HCMC Merges 80 Wards, Two Major Issues Need to be Solved

The Citizens Are in Agreement but Still Have Some Concerns

According to the results of the public opinion survey conducted by TPHCM in late June, 91.28% of voters in 80 wards agreed to the plan of merging. The majority of people agreed with the goal of streamlining the bureaucracy, building an efficient and effective administrative system, and hoped that the TPHCM government would have a scientific approach, causing minimal disruption to people's lives.

Mr. Nguyễn Văn Thành (50 years old, Ward 3, District 1) said that Ward 3 will be merged into Ward 1 to become a new Ward 1. "Changing the ward name requires changing all documents. After establishing the new ward, the authorities should create the most favorable conditions for citizens to change their paper documents. For example, increasing working hours, working on weekends, and holidays" - Mr. Thành said.

From a different perspective, Ms. Nguyễn Thị Oanh (45 years old, Ward 10, District 3) had some concerns when District 3 is the center of TPHCM, and the area where Ward 10 is merged with Ward 9 has many restaurants and bars.

"Will the new system ensure public security, order, and environmental sanitation for citizens? Merging to improve things is supported by the people, but it must ensure a normal and stable life for citizens" - Ms. Oanh stated her opinion.

According to Mr. Nguyễn Trí Dũng - Chairman of the District People's Committee of Gò Vấp, the district has 8 wards that need to be merged, reducing from 16 wards to 12 wards. "I think it would be most convenient to allow the use of old documents for a certain period. Later, when citizens come to the ward, district to handle administrative procedures, they should change them immediately, avoiding inconvenience for citizens and government agencies" - Mr. Dũng suggested.

Preparing to Reassign Excess Staff

According to the Department of Home Affairs of TPHCM, it is estimated that there will be 450 excess staff after merging 80 wards.

Earlier, during the period of 2019-2021, when TPHCM merged 19 wards and 3 districts (2, 9, and Thủ Đức to form TP Thủ Đức) some issues arose, which have persisted to this day, particularly in the reassignment of staff and excess office space.

District 5 will merge 8 wards into 4 new wards. Mrs. Trương Minh Kiều - Chairman of the District People's Committee of District 5 - said that since the proposal was developed, the district has calculated the total number of staff approved, and prepared a step to ensure that when merged, it will not affect the staff significantly.

Regarding the part-time staff, the district did not leave a "framework" for the existing wards, and when merged, they can be transferred. Specifically, some cases have reached retirement age or are close to retirement age, the local authorities have also discussed and agreed to share and support the staff. For staff holding leadership positions, District 5 has proactively stopped new appointments, and encouraged staff to take on additional work.

District 10 will merge 6 wards into 3 new wards. The district leaders said that the number of excess staff, non-professional staff, and staff in need of reassignment is nearly 100 people. Among them, 18 staff (ward chairman, deputy ward chairman, chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee, chairman of the Women's Union, youth union secretary, and war veteran association chairman) need to be reassigned immediately, and 9 leadership staff (ward chairman, deputy ward chairman, and ward management staff) need to be reassigned.

"Reassigning and reorganizing leadership staff at the new ward is very important. Staff must be flexible and dynamic to quickly put the ward into operation. They must also be fair in leadership to be able to reorganize and stabilize the internal affairs of the ward after the merger" - the district leaders shared their secret.