The whole country is arranged into about 2,000 communes, each commune is almost a district.

(NLDO) - The above information was announced by Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra at the meeting on the afternoon of March 13.

On the afternoon of March 13, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh, Head of the Steering Committee for the implementation of the arrangement and reorganization of administrative units at all levels and the development of a two-level local government model, chaired the first meeting of the Steering Committee.

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh chaired the meeting: Photo: VGP

At the meeting, Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh said that according to the Steering Committee's work plan, the Law on Organization of Local Government will be amended in the near future to regulate the organization of two-level local governments, clearly defining the tasks between provincial and sub-provincial governments.

In addition, the law amendment aims to regulate issues related to the transition of tasks, powers, and organization of local government apparatus when rearranging and reorganizing into 2 levels. Mr. Nguyen Hai Ninh also requested ministries and branches to urgently review issues related to the arrangement of administrative units, thereby proposing 1 law to amend many laws.

Currently, with the 3-level local government model, according to Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy, the law is giving district-level authorities a lot of authority, including handling many administrative procedures, for example in the land sector.

Minister Do Duc Duy is concerned about when the district-level government model will end, so that appropriate legal documents can be issued to address urgent issues regarding procedures for people and businesses. According to the Minister of Agriculture and Environment, if the district-level model ends on June 30 this year, a National Assembly Resolution is needed to address these issues.

Minister Do Duc Duy proposed that a resolution of the National Assembly should be issued in May 2025 and the Law should be amended in October 2025, emphasizing: "If this issue is not handled promptly, it could cause a huge bottleneck in both social management and socio-economic development. When the Central Government report is completed, it is also necessary to agree on a time to stop the district-level government model so that the Government can take the initiative in developing guiding documents and other following contents," said the Minister.

On the side of the National Assembly, Ms. Nguyen Phuong Thuy, Vice Chairwoman of the Law and Justice Committee, said that when abolishing district-level government and decentralizing more power to commune-level government, in addition to the requirement to increase duties, powers, and staff, the requirement for resources is extremely important.

Therefore, according to Ms. Thuy, if the State Budget Law is not amended to change the allocation norms for government levels, the commune level will not have enough resources to carry out its assigned tasks. Ms. Thuy recommends that the State Budget Law is a priority that needs to be amended and supplemented immediately, otherwise it will be "stuck" in the implementation process. At the same time, it is necessary to amend related laws to redefine authority when removing the district level.

Representing the standing agency of the Steering Committee, Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra stated that the arrangement and reorganization of administrative units at all levels is an important matter for the nation and people, a very big, very difficult, and very complicated matter.

The leader of the Ministry of Home Affairs said that at the same time, we have to carry out a huge amount of work, simultaneously, immediately, quickly, urgently, and must ensure the requirements so that it can be deployed immediately.

According to Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra, tomorrow, the Politburo will meet to agree on the policy, after which the Government Party Committee will send the project to collect opinions from localities and send it to ministries and branches for comments. It is expected that in mid-April 2025, the Steering Committee will report to the Central Executive Committee.

Regarding the reorganization of commune-level administrative units, Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra said that there are currently 10,035 units, and will be reorganized to a scale of only about 2,000, with each commune being almost a small district.

Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Tra, Minister of Home Affairs

The Minister of Home Affairs emphasized that the arrangement of commune level is under the authority of the National Assembly Standing Committee and can be done immediately after the Central Executive Committee Conference. At the same time, after the amended Constitution, amendments and supplements to the Law on Organization of Local Government and related laws come into effect, the operation of district-level local governments will end.

Emphasizing that when there is a full legal basis, which is the amended Constitution and the Law amending and supplementing the Law on Organization of Local Government, the Minister of Home Affairs said that then the focus will be on arranging and merging provincial-level administrative units.

Concluding the meeting, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh stated that this is a difficult and complicated task, requiring high quality completion, but with a very urgent time frame.

The Government leader requested that the process of rearranging and reorganizing administrative units at all levels and building a 2-level local government model must be implemented firmly and in compliance with legal regulations. In particular, the direction and management activities as well as public services for the people must not be broken or interrupted.

The Permanent Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to take into account the opinions at the meeting to finalize the plan. Regarding progress, organizational structure, functions and tasks, etc., according to Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh, tomorrow (March 14), the Politburo will decide and make an announcement.

In the Government's proposal, about 1/3 of the district's tasks are transferred to the province, and 2/3 are transferred to the commune. Next week, the Politburo plans to collect opinions from all party organizations, ministries, branches, and localities.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/bo-truong-noi-vu-sap-xep-ca-nuoc-con-khoang-2000-xa-moi-xa-gan-nhu-mot-huyen-196250313211946827.htm