On October 22, the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee held a conference to summarize the implementation of Resolution 18-NQ/TW of the 12th Party Central Committee on "Some issues to continue to innovate and reorganize the apparatus of the political system to be streamlined and operate effectively and efficiently".
At the conference, Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Tran Luu Quang clearly informed about the issue of whether or not to continue merging wards and communes in the area.
Mr. Tran Luu Quang said that recently, there has been information that Ho Chi Minh City still has 48 wards and 4 communes that do not have enough area according to regulations, so it is necessary to continue to reorganize.
In fact, when implementing the arrangement before, the city leaders carefully considered the criteria. Ho Chi Minh City has the characteristics of compact land and high population, so the criteria for area in some areas cannot be absolutely met. However, the city has comprehensively assessed many factors, ensuring the arrangement is consistent with the practical management and service of the people" - Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee emphasized.
Mr. Tran Luu Quang affirmed that in the next few years, Ho Chi Minh City will not rearrange wards and communes, but will focus on consolidating and improving the quality of the existing apparatus.
The head of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee suggested that the team of cadres and civil servants at the grassroots level focus on doing their job well and serving the people more effectively.
After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City has an area of over 6,700 km2, a population of about 13.7 million people, with 168 administrative units at the ward, commune, and specialized areas.
Some wards such as Chanh Hung, Thanh My Tay, Tay Thanh, Binh Loi Trung, An Hoi Tay, Hanh Thong, Binh Thanh, Thong Tay Hoi, Cau Ong Lanh, Ben Thanh, Phu Nhuan, Duc Nhuan... have smaller areas than prescribed but are still kept intact due to population characteristics and urban development history.
According to the report, one of the outstanding results after implementing Resolution 18-NQ/TW is that Ho Chi Minh City has completed the reorganization of the 2-level local government apparatus, reduced intermediaries, contributing to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of state management.
After the merger, the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee has 173 affiliated Party organizations, including 168 Party Committees of wards, communes, special zones and 5 Party Committees at the grassroots level.
The city ended the operation of 38 district-level party committees and at the same time established 4 new affiliated party committees including: the Public Security Party Committee, the Military Party Committee, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Party Committee and the Party Committees of Ho Chi Minh City Party agencies.
The administrative apparatus has also been significantly streamlined. Currently, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has 15 specialized agencies, the Department of Food Safety piloted according to Resolution 98 of the National Assembly, along with 52 affiliated public service units.
Regarding digital transformation, digital platform systems from the city to wards, communes and special zones have been operating stably and smoothly. Officials and civil servants can easily carry out the electronic application process; people can submit, look up and receive results online quickly and conveniently.
The Public Administration Service Center has publicized 2,298 administrative procedures, including 1,962 provincial-level procedures, 417 commune-level procedures, along with 339 full-process online public services and 1,283 partial online public services.
Ho Chi Minh City also promotes administrative procedure reform, implements programs to cut and simplify procedures related to production and business activities. The city requires agencies and units to reduce at least 30% of the time and costs of procedures and cut at least 30% of unnecessary business procedures, especially in the field of public investment.
