Plan to merge 50% of provinces and cities, remove 696 districts, reduce 70% of commune level

According to National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, it is expected to reduce 50% of the 63 provinces and cities; eliminate 696 district-level administrative units if the Constitution is amended; and merge 60-70% of the total 10,035 commune-level administrative units.

Arrange the apparatus to enter phase 2

On the morning of March 25 at the National Assembly House, the National Assembly Standing Committee held the 7th Conference of full-time National Assembly deputies of the 15th tenure to discuss and contribute opinions on draft laws submitted to the National Assembly at the 9th Session of the 15th National Assembly.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man delivered the opening speech at the conference (Photo: VGP).

Speaking at the opening of the conference, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man said that in phase 1, the whole country has reorganized the apparatus of the political system.

Phase 2 will amend the Constitution and amend a number of laws to serve the arrangement of administrative units at the provincial and communal levels.

According to him, currently, there are 63 provinces and cities nationwide and in the near future there will be a plan to merge a number of provinces and cities with an estimated 50% of provincial and city-level units.

At the district level, if the amended Constitution is passed, there will be no more district level. Currently, the number of district-level administrative units is 696.

At the commune level, the whole country will continue to reorganize commune-level administrative units, aiming to reduce 60-70% of the total 10,035 existing commune-level administrative units.

Regarding the 9th session, Mr. Man said it is expected to last about 2 months, including a 2-3 week break to collect public opinions on amending the Constitution.

"From late April to May, the National Assembly Standing Committee will hold many meetings to reorganize commune-level administrative units," said Mr. Man, adding that the whole country is actively implementing the conclusions of the Central Committee and the Politburo in the spirit of Resolution 18, which is to build a streamlined, strong, efficient, effective, and efficient apparatus.

Requesting National Assembly deputies to clearly express their opinions

The 7th conference of full-time National Assembly deputies of the 15th National Assembly term took place in the context that the entire political system is urgently implementing tasks to continue restructuring the apparatus.

According to the National Assembly Chairman, the draft laws discussed at this Conference regulate many different areas, including very important laws that have a great impact on production and business activities and the business community such as: the draft Law on Special Consumption Tax (amended); the draft Law on Corporate Income Tax (amended); the draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Product and Goods Quality; promoting the development of the domestic information technology and digital technology industries such as the draft Law on Digital Technology Industry; keeping up with social movements, management, and creating favorable conditions for advertising activities such as the draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Advertising...

Overview of the conference (Photo: VGP).

In addition, there are also draft laws that have received much attention from public opinion and National Assembly deputies, such as the draft Law on Teachers; meeting the requirements of improving capacity and effectiveness of state management in the field of employment, solving employment-related issues such as the draft Law on Employment (amended)...

The National Assembly Chairman said that at the meetings in January, February and March, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave clear opinions on specific and important issues for each draft law; agreed to revise many contents compared to the draft law submitted to the National Assembly at the previous session and directed the completion of the dossier to be submitted to today's Conference.

At today's conference of full-time National Assembly deputies, the National Assembly Chairman requested that National Assembly deputies continue to discuss and carefully analyze new issues and regulations with different opinions of each draft law in the spirit of whether the content of the draft Law has updated the new orientations, policies, leadership and direction of the Party Central Committee, Politburo and Secretariat in law-making work or not.

"It is necessary to analyze and evaluate whether specific provisions have ensured constitutionality, legality, consistency, and synchronization in each draft and whether they are consistent and synchronized with newly promulgated laws and other laws in the legal system," said Mr. Man.

He also noted the need to ensure that only contents under the authority of the National Assembly are regulated; to promote decentralization and delegation of power and to strictly implement Regulation No. 178 dated June 27, 2024 of the Politburo on controlling power, preventing and combating corruption and negativity in law-making work.

"On that basis, National Assembly deputies should clearly express their opinions on whether the projects are qualified to be submitted to the National Assembly for approval at the next session," the National Assembly Chairman suggested.

Delegates attending the conference (Photo: VGP).

The National Assembly Chairman emphasized that in the current urgent situation, the Conference of National Assembly Deputies is expected to last for 2 days. In case any content ends earlier than the expected time, it will move on to the next content to save time and ensure the effectiveness of the conference.

The National Assembly Chairman said that the upcoming 9th National Assembly session is of great historical significance to the country. The amount of content is huge, while the preparation time is short.

Therefore, the National Assembly Chairman requested that National Assembly deputies actively study, prepare concise opinions, avoid duplication, have in-depth analysis, convincing arguments and propose specific solutions; representatives of the drafting agency and the reviewing agency report and clarify further issues that deputies are interested in.

"Immediately after the end of this conference, the coordinating agencies will collect opinions, promptly complete documents and send them to National Assembly deputies, ensuring that National Assembly deputies have access to documents and contents presented at the session as soon as possible," the National Assembly Chairman requested.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/du-kien-sap-nhap-50-tinh-thanh-bo-696-huyen-giam-70-cap-xa-192250325101131818.htm