The construction of a 2-level local government, after one year of operation, has yielded clear results. However, at the grassroots level, the number of villages and residential groups is still large, in some places the population scale is small and dispersed, leading to a large number of non-specialized personnel, and high operating costs of the apparatus. Reorganizing villages and residential groups is a practical requirement, which cannot be delayed.
When villages and residential groups have a reasonable scale, organizing community activities, implementing policies, grasping the population situation, ensuring security and order, and mobilizing people to participate in movements will be more convenient. The commune-level government also reduces the pressure to work with too many focal points, thereby having more time and resources to solve practical problems of the people.
People must be the center of the arrangement process. All options for merging villages and residential groups need to answer the question: What do people get? Is travel more convenient? Is access to public services better? Is the community living space guaranteed? Does the new name respect history, culture, customs, and community memories?
However, arranging villages and residential groups needs to be done quickly, urgently, and drastically, but avoiding the mentality of doing it in a hurry, rigidly, or just chasing after the target of reducing the number. The collection of people's opinions needs to be implemented substantively, clearly explaining benefits, publicizing plans and fully absorbing legitimate concerns.
Simplifying the apparatus is only meaningful when the quality of service to the people is improved. If after arrangement, procedures are faster, information reaches the people more promptly, officials are closer to the people, budgets are used more effectively, and community life is better, then the policy will truly go into life.
In the opposite direction, problems will arise from the grassroots level during the arrangement process. This is also the time to need consensus and promote the spirit of solidarity from each citizen, each village and residential group so that the Party and State's guidelines and policies can quickly go into life.
Arranging villages and residential groups is not an easy task but very necessary because it will contribute to building a more streamlined, stronger, more economical and better serviced grassroots apparatus. The ultimate goal is to create more resources for development and for people to enjoy an effective grassroots governance, close to the people, for the people.
