Should temporarily stop building new offices

The temporary suspension of construction and repair of district and commune offices is necessary to avoid waste when the Central Government is planning to abolish the district level and merge provinces and communes.

The right decision

Conclusion 127-KL/TW of the Politburo and Secretariat dated February 28, 2025 recently stated that the research on the orientation of merging some provincial-level units, not organizing at the district level, and merging some commune-level units must be conducted objectively, democratically, scientifically, specifically, deeply, receptively, and closely following the practical situation.

This policy will thoroughly overcome overlapping functions and tasks, division in areas and fields, and cumbersome intermediate organizations; ensure smooth, effective and efficient operations, enhance the Party's leadership and governing role, and meet the requirements of tasks in the new period.

In addition, Conclusion 127 requires that in addition to the basis of population size and area, it is necessary to carefully study the national master plan, regional planning, local planning, socio-economic development strategy, industry development, expand development space, promote comparative advantages, meet development requirements for each locality and requirements, development orientation of the new stage... as a basis, scientific basis for arrangement.

Merging provinces and communes, not organizing at district level is the right decision. Illustrative photo

One of the issues that needs to be studied and calculated when implementing Conclusion 127 is that a not small number of offices will be redundant after merging provinces and communes, eliminating intermediate levels (district level), so localities need to calculate very carefully.

In particular, some localities have had policies and completed the necessary procedures according to regulations to prepare for the construction of new, renovated and repaired offices and district-level administrative centers. If not careful, it will cause unpredictable consequences such as wasting budget resources, causing billion-dollar projects to be abandoned, etc.

However, the good news is that some provinces and cities have recognized the above problem and have temporarily stopped building new or renovating public offices to avoid waste and causing inconvenience in the process of handling public assets later.

As in Nghe An province, on February 25, 2025, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Bui Thanh An directed agencies, organizations, units, and localities to review and temporarily suspend the implementation of new investment projects and works, repair, renovate, and upgrade the headquarters of agencies, organizations, and units under the management of district-level administrative units, ensuring thrift practice and anti-waste.

Overall perspective of the new administrative area project of Con Cuong district with a total investment of 110 billion VND has been temporarily suspended by Nghe An province.

Or in Bac Kan province, on February 27, the Provincial People's Committee issued an urgent document requesting districts and cities to temporarily suspend the implementation of projects and investment projects to build new, repair, renovate, and upgrade offices of agencies and administrative units at the district level. The suspension also applies to projects that have not been constructed during the implementation of the plan to innovate and reorganize the administrative apparatus. The suspension period will last until the Provincial People's Committee has new instructions.

The decision to temporarily suspend the construction, renovation and repair of district-level offices while merging provinces and communes and abolishing the district level is a correct one, demonstrating reasonable calculations in budget management and use of public resources. This also helps to orient planning effectively, avoiding unnecessary public investment projects that can cause great waste, as many localities are currently facing.

Save money, avoid waste

Once again, it can be affirmed that the policy of merging provincial and communal administrative units and abolishing the district level is a large part of the effort to streamline the state apparatus, improve management efficiency and optimize resources. And let us all believe in these correct decisions of the Central Government.

Returning to the issue of building new and renovating district and commune offices; when the merger of provinces and communes is completed and the district level is not organized, the number of administrative agencies will be significantly reduced, leading to a change in the need for office use. If we continue to build new or renovate new offices in this context, it is very likely that after the merger is completed, many buildings will fall into a state of surplus, ineffective use or abandonment.

In the context of limited state financial resources, budget allocation must be reasonable and effective. Suspending new construction projects or renovating district and commune offices means cutting unnecessary spending, focusing resources on more urgent areas such as developing transport infrastructure, education, health care and social security.

After completing the process of merging provinces and communes, without organizing at the district level, localities will have a more comprehensive and accurate view of the actual needs of the administrative headquarters system. At that time, the construction of new or upgraded offices at all levels will be implemented based on regional planning, local planning, and socio-economic development strategies, avoiding fragmentation, patchwork, and waste of budget resources.

The decision to temporarily suspend the construction, renovation and repair of district and commune offices in the context of administrative unit mergers is a reasonable and necessary step. This not only helps save the budget but also ensures that the planning and reorganization of the administrative apparatus goes smoothly, avoiding unnecessary waste.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/chu-truong-bo-cap-huyen-sap-nhap-tinh-nen-tam-dung-xay-moi-cong-so-376577.html