Prime Minister: Significant work remains to ensure a smooth and effective two-tier local government model

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh addresses the meeting. (Source: VGP)

Although the new two-tier local government model has run stably since its launch on July 1, there is much to do to ensure its smooth, synchronous and effective operations, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has stressed.

Chairing a meeting of the Government Party Committee’s Standing Board and the Government on August 23 to review two months of implementing the model, PM Chinh highlighted positive changes with the administration shifting from management-oriented to service-oriented, and reforms winning public consensus and increasing confidence in a modern, professional system.

However, he acknowledged difficulties in personnel arrangements, infrastructure, budgeting, digitalisation, asset handovers and housing for officials.

He noted Party General Secretary To Lam’s directions that staff shortages must be addressed immediately by reinforcements from provincial or ministerial levels.

The PM urged delegates to assess achievements, shortcomings and obstacles, and propose practical solutions.

He requested reviews of conclusions of the Government and the PM, improvements to the legal framework and the design of tools to measure performance.

Administrative restructuring, he said, has created new development space, requiring proper planning and transparent budgeting.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, to date, localities have completed the restructuring of provincial and communal-level People’s Councils and People's Committees, establishing 465 specialised agencies under 34 provincial-level People’s Committees and 9,916 offices under 3,321 commune-level committees.

Public service centres have been set up in 32 localities, handling 4.4 million dossiers from July 1 to August 19, nearly 75% submitted online.

As of August 21, 2025, based on 30 Government decrees on decentralisation and delegation of authority, ministries and ministerial-level agencies had issued 66 circulars to further detail and guide state management responsibilities under the two-tier local government model.

Personnel downsizing has seen more than 94,000 officials leave their posts, with over 50,000 already receiving payments.

The Ministry of Finance reported 16,124 surplus properties requiring handling, including 6,704 arising from restructuring.

At the meeting, ministers pointed out remaining challenges, including uneven staff capacity, incomplete digitalisation and records management, and difficulties in transferring data, assets and finances.

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