Communes organize cultural and sports activities to create a vibrant atmosphere after operating the new apparatus.

From management to service

After restructuring, reducing 30% of specialized agencies and nearly 70% of commune-level administrative units, Hue has moved from the habit of hierarchical management to a direct operational rhythm: Department and branch officials have returned to the grassroots level, the team has been rejuvenated, and female and highly specialized officials have been added. Each new brick is being laid in the foundation of a unique urban apparatus.

Party Central Committee member, City Party Committee Secretary, City People's Council Chairman, Head of the City National Assembly Delegation Le Truong Luu repeatedly emphasized: Reorganizing the apparatus is not only to implement a major policy, but also an inevitable requirement of development, focusing on eliminating intermediate levels, bringing the government closer to the people, directly serving practical needs; at the same time, not to reduce power, but to increase operational efficiency, aiming to serve the people better and better.

Practice proves that. In An Cuu ward, 99% of administrative procedures are resolved on time, nearly 96% of records are processed online. People clearly acknowledge the convenience, from land procedures, birth registration to marriage with foreign elements. The way of managing work has also changed: reducing intermediary levels, clear responsibilities, reducing the situation of "asking for opinions" or "pushing responsibility".

Hue City aims to build an effective and efficient heritage urban government.

Mr. Pham Van Thai, resident of An Cuu ward, said: In the past, when doing land procedures, I had to go back and forth between the ward and the city (old). Now the steps have been shortened, the information is clearly connected, so I only need to submit the application in one place, the processing time is much faster. Nearly a month ago, when I came to make a birth certificate for my child, the administrative procedures were processed right at the one-stop department, the documents were transferred quickly, the staff gave me enthusiastic instructions, helping me not to have to go back and forth many times. People like me clearly feel the positive change, very convenient and secure.

Mr. Tran Cong Phuoc, Vice Chairman of Phong Thai Ward People's Committee, analyzed: I used to hold the position of Chairman of Phong An Ward People's Committee before the merger. Compared to before, many things had to go through intermediate levels, which was both slow and prone to duplication; now the mechanism of direct management, direct assignment, and close supervision from the city. "From management to service" is a shift in thinking, forcing officials to be more proactive and transparent. The 2-level local government model is therefore not only a change in organizational structure, but also a fundamental innovation in the way of behaving with the people.

Continue to perfect the apparatus

Of course, the path to innovation has never been smooth. The City Party Committee's Organizing Committee frankly assessed that, despite achieving important initial results, the apparatus after the reorganization still needs to continue to be improved. Some agencies and units still have overlapping functions and tasks; some newly merged communes and wards have not yet stabilized their organizations. A number of cadres, civil servants and public employees have not yet met new requirements, especially in the fields of modern urban management, science - technology , digital transformation, and foreign languages. Streamlining the payroll has not really been closely linked to work efficiency: In some places, the number has been reduced but not properly reallocated, leading to local surpluses and shortages...

Mr. Dang Van Son, Deputy Head of the City Party Committee's Organization Committee, said: The Organization Committee will continue to advise the City Party Committee and the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee to direct all levels and sectors to review and evaluate functions, tasks and powers to promptly adjust and avoid overlaps and duplications. Resolutely implement the principle of "one job - one presiding agency, one person with primary responsibility", limiting the situation of pushing and avoiding. At the same time, research a new organizational model suitable to the characteristics of the city after expanding its boundaries, especially in wards and communes with rapid urbanization.

According to Mr. Son, the transfer of personnel also needs to be done carefully. In the first months after the merger, most of the cadres in the communes and wards still kept their old positions. In Thuan Hoa ward, after the merger of 6 wards, all cadres were kept, while Duong No ward lacked personnel and was forced to leave it vacant. The city chose to do it step by step, first maintaining stability, then calculating the transfer from places with surplus to places with shortage. For example, in the near future, some cadres from Thuan Hoa will be assigned to Duong No to balance human resources. This approach helps avoid disruption, limit the psychology of comparison, and at the same time prevent the risk of negative consequences such as "buying positions, buying power" or lobbying individuals to be placed in favorable positions.

Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Van Phuong also frankly admitted: The City Party Committee has complete confidence in the standing Party Committees at the commune and ward levels, because these are experienced and capable officials. However, at the implementation level, there are still many officials and civil servants who have not met the job requirements. Therefore, the city needs to continue to review and re-evaluate the entire grassroots team; arrange and assign tasks scientifically, in accordance with the actual qualifications and capacity of each person; and at the same time, strengthen training and fostering to improve the quality of work handling.

Innovation in management thinking

The streamlining problem is not only to reduce the number of contacts, but also to open a new governance model: Heritage Urban Government - both effective, efficient, and imbued with identity. On that foundation, Hue is gradually affirming its position as a centrally-governed city, with the aspiration to be not only a smart city, but also a cultural city, a creative center, where heritage is preserved and developed with the breath of the times.

The concept of “heritage urban government” – which sounds both strange and familiar, is a special step of Hue. This is not only a streamlined administrative model, but also a management method closely linked to the responsibility of heritage conservation. Hue - where the complex of relics of the Ancient Capital, tangible and intangible heritage recognized by UNESCO, cannot separate development from preservation. As Mr. Nguyen Van Manh, Director of the Department of Home Affairs said: “All planning, investment and renovation decisions must be based on the principle: Preservation for development, development for preservation”.

To turn Hue into a city of heritage, culture, ecology, landscape and environmental friendliness, a series of solutions are being implemented: Urban renovation but maintaining the traditional structure; developing a new urban area in harmony with the Huong River and Ngu Mountain; building a digital database on heritage; digitizing administrative procedures; turning heritage into a resource for tourism, cultural industry, night-time economy; building a team of officials who are both good at public administration and knowledgeable about heritage management. In particular, the community spirit arouses the people, organizations, scientists, and artisans to participate in monitoring and criticizing so that heritage is alive in life, not just on the UNESCO list.

The two-tier local government model, on the one hand, helps eliminate intermediaries, and on the other hand, brings the government closer to each heritage and each cultural space. A transport infrastructure project must not only consider traffic, but must also be in harmony with the landscape. A tourism development plan must not only aim at the economy, but also maintain the vitality of the heritage community. This is a difference that no centrally-governed city has.

Mr. Dang Van Son said: To do the above, Hue needs to promote community in urban management; promote the role of supervision and social criticism of people, organizations, scientists, and artisans, so that heritage is managed not only by the government, but also by the whole society. Accordingly, the administrative apparatus operates in conjunction with management and operation in the digital environment in the best way.

Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Council, Head of the City National Assembly Delegation Le Truong Luu affirmed: Building an effective heritage urban government is not only about organization, but also about innovating management thinking to promote identity and meet modern requirements. Hue people are inherently calm and profound, now they need more determination and boldness to make the city break through. Hue not only preserves the memory of the nation, but also has to demonstrate its capacity to manage a heritage urban area, where heritage becomes the driving force for development, the government becomes the companion of the people and culture becomes soft power.

Article and photos: DUC QUANG

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/tinh-gon-de-hoat-dong-hieu-nang-hieu-luc-hieu-qua-bai-3-xay-dung-bo-may-chinh-quyen-do-thi-di-san-158102.html