Firstly, Director Huynh Thanh Nhan informed about the changes in the administrative structure of HCMC after the effective date of Resolution 98/2023/QH15 on piloting a number of mechanisms and policies for the growth of HCMC.
Accordingly, the city formed its Department of Food Safety, increased the quantity of Vice Chairman of the People’s Committees at ward, commune, and town level for areas with a dense population.
The HCMC People’s Council decides the structure and number of civil servants and public employees in each ward, commune, and town as well as suitable policies for part-time public employees there to streamline the city structure. The state apparatus in Thu Duc City is completed.
Within its power, the HCMC People’s Committee is considering turning the current ICT Center (under the charge of the HCMC Information and Communications Department) into the Digital Transformation Center under its management.
Meanwhile, decentralization and authorization are promoted. The People’s Committee of HCMC is proposed to grant certain power and assign some functions, tasks to suitable specialized agencies or administrative units under its management or the charge of the People’s Committees of districts and Thu Duc City for performance improvements and avoidance of power, function overlapping.
Director Nhan then stressed that these changes will greatly benefit all city dwellers as they will increase the quality of services offered by the administrative apparatus of the city.
For instance, a rise in the number of officials in crowded areas, the overall cooperation among state units in the city, and an increase in decentralization and authorization are a strong motivation for those officials to have a more enthusiastic and positive working attitude.
In the third quarter this year, the total number of successfully processed documents of all state departments, agencies, and the People’s Committees of all levels is more than 6.15 million, over 99.8 percent of which were done on time.
Right now, the HCMC People’s Committee is developing the project ‘Building an Effective Civil Service System in HCMC in the 2024-2030 Period’, aiming at perfecting the administrative system in the city.
In response to the question about the fields to receive decentralization and authorization in HCMC, the Director answered that the HCMC Home Affairs Department has actively collaborated with related state agencies to review and propose to the Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee about authorizing leaders of a number of administrative agencies and public service units under the charge of the municipal People’s Committee to perform certain tasks and exercise some power.
The authorized units must have the ability to effectively fulfill those tasks and well manage the given power. This is expected to increase the autonomy and self-responsibility of subordinate levels.
Simultaneously, the HCMC Home Affairs Department is working with other agencies to consult the Chairman of the city People’s Committee about implementing Clause 4 of Article 9 in Resolution 98 on decentralization and authorization as long as these decisions are suitable for the reality and reduce document processing time.
Finally, Director Nhan discussed the question whether existing civil servants and public employees can answer these new requirements. This matter is being considered, and solutions are being devised when preparing the ‘Building an Effective Civil Service System in HCMC in the 2024-2030 Period’ project.
These include a clear orientation for the growth of a modern civil service system in HCMC, training plans for civil servants and public employees in the city to perform their duty, the streamlining of the existing apparatus for effectiveness, the use of third parties and employment of managers.
Moreover, the project defines the key policies and tasks to receive renovation, perfects human resources hiring processes, lists criteria for quality evaluation as a way to promote innovation and enthusiasm at workplace, and aims at improving civil services in general.
The City has directed relevant agencies to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the civil service system as well as the current status of the administrative structure and its staff. This will become the foundation to release strategic directions and devise overall, fundamental solutions to improve the quality of civil servants and public employees to meet HCMC development requirements, particularly in the aspects of decentralization and decentralization.
