The fact that the People's Councils of Quang Nam province and Da Nang city have been proactively coordinating to review more than 500 resolutions that are still in effect before the merger these days shows a cautious and proactive governance mindset.
The merger of provincial-level administrative units is a major reshaping of organization, boundaries, and institutions. And the risk of "cutting off" the policies being implemented in each locality is very likely to happen if there is no methodical, synchronous and visionary preparation.
According to the report, Quang Nam alone currently has 200 People's Council resolutions in effect, Da Nang has up to 288 in all fields, from social security, education and health support, to investment incentives, regional development planning.
If not reviewed promptly, it will easily lead to the situation where some important policies are suspended, stopped or not inherited due to lack of legal basis, causing disadvantages for people and businesses.
The leaders of the two localities' elected bodies agreeing to continue implementing the current resolutions until the end of 2025 is the right step, demonstrating the spirit of not allowing people's rights to be interrupted for technical reasons or changing boundaries.
And not only by the end of 2025, but in the long term, it is necessary to have a reasonable policy integration roadmap between the two old localities. Instead of eliminating mechanisms, we should select policies that are operating well and have a positive impact to include in the policy system of the new province and city to create a legal framework that is both inheritable and advanced, avoiding having to start over.
Of course, ensuring that the policies in operation are not "interrupted" is not only a matter for Quang Nam - Da Nang, but a common requirement for all localities that are merging.
If the merger stops at merging boundaries and consolidating the apparatus without accompanying institutional review, the consequences will be significant when people lose confidence, businesses hesitate to invest, and the government is confused in handling arising situations due to lack of appropriate regulations.
policy disruption, a suspended resolution may be insignificant in terms of budget, but it can cause disruption to thousands of households who are enjoying housing, healthcare, and education support policies. A planning stop due to changing boundaries can delay large-scale investment projects, causing waste of social resources.
The merger is an opportunity to streamline the apparatus but also a test for transformation management capacity, showing that the new apparatus is more efficient than the old one.
Only when the policies in operation are connected smoothly and upgraded to a new level will the merger be truly successful, both in terms of organization and social consensus.
