Implementing the Party Secretary at the commune level who is not a local in Hai Duong: Difficult or easy depends on the level of determination

Hard

In June 2020, comrade Nguyen Duy Thanh was assigned and transferred to Dan Chu commune (Tu Ky) to take on the position of Party Secretary of the commune. As Deputy Head of the Propaganda Department of Tu Ky District Party Committee, he was transferred to the locality and encountered many difficulties. The biggest difficulty was the new environment, not understanding the locality, habits, and working style of the cadres and party members in the new unit. Along with that, the lack of accommodation in the commune also affected his daily life and work. “The change of work tasks and management methods from the district level to the commune level, especially since I am not a local, I could not avoid difficulties and challenges. Not being a local, I cannot be as close to reality, comprehensively covering everything, and clearly understanding the advantages, unique characteristics, and outstanding features of the locality as a local person,” said comrade Thanh.

According to the Organizing Committee of Tu Ky District Party Committee, the district currently has only one Democratic Commune where the Party Secretary at the commune level is not a local. The implementation has encountered some difficulties. The most difficult is the mentality of those who are transferred or assigned, who are afraid of change and afraid of going far away; some places do not want to accept key cadres from other places. In addition, the living conditions and working regime of key cadres who are not local are also an obstacle.

Kim Thanh District is currently one of the few units that have not yet arranged for the Party Secretary at the commune level to be a non-local person. According to Mr. Tran Van Hung, Head of the Organization Board of Kim Thanh District Party Committee, in addition to the fact that the locality has not yet resolutely implemented the arrangement, the district is also arranging 8 administrative units at the commune level (4 units less than at present). For these units, the locality is having to resolve and handle redundant staff, so it is difficult to arrange. In some large areas, far from the center, the arrangement of Party Secretary at the commune level who is not a local person needs to be carefully considered and calculated.

Through research in some other localities, the arrangement of Party Secretaries at the commune level who are not local people also encountered many difficulties, such as when there was a plan to transfer and arrange some cadres, they used the excuse of old age, poor health, being far from home, inconvenient travel; while being familiar with the area, having been attached to the old place for many years... to ask not to implement. Meanwhile, in some localities that have arranged Party Secretaries who are not local people, when performing the tasks, the local cadres and leaders themselves have a local mindset, not supporting the transferred cadres. Therefore, sometimes there are signs of lack of cooperation, easily leading to the Party Secretaries who are not local people being isolated in the collective. Currently, the province also does not have a regime or policy to encourage and support Party Secretaries at the commune level who are not local people, especially for cadres transferred from one commune to another...

Good workplace experience

Hai Duong City is the locality with the highest proportion of non-local Party Secretaries in the province. The city currently has 22 out of 25 wards and communes with non-local Party Secretaries, accounting for 88%. It is expected that from now until the end of the year, the city will continue to arrange commune-level Party Secretaries in the remaining 3 wards: Cam Thuong, Thach Khoi and Viet Hoa.

Head of the Hai Duong City Party Committee's Organization Board Pham Cong Quan said that in recent times, the city has always paid attention to the work of rotating cadres, rotating cadres from the city level to hold key positions at the commune level, from one commune to another, from one ward to another. The selection and rotation process ensures impartiality, objectivity, and compliance with principles and procedures. The city regularly creates conditions and supports for rotation cases to successfully complete their tasks. Before implementing rotation and arrangement, the Hai Duong City Party Committee has done a good job of ideological work for cadres, party members and local people in both the places where the cadres go and where they go, helping cadres, party members and people to be unified in their perception that implementing this policy is necessary and regular in cadre work. Many comrades have left a strong impression in their work areas, creating solidarity and unity in the collective of the Party Committee and government, solving many remaining problems in the locality, and gaining the trust of cadres, party members and people.

February 2022 Comrade Pham Dinh Viet Duc, Chief of Office of the City Party Committee was transferred by the Standing Committee of Hai Duong City Party Committee to work at Thanh Binh Ward Party Committee, appointed to hold the position of Secretary of Thanh Binh Ward Party Committee. The Secretary of the Ward Party Committee spent a lot of time going to the grassroots, learning about the reality in each residential area; proactively meeting and exchanging with former ward officials to grasp the local situation... With many solutions, from 2022 to present, Thanh Binh Ward has made new strides in Party and government work. The ward's budget revenue always exceeds 1.5-2 times/year. Administrative reform work has continuously increased, each year higher than the previous year. In the past 3 years, Thanh Binh Ward Party Committee has always completed its tasks well or better...

For Nam Sach district, the arrangement of Party Secretaries at the commune level who are not local people has been carried out by the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee for many years. Notably, in addition to rotating cadres from the district to communes and towns, the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee has mobilized and rotated Party Secretaries from one commune to another, which is closely linked to the policy of arranging Party Secretaries at the commune level who are not local people. To effectively implement this policy, the Standing Committee of the Nam Sach District Party Committee regularly evaluates cadres, does a good job of ideological work, thereby ensuring the right job and the right person are assigned... Currently, Nam Sach district has 7 communes and towns with Party Secretaries at the commune level who are not local people, accounting for 36.8%. This is also one of the localities with a high rate of Party Secretaries at the commune level who are not local people in the province.

According to the assessment of the Provincial Party Committee's Organizing Committee, many localities in Hai Duong have effectively implemented the policy of the Party Secretary at the commune level not being a local person. The implementation of the Party Secretary at the commune level not being a local person has contributed to overcoming localism, creating significant changes in the working style, methods, and manners of cadres and party members. From the comrades who were transferred and rotated to the cadres and party members in the locality, all have raised their sense of responsibility in performing their duties. Many comrades after the transfer and rotation period were appointed to higher positions...

In the 2025-2030 term, Hai Duong strives for over 30% of commune, ward and town Party Committees to have non-local Party Committee Secretaries. To achieve the above goal, great determination is needed from the Standing Committees of District Party Committees, Town Party Committees, City Party Committees and grassroots Party Committees in the province.