Administrative Shake-up Announced
Last month, the Vietnamese government announced proposals for a major administrative shake-up, with several ministries and National Assembly committees set to merge. Designed to streamline state administration and create leaner, more efficient government operations, the move would also see a significant cut in officials, departments, and agencies of between 15 and 20 per cent and a 35 to 40 per cent reduction in government organisations.
The proposals, first revealed at a meeting of the Politburo and Party Secretariat on 1 December, follow a meeting of the Party Central Committee on 25 November where General Secretary To Lam emphasised that implementing Resolution No. 18 on reforming and restructuring the central political apparatus was essential to national socio-economic development.
Ministerial Mergers
The proposals entail retaining eight ministries and ministerial-level agencies: The Ministry of National Defense (MOND); the Ministry of Public Security (MPS); the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT); the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST); the Government Office (OOG); the Ministry of Justice (MOJ); the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV); and the Government Inspectorate.
Meanwhile, the proposals envisage mergers between 14 ministries and agencies. Proposed new Ministries will be created from consolidation between:
- The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF)
- The Ministry of Construction (MOC) and the Ministry of Transport (MOT)
- The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MONRE) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)
- The Ministry of Information and Communications (MOIC) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)
- The Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA). Some responsibilities of MOLISA will go to the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and the Ministry of Health (MOH).
If these plans are approved, MOH will be responsible for social welfare, child protection, and social evils as well as the management of central-level officials. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) will assume responsibilities of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations and the National Assembly’s Committee for External Relations. Both of these committees are set to be abolished if and when these reforms come into effect.
Committee Consolidation
Several other committees will be abolished and their tasks subsumed into other agencies. For instance, both the State Capital Management Committee and the National Financial Supervisory Committee will be disbanded and their tasks redistributed to the revamped MOF and the SBV.
Of particular note for the legal sector is a proposal that the Supreme People’s Procuracy and the Supreme People’s Court will both come under a new Committee for Central Party Agencies and Central Judiciary. Meanwhile, in the National Assembly, the Judiciary and Legal Committees will merge, as will the Economic and Financial Committees and the Social and Cultural Committees.
Party Committees and agencies had until 31 December to submit reports to the Steering Committee, with the proposals set to be considered by the Politburo in February before possible approval by the Central Party Committee in March 2025.
APFL Partners will keep our clients updated with how these proposals could impact their investment projects and commercial operations in Vietnam. To find out more about these changes, just contact our team on: contact@apflpartners.com
Disclaimer: This article and its content are for information only and are not given as legal or professional advice. they do not necessarily reflect all relevant legal provisions with respect to the subject matter. Readers should seek legal or professional advice before taking or refraining to take any action.
