Need to avoid the situation of 'your army, my army' when merging provinces

Mr. Nguyen Tuc said that it is necessary to select a team of cadres representing the unity of the newly established provinces to avoid the situation of "your army, my army".

The Politburo and the Secretariat have basically agreed on the policy on the project to rearrange and reorganize administrative units at all levels and build a two-level local government model; merge some provinces, abolish the district level, and continue to merge the commune level. This content is being consulted with Party committees, sectors, and localities to complete the project. The Politburo will present it to the 11th Central Conference, scheduled for mid-April.

The policy of rearranging administrative units at all levels this time aims at a big goal, with a hundred-year strategic vision.

At the first meeting of the Steering Committee for the implementation of the arrangement and reorganization of administrative units at all levels and the construction of a new 2-level local government model, Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra said that currently, the country has 10,035 commune-level administrative units, and will reorganize them to only about 2,000 units. At that time, each commune will be "almost a small district".

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh also informed that in the Government's project submitted to the Politburo, it is stated that when the district level is abolished, 1/3 of the district level's tasks will be transferred to the province, 2/3 will be transferred to the commune (base level).

To better understand the above issue, a reporter from the Industry and Trade Newspaper had an interview with Mr. Nguyen Tuc, member of the Presidium, Chairman of the Advisory Council on Culture and Society of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front.

Streamlining the apparatus is necessary

- In the Government's proposal submitted to the Politburo for consideration, there is a plan to reduce the number of provinces by 50% and commune-level administrative units by 60-70%. What is your assessment of the current "revolution" to streamline the apparatus and political system?

Mr. Nguyen Tuc: Through practical experience, I believe that merging provinces from 63 to more than 30 is necessary. Why is it necessary because in 1976 we had a series of large-scale provincial mergers. I remember that at the 4th Congress, the policy was to have a large-scale economy, so we must concentrate in large numbers to have a high growth rate.

Mr. Nguyen Tuc, Member of the Presidium, Chairman of the Advisory Council on Culture and Society of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front. Photo: Thanh Tuan

However, we did not achieve the desired results.

Why were we not successful at that time? Because the country had just overcome the war, at that time the staff had not been trained in economic management,... managing one province was difficult, now having to manage 2-3 provinces was even more difficult.

Now, after 40 years of innovation, the staff has been well-trained. Along with that, the 4.0 era has created many favorable conditions for us. Currently, the country has more than 100 million people with 63 provinces and cities, the apparatus is very cumbersome and especially the expenditure to maintain the apparatus accounts for 70% of the budget. Therefore, raising the issue of streamlining the apparatus, in which merging provinces, merging communes, and abolishing districts is a necessary task at this time.

Learn as you go

- With the current socio-economic conditions, in your opinion, how many provinces and cities do we need to organize appropriately?

Mr. Nguyen Tuc: According to the plan of the Government and advisory agencies, we have to reduce the number of provinces by about 50%, because the country has a very long geographical feature, S-shaped. In addition, the characteristics of our country through thousands of years of Chinese domination, more than 80 years of fighting against French colonialism, more than 20 years of fighting against American imperialism... led to the division into 3 regions. Our country has mountains, plains, midlands and sea. Therefore, we must base on the characteristics of the country's situation, so we plan to reduce the number of provinces by 50%, that is about 32-33 provinces, which is reasonable.

Some people say that China has 1.5 billion people and 34 provinces and cities. However, it is necessary for us to consult international opinions, but basing it on the country's reality is the decisive factor because reality is the standard of truth. Therefore, in my opinion, the current proposal of the advisory agencies is necessary and reasonable, and we will learn from experience as we go along.

Respond to people's wishes

- What recommendations do you have for the authorities in the process of merging provinces?

Mr. Nguyen Tuc: Through our experience, merging and separating provinces shows some issues that need attention. Firstly, we must meet the requirements and aspirations of the people. Streamlining the apparatus will reduce inconvenience for the people. With this provincial merger, how can we make the benefits and advantages of streamlining the apparatus bring real efficiency and effectiveness to the people...

At the same time, we see that, through practice, a revolution and a rectification not only have positive aspects, but also have opposing and negative aspects. Therefore, we need to choose a team of cadres representing the unity and consensus of the newly established province to avoid the situation of “your army, my army”, but all must be for the people, for the country.

Second, pay attention to the issue of selecting cadres from the provincial to central levels. According to Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra, currently there are 10,035 units at the commune level, which is expected to be reorganized to only about 2,000 units - "almost a small district". Thus, the tasks at the commune level will be heavy, so the quality of cadres is important, but capacity is even more important.

Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra pointed out that the core viewpoint when implementing the apparatus arrangement is not simply to streamline the focal points but must aim at the larger goal of expanding the development space, creating a foundation and momentum for the country in the new era while ensuring the long-term stability of the system and organization. This is not a short-term change of a few decades, but must have a strategic vision of a hundred years, even a few hundred years.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/can-tranh-tinh-trang-quan-anh-quan-toi-khi-sap-nhap-tinh-378644.html