Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra: There is no such thing as equalizing staff.

At the discussion session of the Working Group on the morning of October 21, Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra said that currently, there is a high focus on classifying administrative units, from which to determine the staffing for each commune and each province; there is no such thing as equalizing staffing.

The two-tier government model works well without disruption.

Speaking at the discussion session in Group 4 (including the National Assembly delegations of Khanh Hoa , Lai Chau and Lao Cai provinces), Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra said that after more than 3 months of operating the two-level local government model, overall, the operation "is basically good, without interruption, without breakage, ensuring connectivity, synchronization and unity in the entire system from the central to local levels. This is the biggest advantage", the Minister emphasized.

Currently, many localities have had good and creative ways to effectively ensure the quality of two-level local government.

Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra (Lao Cai National Assembly Delegation) speaks. Photo: Ho Long

However, the Minister agreed that there are still some problems.

Firstly, the quality and structure of the staff and civil servants, especially at the commune level, are still difficult and inadequate, failing to meet requirements.

Regarding the new administrative guidance apparatus, it is not yet stable and needs fundamental institutional adjustments to meet requirements.

Regarding decentralization, delegation of power and assignment of authority, after review, the assignment of authority to the commune level has 859 tasks, not 1,060 tasks; mainly the Central Government has assigned up to 949 tasks to the provincial level. Thus, the level of decentralization from the Central Government to the locality is 56%.

"If we let the local authorities decide, act, and take responsibility, this number is not high, but we will re-evaluate all decentralization and delegation of authority to make appropriate adjustments," the Minister informed.

Besides, the Minister said that there are still certain difficulties in administrative procedures and facilities when implementing the two-level government model.

Focus on completing the entire institutional system for operating two-level local government

From the above reality, the Minister of Home Affairs said that the biggest problem now is to focus on completing the entire institutional system for operating two-level local government.

Firstly, focus on classifying administrative units, administrative unit standards, and urban standards. This is the basis for implementing policies, implementing planning, plans, and development strategies, and performing the basic task of assigning staffing quotas based on job positions and classifying administrative units. "There is no such thing as equalizing staffing," the Minister emphasized.

Currently, the Ministry of Home Affairs is focusing on the project to report to the Politburo and competent authorities, thereby issuing a Resolution of the National Assembly Standing Committee and a guiding decree.

According to Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra, the institutional system still needs to be improved in terms of organizational structure, adjusting basic salary levels, adjusting allowances when classifying administrative units, such as regional allowances, leadership position allowances, and calculating social security policies.

"It is necessary to redo the entire policy mechanism, including the National Target Program, on that basis to classify administrative units appropriately," the Minister said, emphasizing that this must be done quickly, "no delay is allowed".

Second, focus on restructuring and improving the quality of civil servants, especially at the commune level, in the context of large workloads, high tasks and functions.

“Initially, what we have achieved so far is very commendable, but we need to ensure two major goals: both creating development and serving the people, so we need to pay attention to this content and there will be more detailed instructions,” the Minister said.

Third, continue to review and re-determine the level, results, and feasibility of decentralization, delegation of authority, and division of authority, especially regarding decentralization and delegation of authority.

There are things that the commune level cannot do, such as allocating land to businesses, which will be difficult and confusing at first. If a place can meet the requirements, it will be assigned to the commune level, otherwise it will be assigned to the province for decision.

Fourth, there is a major project to focus on investing in building facilities and equipment so that within 5 years, it can basically meet the requirements for operating a two-level local government.

"For other related issues, we are trying to speed up as much as possible. We will focus on urgent issues right away," Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra informed.

According to the Minister, there will be a review to reorganize villages, hamlets, and residential groups (according to the plan, May 2026). Currently, the Ministry has prepared for this work.

Regarding the arrangement of public service units according to the plan of the Central Steering Committee and the Government, the Ministry has initially reported to the Politburo and competent authorities.

Similarly, the work of restructuring state-owned enterprises is also underway. The goal by 2026 is to basically stabilize the arrangement, from which to organize implementation, ensuring development goals in the period 2026 - 2030.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/bo-truong-bo-noi-vu-pham-thi-thanh-tra-khong-co-chuyen-cao-bang-bien-che-10391203.html