Plan to streamline Government's organisational apparatus finalised

HÀ NỘI — A plan to rearrange and streamline the Government's organisational apparatus was finalised on December 5, with eight ministries and ministerial-level agencies to be maintained (with internal changes only), and 14 others to be restructured, rearranged and merged.

Specifically, the eight ministries and ministerial-level agencies to be maintained are the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Government Office, the Government Inspectorate, and the State Bank of Việt Nam.

Notable ministerial consolidations include a merger between the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance, potentially becoming the ministry of finance and development investment or the ministry of economic development.

The Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Construction will combine to form the ministry of infrastructure and urban development.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will be merged with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to create the ministry of agriculture, and natural resources and environment.

The Ministry of Information and Communications will join the Ministry of Science and Technology to become the ministry of digital transformation and science and technology or the ministry of digital transformation, science, technology and communications.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs will go to the Ministry of Home Affairs, with several functions to be transferred to the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health will assume additional responsibilities, including several missions of the board of health protection and care for central-level officials, which will cease operations soon, and state management over social welfare, child protection, and social evils prevention from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take over the main tasks of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations and the National Assembly's Committee for External Relations when these two units end their functions. The Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum Management Board will be managed by the Ministry of National Defence, becoming part of the ministry's organisational structure.

The Ministry of Home Affairs will proactively build a plan to reorganise the National Academy of Public Administration by merging it into the Hồ Chí Minh National Academy of Politics.

According to Minister of Home Affairs Phạm Thị Thanh Trà, the government's restructuring extends beyond ministerial consolidation, and the number of units under ministries and ministerial-level organisations will be cut by 15-20 per cent, comprising a significant reduction in general departments, bureaus, departments, and public service organisations. The bold step aims at creating a leaner and more efficient administrative apparatus.