The 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam closed its sixth plenary meeting on Wednesday after announcing significant changes to the country’s political system, including the dissolution of three regional steering committees.

General Secretary of the Vietnamese Party Nguyen Phu Trong delivered the closing speech, ending the sixth plenum of the Party Central Committee in Hanoi from October 2 to 10, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

The Vietnamese Party chief reiterated the decision to cut fat from the current political system, namely through the termination of steering committees in the Northwest, Southwest, and Central Highlands regions.

A new model calling for secretaries from local Party Committees to chair their corresponding People’s Councils will be applied.

In localities that meet necessary requirements, secretaries of Party Committees can also be chairs of district- and commune-level People’s Committees.

Members of the Party Central Committee also consented on regulating the number of employees, public servants, and officials in each state entity and under local authority, General Secretary Trong continued.

It is necessary to build a competitive, overt, and transparent mechanism in the recruitment, appointment, and promotion of officials in order to attract moral and competent talent for government organizations, he said.

A special mechanism will also be established to strictly oversee the power of certain legal regulations in order to facilitate accountability and the sanctioning of violators, particularly heads of institutions. 

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong speaks at the sixth plenum. Photo: Vietnam Government Portal

The Party Central Committee stressed the need to improve the quality and operational efficiency of public service institutions, which will be a top priority in the near future, Trong stated.

The committee also agreed that the provision of basic and essential public services and an increase in the accessibility of public services to people from all walks of life must be ensured.

Apart from re-arranging and reforming the structure and operation of public service institutions, the importance of promoting social investment in public services without commercialization was agreed upon.

Also during the sixth plenary session, delegates elected two additional members to the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat and dismissed Nguyen Xuan Anh from his posts as member of the Party Central Committee and secretary of the Party Committee of the central city of Da Nang.  

General Secretary Trong asserted that any violations will be strictly dealt with from now on to ensure the Party’s discipline and reinforce people’s trust.

Regarding the population and family planning issues facing the government, the committee suggested that population policy be shifted from family planning to population and development. 

Married couples will now be encouraged to have two children in order to strive toward a national population of 104 million by 2030, against a former encouragement for one or two kids and an old ban on a third child in a family.

Mechanisms and policies will also be tailored to improve health care, ensuring that every citizen will be equal in their rights and obligations regarding health insurance coverage and related services. 

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