On the morning of 1/7, during a preliminary review of the one-year implementation of the political system's overall model and the three-tier government model, Nguyen Duy Ngoc, Head of the Central Organization Commission, announced that 1/7/2025 marked a historic turning point. On this date, the entire political system officially transitioned to a three-tier model: central, provincial, and communal.

According to Ngoc, agencies completed a vast amount of work in a short period. Political and ideological efforts fostered consensus among officials, Party members, and the public. The new apparatus became stable immediately after its announcement, preventing power vacuums and ensuring uninterrupted service to citizens and businesses.

Tong Bi thu, Chu tich nuoc To Lam, along with Party and State leaders, attended the conference. Photo: Giang Huy

The apparatus operates smoothly, reducing overlaps

After one year of operation, the system of Party documents and State laws has been reviewed and synchronously issued, ensuring the apparatus functions smoothly. The decentralization, devolution of power, and clear definition of authority were adjusted based on the principle of one task led by one agency and one person holding primary responsibility. This approach gradually addresses overlaps, omissions, or buck-passing.

The administrative unit rearrangement, which reduced provinces and centrally-run cities from 63 to approximately 34, and communal-level units from 10,035 to approximately 3,321, while ending operations for 696 district-level units, has established an appropriate governance scale, optimized resources, and created room for development.

The political system's apparatus, from Party agencies, the National Assembly, the Government, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, armed forces, to judicial bodies, was reorganized for streamlining. This included reducing intermediate layers and enhancing implementation capacity at the communal level.

According to the Head of the Central Organization Commission, the operational mechanism shifted from fragmented administration to seamless coordination among central, provincial, and communal levels. This change shortens decision-making times, individualizes responsibility, and creates new impetus for the government to better serve citizens and businesses.

By 31/3/2026, the country had 519,877 officials and civil servants: 78,984 at the central level, 93,696 at the provincial level, and 347,197 at the communal level. Agencies also arranged 134 turns of officials under central management and consolidated 1,853 turns of personnel in 23 merged localities.

Personnel work saw many innovations. For the first time, 100% of provincial and municipal Party secretaries and provincial People's Committee chairpersons are not from the local area. Key positions such as chairpersons of inspection committees, chief justices of courts, chief procurators of people's procuracies, and chief inspectors at the provincial level are also appointed under this principle.

Nguyen Duy Ngoc, Head of the Central Organization Commission, spoke at the preliminary review ceremony on the morning of 1/7. Photo: Giang Huy

Essentially no more harassing officials

According to the Head of the Central Organization Commission, alongside apparatus streamlining, regulations on personnel, planning, appointments, dismissals, evaluations, and payroll management have been reviewed and refined under the new model.

A survey showed citizen satisfaction reached 83,08%; with 89,09% of opinions indicating that harassment and inconvenience from officials have been largely eliminated. "This demonstrates the public's strengthened trust in the Party's policies," he said.

Public finance and asset management were also implemented synchronously. Ministries, sectors, and localities completed reviewing surplus offices and land, and initially converted the use of many facilities to serve the community and social welfare.

The Head of the Central Organization Commission affirmed that after one year of operating the new model, the system has demonstrated its superiority. It has driven socio-economic development and improved people's lives, despite facing many challenges from natural disasters, economic fluctuations, and a vast workload during the transition.

However, he also pointed out several limitations. The institutional and legal system remains inconsistent; decentralization and devolution of power are not fully linked to resources and implementation conditions. A review identified approximately 60 documents from Party, National Assembly, Government, and Vietnam Fatherland Front agencies needing amendment or supplementation; many specialized regulations also require adjustment. Decentralization among localities is uneven; some areas only assign tasks without granting sufficient authority over finance, human resources, and data.

Additionally, 705 out of 3,321 communal-level administrative units, equivalent to 21,23%, still do not meet the prescribed standards. Governance capacity in some communes has not met requirements post-decentralization. "The biggest bottleneck currently is not a mechanical shortage of personnel, but a lack of deeply specialized personnel in some specific fields," Ngoc stated.

He also noted that the quality of the official contingent is inconsistent; salary and compensation policies, especially for communal-level officials, remain inadequate. Many surplus offices have not been effectively utilized, while information technology infrastructure does not meet the requirements for operating digital government and resolving administrative procedures.

Delegates attended the preliminary review conference on the morning of 1/7. Photo: Giang Huy

Transitioning to a refinement phase for enhanced efficiency

According to the Head of the Central Organization Commission, the revolution in reorganizing the political system's apparatus has achieved breakthrough results. These results have garnered consensus from officials, Party members, and the public, and received international acclaim. After one year, the new model has demonstrated many advantages compared to the previous one, shifting strongly from administrative management to development-oriented governance.

He emphasized that the current requirement is no longer merely "restructuring completed," but rather entering a refinement phase. This phase aims for the apparatus to operate more effectively and smoothly, clearly define powers and responsibilities, and better serve citizens and businesses.

The focus is on continuing to improve the decentralization and devolution mechanism within the three-tier model: the central level concentrates on institutional development, digital platforms, and oversight; the provincial level manages, coordinates resources, and fosters regional linkages; and the communal level directly implements policies, manages data, and serves citizens and businesses.

Ngoc also proposed innovating the Party's leadership methods by leading through strategy, institutional design, and power control. He suggested the National Assembly continue to improve the legal system, addressing overlaps and legal gaps. The Government should accelerate administrative reform, refine the decentralization mechanism linked to resources, and standardize and digitize procedure resolution processes.

Regarding organizational structure, he proposed maintaining a stable structure of 12 departments and equivalents at the provincial level, avoiding the establishment of new departments except in special cases. He also suggested transferring functions of some specialized departments, such as tourism, planning-architecture, and food safety, to multi-sector management agencies, and establishing departments of ethnic minorities and religions in eligible localities.

He also announced that provincial public administration service centers would cease operations when 100% of administrative procedures are performed fully online. Concurrently, land registration offices will be transferred to communal People's Committees, enabling communes to issue land use rights certificates.

At the communal level, the proposed framework for the specialized apparatus includes four to six departments covering economic affairs, infrastructure, culture-society, internal affairs, office administration, and public administration service centers. Agencies will continue to review and standardize communal administrative units that do not meet criteria, while also researching models for special urban administrative units at the communal level to expand development space and complete the three-tier government model.

Son Ha