In addition to streamlining the administrative apparatus, improving work effectiveness and efficiency as guided by the central government, the Hai Duong Provincial People's Committee will tighten discipline and strictly handle harassments in handling administrative procedures.
Streamlining for effective operations
According to the Provincial People's Committee's report on implementing Resolution 18-NQ/TW, Hai Duong has made significant progress in streamlining and improving the efficiency of its political system. The Department of Home Affairs has led efforts to restructure specialized agencies under the Provincial People's Committee, ensuring compliance with legal regulations and advising the committee to seek approval from the Provincial People's Council.
On February 20, the province held a conference to announce the Provincial People's Council's resolution on establishing specialized agencies under the Provincial People's Committee and addressing personnel matters.
Accordingly, the province merged 10 departments into 5. The Department of Planning and Investment merged with the Department of Finance; the Department of Transport merged with the Department of Construction; the Department of Natural Resources and Environment merged with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; the Department of Information and Communications merged with the Department of Science and Technology; and the Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs merged with the Department of Home Affairs.
After the reorganization, the specialized agencies under the Hai Duong Provincial People's Committee consist of 12 agencies: Department of Home Affairs, Department of Finance, Department of Construction, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Agriculture and Environment, Department of Justice, Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Health, Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Department of Education and Training, Office of the Provincial People's Committee, and Provincial Inspectorate.
Vice Chairman of Hai Duong Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Minh Hung chaired a conference on implementing laws and resolutions from the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly, December 2024
The newly merged and reorganized specialized agencies focus on reviewing and stabilizing their organizational structures. They closely follow central government directives to promptly develop regulations on positions, functions, operations, and work programs, ensuring strict compliance, scientific organization, and alignment with the new structure.
Before the commune-level reorganization, the province had 265 communes, wards, and towns. Following the restructuring in two phases (2019-2021 and 2023-2025) under the National Assembly Standing Committee's resolutions, Hai Duong now has 207 commune-level administrative units, including 151 communes, 46 wards, and 10 towns. This reorganization reduced 58 units and streamlined the workforce by 323 officials and 513 civil servants at the communal level. Among 207 commune-level units, 101 units adopt a model where the Secretary of Party Committee is concurrently the Chairperson of the People's Council and 43 units implement the model where the Secretary of the Party Committee is concurrently the Chairperson of the People's Committee, reaching nearly 20.8%.
Hai Duong has reorganized and merged villages and residential areas that did not meet the required population size. As a result, the province now has 1,341 villages and residential areas, reducing the total by 128 units.
Strengthening discipline, accelerating reform
In the first two months of 2025, provincial agencies submitted to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee 19 decisions to announce and promulgate 42 new administrative procedures, replace, amend and supplement 129 procedures, and abolish 20 procedures. All administrative procedures have been made public on the National Database and the Provincial Administrative Procedure Information System.
A total of 143,269 records were received, with 127,110 settled and 126,920 processed on time. Additionally, 76% of records were synchronized with the National Public Service Portal, and 57.1% of transactions were completed online.
However, some limitations remain persistent. Some agencies are slow to announce and publicize administrative procedures, which affect the province's transparency index. The rate of settled records synchronized with the National Public Service Portal is yet to reach the government's target. The Provincial People's Committee targets to bring the rate to 100% in 2025.
Administrative reform is a vital task, especially in the context of restructuring the apparatus from four levels to three levels. It is necessary to uphold the responsibility of leaders of agencies, districts and communes in reforming administrative procedures. The Hai Duong Provincial People's Committee will monitor, inspect and reward outperforming ones and strictly handle units that are slow and troublemaking.
The Provincial People's Committee will consider demoting leaders if their units have officials or civil servants who intentionally cause delays or harassment in administrative procedures. Amid efforts to restructure the apparatus and streamline the workforce, this also serves as an opportunity to assess leadership effectiveness.
In addition to regular inspections, the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Science and Technology, and the Provincial Inspectorate will conduct surprise inspections of units reported for harassment in handling administrative procedures.
By Giang Duong, Vietnam Business Forum
Vietnamese
