Challenges and opportunities for Hanoi’s municipal government
In an interview with Hanoitimes, former Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Tien Dinh is convinced the time is set for Hanoi to step up efforts in forming a municipal government.
Former Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Tien Dinh.
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Hanoi is currently one of municipalities under the Central Government, however, based on the law, local governments are still structured and function according to a uniform legal regime of having both a People’s Council and a People’s Committee, regardless of the conditions or the size of the locality, which does not help to differentiate between rural and urban governments.
Therefore, the municipal government model is an inevitable trend for Hanoi and is the right direction for the city to go forward. That being said, there are striking differences between rural and urban areas, ranging from characteristics, capacities, and services needed from urban and rural administrative units, thus requiring separate government management models for each.
Following Ho Chi Minh City and Danang, Hanoi has received the Politburo’s permission to pilot the municipal government model, in which the city will only have People’s Councils and People’s Committees at the city-level, while the district- and ward-level People’s Councils will be dissolved.
This will allow for more efficient and effective municipal governance that could provide more adequate and better-fitting services to citizens. Moreover, the municipal government model will give the city greater autonomy and more decentralized decision-making in their financial and personnel mechanisms. The Chairmen of the People’s Committee at the city- and district-levels will have more responsibilities and rights through this model.
In fact, the current role of the People’s Councils is very limited in districts and wards. The potential removal of these People’s Councils will accelerate the implementation of decisions, by getting rid of the wait for bi-annual meetings of the People’s Council to formally approve and implement decisions that had effectively already been made.
The new model would temporarily remove People’s Councils at the suburban district and communal levels and re-structure administrative units in a bid to streamline administration, eventually leading to the reduction of internal units, abolition of intermediary levels, and reduction of staff at ministries, sectors, and governmental agencies.
Hanoi from above.
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The municipal government model has to be implemented step by step and Hanoi should learn from the examples and mistakes of others. However, the most important issue would be the human factor, as this will play a key role in empowering the People’s Committees at all levels. At present, the People’s Committees operate through group-based decision-making, but in municipal government, this will be the Chairmen’s responsibility.
On the other hand, there should be an appropriate solution to rearrange officials and staff currently working at People’s Councils.
Hanoi’s infrastructure system is overloaded and unable to meet the city’s growth requirements. What should Hanoi prepare to efficiently utilize the municipal government model in this regard?
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh are facing the pressure of growing populations and issues related to rapid urbanization. Thus, it is important to strictly follow the approved master plan and prevent new apartments or shopping malls from being built in the downtown area.
In master planning, it is important to synchronize technical and social infrastructure, especially with regard to transportation. In urban areas, all infrastructure units are connected as a whole, while this is a different story in rural areas, with only the road connecting a village to another. As such, municipal governments should be administrated through line agencies instead of having independent governance at each district and ward, particularly in terms of public order, the provision of electricity or water, and infrastructure management. I would prefer a single management mechanism for the whole city than a separated governance for each district and ward.
Bearing this in mind, no doubt the People’s Committees, especially Chairmen will have greater responsibilities and rights. As such, there should be more measures to restrict the power of individuals. If the decision is coming from a leader, the results should weigh on his shoulders, not on the group.
Hanoi chose the theme for 2018 as “Improving the efficiency and capabilities of the political system.” How will this effort impact the implementation of the municipal government?
From my standpoint, the theme is closely related to the task of developing the municipal government management model, indicating the determination of the entire administration to realize the model. With the approval from the Politburo, Hanoi will have great advantages in implementing this new model.
22:44, 2025/01/25
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