Vietnam to have 34 provincial-level units after merger: Party General Secretary To Lam

After the major restructuring drive, the country will see a 60-70-percent reduction in grassroots-level units, heard the sitting.

Party chief Lam said that the members of the committee discussed many new and important matters, and reached high consensus on major and core issues.

The restructuring is part of a strategic and unprecedented initiative to streamline the political system, with the overarching aim of promoting rapid, stable, and sustainable national development, Party chief Lam stressed.

The restructuring seeks to enhance public service delivery, improve the living standards of Vietnamese people, and shift governance from passive management to proactive service and development facilitation.

The merger was based on scientific, innovative, and practical principles with a forward-looking vision of at least 100 years.

It is meant to expand economic, social, and cultural development spaces.

Post-restructuring, local governments will be expected to operate efficiently, remain close to the people, and meet the demands of modern governance.

The new system is designed to support sustainable growth, reinforce national defense, security, and foreign affairs, and fuel economic development, particularly in the private sector.

It will also focus on accelerating scientific and technological innovation, while improving the material and spiritual well-being of the population.

The reform effort will continue, including comprehensive updates to personnel management policies across all levels and sectors, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and strengthened oversight.

The process will also involve identifying and strictly addressing corruption, wastefulness, factionalism, and abuse of power, particularly in the reorganization of administrative units and management of public assets.

Under the new structure, provincial-level units will both implement central policies and issue provincial/municipal policies, while directly overseeing commune-level administration.

Communes will be responsible for policies handed down from the central and provincial levels, while gaining greater autonomy to issue local legal documents, organize law enforcement as well as decide on issues within their jurisdiction.

The Party leader also stated that the members agreed to merge and streamline the Vietnam Fatherland Front committees, socio-political organizations, and mass associations across all levels.

This includes disbanding unions for civil servants and armed forces, and reducing union fee contributions for public servants and other employees.

Besides, the Party Central Committee agreed on restructuring the People’s Courts and People’s Procuracies.

The district and high-level courts and procuracies will be dissolved, replaced by a three-level system: the Supreme People’s Court/Procuracy, provincial/municipal and regional courts/procuracies.

The structure of military courts and procuracies remains unchanged.