PM urges combating group interest during apparatus restructuring

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on December 12 highlighted the need to counteract group interests and personal gains during the restructuring process of the organisational apparatus, and develop appropriate policies to safeguard officials and public servants’ legitimate rights and interests.

He made the requirement while chairing the second meeting of the Government steering committee to review the implementation of Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW, adopted by the 12th Party Central Committee in 2017, regarding several issues on continuing to restructure and streamline the political system for greater efficiency.

According to the steering committee, in response to a request by the Central Steering Committee on the review of Resolution 18-NQ/TW, the Government, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies have quickly implemented the restructuring of the political system to make it more streamlined, effective, and efficient. To date, they have basically completed their restructuring plans.

The steering committee has issued a plan to guide the streamlining and restructuring of the Government’s organisational apparatus, under which eight ministries and ministerial-level agencies will be maintained, while 14 others will be merged or reorganised. After the restructuring, there will be 13 ministries and four ministerial-level agencies (a reduction of five ministries), along with four government-affiliated agencies (a reduction of four agencies). Additionally, at the ministries, and ministerial-level and government-affiliated agencies, there will be a reduction of at least 15%-20% in the number of internal organisational units.

At the meeting, the steering committee reviewed a proposal from the Government’s Party Civil Affairs Committee regarding the drafting of a decree on regimes and policies for officials, civil servants, and public employees in the restructuring; the management of public finance and assets, and public investment projects; as well as the restructuring of state-owned enterprises. Based on this, it will finalise the draft decree which will be presented to the Politburo and the Central Steering Committee.

Concluding the event, PM Chinh assigned the Ministry of Home Affairs, the standing agency of the steering committee, to collect the feedback and coordinate with relevant agencies to continue refining the documents for submission to the steering committee.

He said the outcomes of this session should be sent to ministries, sectors, and agencies to serve as a basis for further completing their proposals under the guidance of the Deputy Prime Ministers assigned to oversee the process.

With the spirit of "clear thinking, high determination, great effort, and decisive action; and addressing each task thoroughly," the Government leader called on ministries, sectors, and agencies to uphold their responsibilities, put the nation and people's interests above all, and implement the organisational apparatus restructuring in a manner that suits Vietnam's circumstances and conditions, while drawing on international experience.

The restructuring must aim for a streamlined apparatus that is still effective and efficient. Functions and duties should not be eliminated; instead, additional responsibilities may be assigned to organisations, Chinh said, stressing the importance of enhancing the application of digital transformation in state management to avoid "ask-give" mechanisms and combat petty corruption.

For state-owned groups and corporations, the PM directed the classification of enterprises and the development of restructuring plans to ensure state management while enhancing the operational efficiency of these enterprises. Concurrently, he emphasised the need to continue perfecting relevant laws to ensure proper decentralisation and delegation of authority, and grant greater responsibility to the businesses themselves.