What benefits will people receive after the arrangement?
The whole country currently has 705 commune-level administrative units (UAs) that do not meet standards. However, the Central Government does not raise the issue of rearranging or adjusting the administrative boundaries of communes, because basically the entire system is operating stably and effectively.
Localities that find it truly necessary to adjust, based on the Party's guidelines, the State's laws, planning, management practices and the legitimate aspirations of the people, should propose to competent authorities to decide.
Exchanging about the criteria for selecting small-scale commune-level administrative units that do not meet the standards for consideration and arrangement, Master of Public Policy Nguyen Tuan Anh said that the criteria should not only stop at area and population but need to be expanded in the direction of evaluating development capacity and management efficiency.
According to him, in addition to current legal standards, it is necessary to consider the level of spatial development linkage; the ability to connect transport infrastructure, digital infrastructure; local economic scale; capacity to provide public services; terrain conditions, borders, islands; factors of national defense, security and preservation of community cultural identity.
In particular, it is necessary to supplement the evaluation criteria after arrangement. Not only to ask whether an APU should be merged or not, but also to prove what benefits people will benefit after arrangement.
If the distance to access public services is shorter, the apparatus is more streamlined, operating costs are reduced but service quality increases, then that is the ultimate goal of reform," Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh analyzed.
Another important factor, according to experts, is the participation of the people. The collection of opinions needs to be carried out substantively, fully publicizing the plans, positive impacts as well as possible difficulties. When people understand the goals and long-term benefits, consensus will be higher.
Need to assess based on verified data
Sharing the view that it is necessary to improve the system of criteria in a multi-dimensional direction, Dr. Doan Van Tinh - Deputy Head of the Faculty of Human Resource Management, Academy of Public Administration and Management (Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics) said that the assessment needs to be based on a basis of empirical data.
After more than a year of operating the 2-level local government model, in addition to natural area and population size, it is necessary to synchronously integrate indicators of economy, culture, security, defense and digital infrastructure to assess the reality of each locality.
According to Dr. Doan Van Tinh, factors of geographical location, security, national defense and historical characteristics need to be considered in particular. Border areas, islands, key areas, places where traffic is still difficult, or communities associated with long-standing cultural heritage spaces need to have appropriate assessments for their own characteristics.
In addition, it is necessary to consider the capacity for economic development and the ability to self-balance the budget. Localities, even if the area or population is not large, but are growth poles, trade hubs, and have the ability to self-balance budgets for socio-economic development tasks, should consider maintaining the status quo to be the nucleus of spillover to surrounding areas.
Dr. Doan Van Tinh also said that the level of digital infrastructure readiness and the capacity to provide public services are criteria that need to be emphasized. When population and land data are connected smoothly, the rate of online procedure resolution is high and people are satisfied, commune-level authorities can manage a wider geographical space without causing disruption or additional troubles.
In addition, the similarities in customs, habits, and rhythm of life of local people and temporarily residing workers also need to be considered, thereby ensuring harmony and community cohesion after adjusting boundaries.
