On December 18, the Steering Committee on summarizing the implementation of Resolution 18-NQ/TW of the Government issued Document No. 24/CV-BCDTKNQ18 to the Provincial and Municipal Party Committees directly under the Central Government on orientation and suggestions on some contents on the organization of specialized agencies under the People's Committees at the provincial and district levels.
One of the notable contents is the orientation, suggested structure, and arrangement for specific departments: Foreign Affairs; Tourism; Planning and Architecture (for Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi), Food Safety (established in provinces and centrally-run cities according to the National Assembly's Resolution on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies) and the Ethnic Committee.
Accordingly, for localities that currently have a Department of Foreign Affairs, based on the situation and characteristics of the locality, they will proactively decide on a plan to merge with the Provincial People's Committee Office or maintain, consolidate, arrange, and streamline the internal organization of this Department, ensuring improved effectiveness and efficiency of operations.
For localities that have merged the Department of Foreign Affairs into the Office of the Provincial People's Committee, continue to implement as present.
With the Department of Planning and Architecture, merge this Department into the Department of Construction and Transport.
In case there are special requirements for state management of the transport sector in the area, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City can consider and decide to maintain the Department of Transport and implement the plan to merge the Department of Planning and Architecture into the Department of Construction, ensuring suitability with the situation and characteristics in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Regarding the Ethnic Committee, based on the orientation and suggestions of the Central Steering Committee on the arrangement and streamlining of the Government apparatus, it is recommended that localities, based on the situation and characteristics of local agencies, carry out the following arrangements:
For localities that currently have an Ethnic Committee, make arrangements similar to the Ethnic and Religious Committee (at the Central level) in the direction of changing the name to the Ethnic and Religious Committee.
Receive functions, tasks and organization of the state management advisory apparatus on religion from the Department of Home Affairs; poverty reduction tasks from the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs.
For localities that do not establish an Ethnic Committee (even if they meet all criteria), they will proactively decide to transfer the advisory function on ethnic affairs from the Provincial People's Committee Office to the Department of Home Affairs - Labor (after consolidation) to unify the focal point for advising on state management of ethnic and religious affairs and implementing poverty reduction tasks.
Regarding the Department of Tourism, for localities that currently have a Department of Tourism, based on the situation and characteristics of the locality, proactively decide on a plan to merge with the Department of Culture and Sports to form the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism or maintain, consolidate, arrange, and streamline the internal organization of this Department, ensuring to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operations.
For the Department of Food Safety, if it is not maintained, the functions, tasks, and organization of the state management advisory apparatus on food safety will be transferred to the Department of Health; specialized food safety management tasks will be transferred to the Departments of Health; Industry and Trade; Agriculture and Environment.
The organization and arrangement of the above-mentioned specialized agencies shall follow the orientation and suggestions in this Document and the requirements for state management of sectors and fields at the local level, ensuring that the total number of departments under the provincial People's Committee does not exceed 14 departments.
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City alone have no more than 15 departments.
