The ultimate goal is to serve the people better.

It is necessary to address both tendencies: firstly, merging communes and wards that are too large, creating a "miniature district," leads to inadequate territorial management and inability to proactively serve the people, effectively transforming the policy of not having a district level into not having a commune level. Secondly, merging communes and wards that are too small limits space and development potential, resulting in more bureaucratic layers and inefficiency.

Emphasizing this requirement in his directive speech at the National Conference on the Implementation of Resolution No. 11 of the 13th Central Committee yesterday morning, General Secretary To Lam also specifically noted that localities must be extremely proactive and responsible in developing plans for the rearrangement of commune and ward-level administrative units; in which, "the Standing Committees of the provinces must discuss and calculate very carefully, in the spirit of a long-term vision, for the country and for the people, to have the most reasonable arrangement and rearrangement plan."

In the context of implementing a two-tiered local government model, reorganizing the commune level is of particular importance and crucial in building a government that is close to the people, proactively oriented towards the people, and better serving them.

According to the central government's directive, the number of commune-level administrative units nationwide will be reduced by approximately 60-70%. Such a significant reduction necessitates that the planning and merging of communes must absolutely avoid a mechanical approach. An ideal commune/ward does not necessarily have to be "populated" or "large in land," but rather one capable of effective governance, connecting to public services, promoting socio -economic development, and, most importantly, ensuring citizens have convenient, quick, and reliable access to government services.

Just before yesterday morning's conference, April 15th, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man signed Resolution No. 76 of the National Assembly Standing Committee, which clearly states that the plan for rearranging provincial and commune-level administrative units must take into account factors such as natural conditions, transportation infrastructure, and the distribution and organization of economic spaces to ensure the maximum utilization of the potential and advantages of each locality's economic development, and to support each other in promoting the overall socio-economic development of the administrative unit after rearrangement...

With a two-tiered local government model, a major challenge, according to experts, is ensuring connectivity and avoiding management "gaps" between the provincial and commune levels. Another existing challenge is that the new commune level will have to shoulder a larger workload, a wider geographical area, and a larger population, while the capacity of officials and technological infrastructure in many places are not yet synchronized.

Therefore, from an institutional perspective, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man stated that the Government and the National Assembly will amend and supplement laws directly related to the organizational structure, fundamental rights and interests of citizens, organizations, and businesses, the authority of localities, and those directly impacting socio-economic development in the areas of budget, investment, and planning. During the amendment and supplementation process, special attention will be paid to promoting decentralization and delegation of power, clearly defining the authority between the central and local levels, between the provincial and commune levels, and clearly identifying which tasks of the district-level government need to be transferred to the commune-level government or assigned to the provincial-level government to facilitate local operations.

The restructuring and merger of communes must go hand in hand with reforming the model, improving the capacity of the government, and having synchronized solutions regarding the application of digital technology, online public services, and reorganization of the civil servant workforce. In particular, as required by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, each commune-level administrative unit must have a Public Administrative Service Center to handle administrative procedures smoothly and promptly, preventing bottlenecks and delays that affect citizens and businesses.

Before reorganizing or merging communes, it is necessary to prioritize and seriously implement the process of soliciting public opinion. This will not only promote and ensure the people's right to self-governance but also help to promptly identify practical difficulties and specific local factors that may not be fully visible from the perspective of state management agencies.

The reorganization of commune-level administrative units is an indispensable step in the overall revolution to streamline the organizational structure of the political system, making it lean, efficient, effective, and effective. The important thing is not "how many communes are reduced," but the ultimate goal is to build a streamlined, effective, and efficient commune-level government that is close to the people, proactively oriented towards the people, and better serves them.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/dich-den-la-phuc-vu-nhan-dan-tot-hon-post410491.html