Merge 80 wards into 41 wards
Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Vo Van Hoan affirmed this at the conference to deploy the plan to arrange commune-level administrative units for the 2023-2025 period, held on the afternoon of November 26.
According to Resolution 1278 of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Ho Chi Minh City will rearrange 80 wards (in Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, Binh Thanh, Go Vap and Phu Nhuan) to reduce to 41 wards.
Of which, 38 new wards were formed from mergers, 3 wards adjusted administrative boundaries by transferring part of the area and population to other wards.
It is expected that the merger will be announced simultaneously from December 28 to December 31, 2024 and will officially take effect from January 1, 2025. After this merger, Ho Chi Minh City will reduce from 249 to 210 wards.
Changing administrative boundaries and names of many wards will lead to the need to adjust personal and business documents such as citizen identification cards, real estate documents, bank accounts, addresses on product packaging, business cards, etc.
It is estimated that about 800,000 people have to adjust their documents due to changes in administrative boundaries and ward names (3 wards: Rach Ong, Hung Phu and Xom Cui in District 8).
However, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Vo Van Hoan emphasized that people do not need to change their documents immediately after January 1, 2025. The city requires relevant agencies and units to acknowledge the legal value of old documents and only make changes when legal events arise.
Mr. Hoan also suggested that the police sector update new addresses in the national population database to serve as a basis for other sectors to use.
“When people need to make adjustments, this must be done for free, without any fees,” said Mr. Hoan.
Solving redundant staff and headquarters
The merger will result in a surplus of 1,022 commune-level cadres, civil servants, public employees and part-time workers. Ho Chi Minh City commits to arranging this number according to the roadmap until 2029. The surplus cadres will be given priority to be assigned locally or transferred to the district or city level if qualified.
In case of streamlining, the city will apply support policies according to Central regulations and supplement its own policies expected to be approved at the year-end meeting of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council.
Regarding working headquarters, out of a total of 327 existing headquarters in 80 wards before the merger, it is expected that 249 headquarters will continue to be used.
Mr. Vo Van Hoan affirmed that schools will not be merged, ensuring that students will be served as before. Meanwhile, health stations in the merged wards will be merged into one unit but will still operate at the old facilities to serve the people.
Regarding the Party Committee and People's Committee headquarters, Mr. Hoan suggested that administrative agencies and Party and mass organization activities could be arranged in separate locations to make effective use of facilities. Surplus headquarters could be repaired to serve as neighborhood meeting places to avoid vacancy and waste.
“Facilities must be managed and used effectively. Each surplus headquarters must be fully utilized and not left abandoned,” Mr. Hoan emphasized.
