On March 14, according to the Government's Electronic Information Portal, the Steering Committee for the implementation of the arrangement and reorganization of administrative units at all levels and the development of a model for the organization of local government at both levels held its first meeting on the afternoon of March 13.
Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh said that in the near future, the Law on Organization of Local Government will have to be amended to regulate the organization of local government at two levels, clearly defining the tasks between provincial and sub-provincial governments.
At the same time, clarify issues related to the transition of the implementation of tasks, powers, and organizational structure of local governments when rearranging and reorganizing into 2 levels.
"The most perfect option is that when reorganizing the two-level government apparatus in localities, ministries must review the contents under the state management authority of their ministries and propose 1 law to amend many laws," the Minister of Justice emphasized.
Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh also said, "A legal system that always uses resolutions to handle situations is not really good. This is something that must be done in a hurry."
Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy said that we are regulating according to the 3-level local government model, including specialized areas of district-level government with much authority and handling many administrative procedures, such as the land sector.
The plan does not show when the district government model will officially end, after the merger at the commune level or until the completion of the provincial level. If it ends on June 30, it is necessary to have a National Assembly resolution, which will handle the most urgent and fundamental issues related to people and businesses.
"Land, social security, education, health care... these issues are under the authority of the district level. In the Land Law, many contents depend on the district level, from district-level land use planning and planning to the issuance of first-time certificates... If a law is resolved to amend many laws, it cannot be implemented in time for the National Assembly session this May", Minister Do Duc Duy stated his opinion.
Minister Do Duc Duy proposed that a National Assembly resolution should be issued in May 2025 and the law should be amended in October 2025. If this issue is not handled promptly, there will be a huge problem in both social management and socio-economic development.
When the Central report is completed, it is also necessary to agree on the time to stop the district-level government model so that the Government can proactively develop guiding documents and other accompanying contents.
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Law and Justice Nguyen Phuong Thuy also stated that when reducing district-level government and decentralizing more power to commune-level government, in addition to the requirement to increase tasks and powers, the team of cadres and civil servants, the requirement for resources is extremely important.
If the State Budget Law is not amended to change the allocation norms for authorities at all levels, the commune level will not have enough resources to carry out assigned tasks. The State Budget Law is a priority that needs to be amended and supplemented immediately, otherwise it will be " revoked".
According to Ms. Nguyen Phuong Thuy, the apparatus has just been arranged vertically, with basically equivalent authority. Now, removing one level of government, there must be a way to handle the problem of re-defining authority while amending relevant legal documents.
"Through the recent arrangement, we see that there are contents that need to be more clearly regulated. For example, what needs to change documents, what needs not to be changed, needs to be clearly affirmed. It should not be regulated that if people have a need, they will change," said Ms. Nguyen Phuong Thuy.
