Because, when the apparatus has been streamlined, it means that the pressure of work will be greater and each cadre will increase. At this time, it requires and needs "elite" cadres, who are good at their profession and dedicated to serving the people.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/sap-xep-tinh-gon-bo-may-can-bo-xa-se-tro-nen-tinh-hoa-128728.html