The Department of Home Affairs of Can Tho City has just sent a speech on "Refining the organization of the apparatus according to the two-level local government in Can Tho City" to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
After the arrangement and merger, Can Tho city has 14 specialized agencies under the new Can Tho City People's Committee; 103 communes and wards have completed the establishment of specialized departments and public service centers for communes and wards; 1,438 public service units (including 336 city-level public service units, 1,102 commune-level public service units).
In addition to the achieved results, Can Tho City also faces some difficulties and limitations.
Therefore, to ensure the effectiveness and synchronization in the implementation and implementation of contents related to decentralization and delegation of power according to the 2-level local government model, Can Tho City has proposed that the Central Government soon issue full and synchronous guiding documents on the organization of the apparatus, staffing, functions, tasks and policies for the 2-level local government model.
At the same time, the Department also proposed to perfect the legal framework on the mechanism for coordination, decentralization, and delegation between authorities at all levels to ensure connectivity and unity in implementation.
For some recommendations of Can Tho City, the Government Steering Committee has also received and directed the Ministry of Home Affairs in Official Dispatch No. 14/CV-BCD dated July 16, 2025.
Accordingly, Point a, Clause 2, Article 21 of the Law on Organization of Local Government 2025 stipulates the authority of the People's Council at the commune level: Decide to establish, reorganize, change the name, and dissolve other specialized agencies and administrative organizations under the People's Committee at the same level according to the provisions of law.
However, at Point a, Clause 3, Article 7 of Decree No. 118/2025 dated June 9, 2025 of the Government on implementing administrative procedures under the one-stop, one-stop mechanism at the one-stop department and national public service gate, stipulates the authority of the People's Committee at the commune level: The decision to establish the Commune-level Public Administration Service Center is an administrative organization under the People's Committee at the commune level, with its own seal and account to perform the assigned tasks and powers.
Thus, between the two above regulations, there is no consensus on the authority to establish another administrative organization at the commune level, specifically the Public Administration Service Center.
"Therefore, to ensure the implementation of the establishment of the Commune-level Public Administration Service Center in accordance with regulations and consistency in the implementation process, it is recommended to guide the unification of the authority to establish the Public Administration Service Center in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Organization of Local Government 2025" - the Department of Home Affairs of Can Tho City proposed.
Regarding this issue, Director of the Department of Local Government (Ministry of Home Affairs) Phan Trung Tuan informed at the Conference on the Pre-Summary of the first 6 months of the year recently organized by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
According to Mr. Tuan, although the guidance document was issued late, after Decree 118/2025 was issued, the Government Office issued Document No. 5621 dated June 20 to guide the authority to establish and regulate the functions, tasks and powers of the Commune-level Public Administration Service Center.
"In this guiding document, the regulations are very clear. Although it does not specifically mention the authority to establish (because this has been stipulated in the Law on Organization of Local Government), it has been clearly stipulated that the People's Committee at the commune level has the authority to prescribe the functions, tasks and powers of the Public Administration Service Center" - Mr. Tuan said.
