Governance efficiency is more important than area size
According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Home Affairs, after merging with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, the city currently has 168 commune-level administrative units, including 113 wards, 54 communes and 1 special zone.
In which, Con Dao special zone and Thanh An island commune have not met the population standards; 52 wards and communes have not met the area standards.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Dr. Tran Quang Thang - Director of the Institute of Economics and Management of Ho Chi Minh City - said that the merger of administrative units only brings value when the new boundaries are suitable for the socio-economic development space and the management apparatus is reorganized accordingly.
If administrative boundaries are only changed without innovating governance models, the incurred costs may be greater than expected benefits," he said.
According to Dr. Tran Quang Thang, from an urban economic perspective, area is not a decisive factor in the strength of a city.
Many cities such as Tokyo, Seoul or Paris still maintain small-scale administrative units but operate effectively thanks to high population density, synchronous infrastructure and developed economy.
The value of a city is not in its large or narrow area, but in population density, urbanization level, capacity to provide public services and investment attraction" - Mr. Thang said.
Mr. Thang said that if the merger continues only to meet the area standards, the city may have to trade it off with new costs such as wider management areas, longer distance between the government and the people, increased operating costs and the risk of public service efficiency being reduced.
According to the expert, what needs to be achieved is not "area standard", but "management efficiency standard". Wards and communes with small scale but creating high economic value, serving people well and having effective management capacity should be considered for maintenance instead of continuing to merge.
Need to evaluate the effectiveness of the new model before deciding
From the perspective of planning and urban management, Dr. Vo Kim Cuong - former Deputy Chief Architect of Ho Chi Minh City - believes that adjusting administrative boundaries is a decision that has a long-term impact on development planning, organizational structure and people's lives.
After a large-scale rearrangement, the first thing to do is to assess the effectiveness of the new model instead of continuing to adjust.
To have a basis for making decisions, Ho Chi Minh City needs to quantify indicators such as the time to resolve administrative procedures, the level of satisfaction of people and businesses, the quality of public service provision, operating costs of the apparatus, public investment efficiency and the ability to coordinate management after mergers.
Dr. Vo Kim Cuong said that a larger administrative unit does not necessarily manage better. Large scale can help streamline focal points, but it can also increase management costs and widen the gap between the government and the people if there is no appropriate management model.
Ho Chi Minh City should have a more flexible approach. Wards and communes that do not meet area standards but have high population density, high urbanization level, economic development and efficient operating apparatus do not necessarily have to continue to merge just to meet one administrative criterion. The important thing is to improve the quality of governance and the quality of service to the people" - Dr. Vo Kim Cuong emphasized.
