Arrangement of district and commune level administrative units of 21 localities, including Hai Duong

On the afternoon of October 24, at the National Assembly House, under the chairmanship of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, the National Assembly Standing Committee met to give opinions on the arrangement of district and commune-level administrative units in the 2023-2025 period of 21 provinces and cities. Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh chaired the meeting.

Arrangement of district and commune level administrative units of 21 provinces and cities

Authorized by the Prime Minister to present the Proposal on the arrangement and establishment of district-level and commune-level administrative units in the 2023-2025 period of 21 provinces and cities, Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra said that, based on the proposals of the People's Committees of 21 provinces and cities and the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Government submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee on the arrangement and establishment of 18 district-level administrative units and 487 commune-level administrative units to form 12 new district-level administrative units and 254 new commune-level administrative units of 21 provinces and cities, including: Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Bac Lieu, Bac Ninh, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Thuan, Ca Mau, Da Nang, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Hung Yen, Kien Giang, Lang Son, Lam Dong, Long An, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Nghe An, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa and Yen Bai.

After the reorganization, 6 district-level administrative units and 233 commune-level administrative units will be reduced. Of which, 5 provinces and cities (Long An, Quang Nam, Thanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Hai Phong) proposed not to reorganize 6 district-level administrative units and the remaining 17 provinces and cities proposed not to reorganize 221 commune-level administrative units.

Regarding the standards of district and commune-level administrative units formed after the reorganization and establishment, 10/12 newly formed district-level administrative units after the reorganization met both standards; 2/12 did not meet the natural area standard. 92/254 commune-level administrative units met both standards; 162/254 units did not meet one of the two standards, of which 1 unit did not meet both standards.

According to the plan, there will be 525 redundant people at the district level; 5,917 redundant people at the commune level; The People's Committees of 21 provinces and cities have developed detailed plans to arrange, organize and resolve the redundant number of cadres, civil servants, public employees at the district and commune levels and non-professional workers at the commune level in accordance with regulations. There will be 63 redundant district-level headquarters; 387 redundant commune-level headquarters.

At the meeting, the opinions of the Standing Committee members basically agreed with the content of the Project on rearranging district and commune-level administrative units in the 2023-2025 period of 21 provinces and cities as submitted by the Government. The Project dossier ensures sufficient conditions to be submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration and decision, as well as the review report of the Law Committee.

People must be at the center of administrative unit arrangement.

Speaking at the working session, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man said that the arrangement of administrative units is very important, the National Assembly Standing Committee is waiting every day to approve in accordance with the spirit of Resolution 37 of the Central Committee and Conclusion 48 of the Politburo to arrange administrative units to serve the Party Congresses at all levels; highly appreciated the Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Party committees and authorities of 21 provinces and cities for being very responsible and determined in implementing.

Of the 254 commune-level administrative units formed after the rearrangement, 104 units of 11 provinces and cities have not met the standards on natural area or population size as planned. The National Assembly Chairman requested the Government and provincial and municipal authorities to learn from experience in developing and approving the overall plan on the rearrangement of local administrative units to better implement in the next phase, ensuring the goals and requirements of the work of rearranging administrative units.

The National Assembly Chairman noted that the National Assembly Standing Committee should consider and initially allow the reorganization of 104 administrative units of 11 provinces and cities that have not met the standards on natural area or population size as prescribed in the plan submitted by the Government under its authority. The Resolution of the National Assembly Standing Committee will assign the Government to direct relevant ministries and local authorities to continue developing appropriate reorganization plans for administrative units that are subject to mandatory reorganization but have not yet been reorganized in the 2023-2025 period, and develop plans and roadmaps to complete necessary conditions to ensure the implementation of reorganization in the next phase in accordance with regulations.

The National Assembly Chairman agreed that the effective date of the Resolutions is at least 30 days from the date of the National Assembly Standing Committee; for the Resolutions of provinces and cities that have arranged and adjusted many administrative units, including district-level administrative units, it is proposed to consider taking effect later (January 1, 2025) to create conditions for localities in preparation.

From reality and experience gained through administrative unit rearrangements in other localities across the country, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man suggested that priority should be given to solutions to maintain political stability, ensure security, order, and national defense:

“It is necessary to stabilize the operation of the political system in the area as soon as possible, limit major disruptions to people's lives; create all favorable conditions for agencies and organizations in the area to do a good job of preparation; create the most favorable conditions for individuals, organizations and businesses when changing documents. People fear these procedures the most; have propaganda measures before, during and after to promptly grasp people's thoughts and aspirations to resolve difficulties and problems. People must be at the center of this arrangement. Social consensus and people are the decisive factors for the success of this task,” said the National Assembly Chairman.

Emphasizing that the arrangement of administrative units must be implemented in accordance with the spirit of General Secretary To Lam's article on combating waste, the National Assembly Chairman noted that localities need to be cautious in all stages, in the spirit of thrift and quickly implement according to the set deadline.

Through discussion, the National Assembly Standing Committee also proposed that the Government urgently complete the dossier of the Project on rearranging district- and commune-level administrative units for the 2023-2025 period for the remaining 13 provinces and centrally-run cities to submit to the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration and decision, ensuring the progress of rearranging administrative units according to the National Assembly's requirements.

At the meeting, with 100% of the members of the National Assembly Standing Committee present voting in favor, the National Assembly Standing Committee approved the arrangement plan for 3 district-level administrative units and 104 commune-level administrative units formed after the arrangement but still not meeting the standards on natural area and population size, but due to special factors, it is impossible to continue to arrange with adjacent administrative units.

The National Assembly Standing Committee also voted to approve all 21 draft Resolutions on the arrangement of district- and commune-level administrative units of 21 provinces and cities with 100% approval. In particular, the Resolutions of Hai Phong, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Thanh Hoa and Ba Ria - Vung Tau will take effect from January 1, 2025; other Resolutions will take effect from December 1, 2024.