Decision No. 3379/QD-BNN-VP On the issuance of the Administrative Reform Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the period 2006-2010

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the issuance of the Administrative Reform Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the period 2006-2010

____________________

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Pursuant to Decree No. 86/2003/NĐ-CP dated July 18, 2003 of the Government stipulating the tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Pursuant to Decision No. 94/2006/QĐ-TTg dated April 27, 2006 of the Prime Minister approving the plan for administrative reform of the State for the period 2006-2010;

At the proposal of the Director of the Office,

DECISION:

Article 1. The Administrative Reform Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the period 2006-2010 is hereby issued together with this Decision. The full text of the plan will be published on the website www.mard.gov.vn and shall have the same validity as the original.

Article 2. Heads of units under the Ministry shall, based on the Administrative Reform Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the period 2006-2010, according to their functions and assigned tasks, be responsible for concretizing it into specific administrative reform tasks for their units and organizing its implementation.

Article 3. This Decision takes effect from the date of signature.

The Director of the Office, Heads of units under the Ministry, and members of the Administrative Reform Steering Committee of the Ministry shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

PLAN

Administrative Reform 2006-2010

(Issued together with Decision No.: 3379 QĐ/BNN-VP dated November 8, 2006 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development

The five-year Administrative Reform Plan 2006-2010 of the Ministry was developed based on concretizing the contents of the overall program, the State's administrative reform plan for the period 2006-2010 approved by the Government; Decision No. 94/2006/QĐ-TTg dated April 27, 2006 of the Prime Minister approving the State's administrative reform plan for the period 2006-2010, and the Action Program for Administrative Reform during the period 2001-2010 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, promulgated in document No. 1861/BNN-VP dated July 10, 2002.

Part One

OVERVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION RESULTS OF THE FIVE-YEAR ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM PLAN 2001-2005

I. ACHIEVEMENTS

In implementing the overall program of administrative reform of the State, in recent years, the administrative reform work of the Ministry has been given due attention and achieved many positive results, contributing to the Ministry's effective performance of its state management functions, reflected in the following areas:

1. Institutional Reform:

- Legal Affairs Work has been prioritized, the Ministry established the Department of Legal Affairs to oversee the drafting of regulatory legal documents; promote, disseminate, and educate about laws; review and inspect compliance with issued regulatory legal documents.

Over the past five years, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has led the drafting and submission to the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for promulgation of the Law on Protection and Development of Forests (amended) and five Ordinances (Ordinance on Exploitation and Protection of Waterworks (amended), Ordinance on Protection and Quarantine of Plants (amended), Ordinance on Plant Varieties, Ordinance on Animal Breeds, and Ordinance on Veterinary Medicine (amended)); submitted to the Government and the Prime Minister for promulgation 82 documents, including: 18 Decrees, 59 Decisions, and 5 Directives of the Prime Minister. Currently, the Law on Dikes is being reviewed at the tenth session of the National Assembly, Eleventh Term, for consideration and approval.

The regulatory legal documents issued have created a favorable legal framework, meeting the requirements for agricultural and rural development, enabling the Ministry to perform its state management functions through law. Besides organizing the drafting of documents, in recent years, the review, promotion, education, and inspection of law enforcement by units under the Ministry and localities have been conducted regularly, thereby identifying issues of non-compliance and unsuitability to propose timely rectification and amendment.

- Many administrative procedures have been reviewed, amended, abolished, simplified, or delegated to create the most favorable conditions for organizations, businesses, and citizens in production, business, and services in the agricultural sector, including many import and export permits for fertilizers, seeds, raw materials for animal feed processing, veterinary drug production, and plant protection which were abolished; many permits were converted into business conditions; permits related to the scope of waterworks and dike protection, forest product exploitation and transportation were delegated to localities; many administrative procedures and permits were processed online; project appraisal and approval procedures were simplified, and processing time was shortened.

- The situation and results of implementing the "one-stop" mechanism

By the end of 2004, the Ministry had initiated the pilot application of the "one-stop" mechanism at some specialized agencies. To date, the Ministry has approved the proposal and directed seven agencies to implement the pilot "one-stop" mechanism, namely the Plant Protection Agency, the Veterinary Agency, the Crop Production Agency, the Livestock Raising Agency, the Water Resources Agency, the Construction Project Management Agency, and the Cooperative and Rural Development Agency.

Although there are still many difficulties in the process of building and implementing, such as the location of the administrative procedure reception and delivery unit, many civil servants in the "one-stop" unit have not been trained or educated in administrative reform knowledge as well as skills, expertise, and communication, the initial application of the "one-stop" mechanism has been welcomed by customers; administrative procedures have been simplified, in accordance with the law; the process, time limit for handling matters, fees, and charges are clearly defined and publicized. During the implementation, the Ministry organized inspections to identify deficiencies and deviations to supplement and address them promptly.

2. Organizational Reform of the State Administrative Machinery.

- The functions and responsibilities of the Ministryhave been clarified, specifically defining the areas under the Ministry's state management, to delineate functions and responsibilities from other ministries and sectors. At the same time, the functions and responsibilities of units under the Ministry have also been clarified, addressing overlapping situations where one task is assigned to multiple units or there is uncertainty about which unit should handle a task.

Adjustments concerning organization and clarifying the specialized state management functions of the Departments, the advisory and consolidating functions of the Bureaus; gradually rectify the situation where Bureaus act as superiors to Departments, Departments do not fully perform their assigned tasks, are passive, waiting for direct guidance and management from the Ministry; the Ministry oversteps, performing tasks that should be carried out by the Departments; public service units undertake state management tasks.

Reforming state management of public service units; the Ministry has submitted to the Prime Minister for approval the restructuring plan of the scientific research system according to the principle of enhancing efficiency, promoting the initiative and dynamism of units, aligning with the mechanism for reforming scientific and technological activities. Some institutes and schools have established companies to link scientific research with technology transfer to production, initially yielding good results.

The Ministry issued a decision to establish the Enterprise Reform and Management Board under the Ministry to further accelerate the restructuring, reform, and shareholding of state-owned enterprises, forestry and logging farms.

- Matters concerning decentralization of management:

Central-local decentralization: State management tasks regarding agriculture and rural development have been significantly decentralized to provincial authorities, stipulated in the Law on Water Resources, the Law on Protection and Development of Forests; Ordinances: Animal Health; Protection and Plant Business; Crop Seeds; Livestock Breeds; Dikes; Flood and Typhoon Prevention; Operation and Protection of Irrigation Works; Government Decree issuing regulations on management of production forests, special-use forests, protective forests which are natural forests,... Implementing Resolution No. 08/2004/NQ-CP dated June 30, 2004 of the Government on decentralization between the Central and Local levels, the Ministry has actively worked with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment... to continue reviewing overlapping functions and responsibilities according to Decree 86/CP to identify issues needing adjustment and timely guidance.

Matters concerning management and handling of work through the form of signing orders and delegations from the Minister has helped state management become more timely, simplified procedures, enhanced responsibility of Heads of Departments and Bureaus, reduced time for Leaders of the Ministry to handle administrative matters, allowing them to focus on major issues such as policy formulation, strategy, and development plans.

3. On building and improving the quality of civil servants.

The issue of building and improving the quality of the civil servant corps has been given utmost attention by the Ministry and its units across various fields, including establishing job standards for cadres; arranging and deploying cadres appropriately, reducing staff, organizing recruitment exams for new cadres, implementing retirement policies; strictly implementing regulations and procedures for appointment, reappointment, transfer, and rotation of cadres; training and enhancing theoretical and professional skills for civil servants... As a result, the political qualities, professional capabilities of the civil servant corps of the Ministry have improved significantly, meeting the requirements of work.

Regarding management of the list of civil service and public service positions. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development currently manages 34 positions, including 14 civil service positions and 20 public service positions. Four public service positions related to disinfection have been transferred to business entities.

4. On financial reform

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is one of four Ministries selected to pilot the establishment of Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). This is a new approach to change the budget management system towards outcome orientation, also a valuable opportunity to test, encourage monitoring, and focus more on implementation outcomes. MTEF 2006-2008 has been completed and the Working Group is continuing to develop MTEF 2007-2009.

Implementing new financial mechanisms for public service units with income:

By the end of 2005, 88 out of 95 units had implemented the new self-financing mechanism, including 6 units ensuring 100% of operating funds themselves. With this financial mechanism, Schools, Research Institutes, Centers have proactively expanded public service activities such as short-term and non-formal training, joint training programs, implementing research contracts with domestic and foreign units; hospitals and health centers are also striving to organize new medical services and programs.

At the same time, while tapping into revenue sources, units have applied cost-saving measures such as internal expenditure regulations, setting cost and material consumption standards, fuel and public service costs; strengthening management and supervision, thus significantly improving revenue for each unit.

From the savings in regular expenses, about 3% to 10%, and additional income from the units' business operations, conditions were created to implement salary reform, allocate part of it to supplement common activity funds, improve workers' income, thereby creating a spirit of unity and enthusiasm among units, enhancing the effectiveness and quality of professional work.

5. On modernizing the administrative system.

By issuing working regulations; maintaining directive and management work according to work programs, applying information technology in management, strengthening administrative discipline and rules..., the state administrative management work of the Ministry has made clear progress, helping the Ministry and units to promptly and effectively direct and resolve work.

The Ministry has piloted the application of “Quality Management System (ISO 9001-2000) in the operation of administrative agencies” at the Ministry's Office since late 2003, certified and officially implemented from January 2006. The results of the pilot at the Ministry's Office will serve as a basis for implementing other administrative agencies under the Ministry according to the Prime Minister's Decision.

Computerization of state administrative management

Pursuant to Decision 112/2001/QĐ-TTg dated July 25, 2001 of the Prime Minister on implementing the administrative management information technology program, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development issued a decision approving the Information Technology Application Development Strategy for administrative management of the Ministry during the period 2001-2010; and approved the Information Technology Administrative Management Program for the period 2001-2005.

The application of information technology in management has helped improve the management methods of the Ministry and its subordinate units, saving costs through the exploitation and use of internal networks, enhancing two-way information exchange via computer networks between the Ministry and various bases and localities; implementing the personnel management program PMIS, incoming and outgoing document management programs of the Ministry.

Modernizing the workplace

The Ministry has effectively utilized the annual allocated funds to gradually modernize equipment, upgrade offices, and improve working conditions; currently, the Ministry's headquarters is increasingly spacious, clean, and well-organized.

Implementing the movement to build a cultural life in the workplace, the Ministry established steering committees at all levels, organized propaganda campaigns, and launched competitive movements among every cadre, civil servant, and employee.

II. LIMITATIONS, EXISTING ISSUES AND CAUSES

1. Institutional reform:

- The legal system regarding agriculture and rural development is not yet synchronized and complete; plans for building legal documents are often not completed; the number of documents generated outside the plan is very high.

- The quality of drafting and reviewing legal documents is still limited; some documents contain errors both in content and form; the inspection of law implementation is not given due attention and is not conducted regularly.

- Units have not adequately invested in legal affairs, thus failing to timely allocate human resources and financial resources for legal work; the responsibilities and authorities of the Legal Department have not been clearly defined.

- Although there have been initial changes, overall, discipline and administrative rules, sense of responsibility in performing assigned tasks such as receiving and handling citizens' and organizations' matters, responding to documents, implementing tasks assigned by the Ministry's leadership, implementing common programs of the Ministry, information and reporting systems... of many units and a large portion of cadres and civil servants, including unit leaders, remain weak; administrative procedures are not reviewed, improved, and made public in a timely manner.

2. Organizational structure:

Some functions and tasks related to rural development, agricultural processing and marketing, and rural industries between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other ministries; and between provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development and other provincial departments still need further clarification.

Decentralization, especially the management decentralization between the Ministry and localities, remains challenging, particularly in national management tasks such as planning, quality control of agricultural inputs, and project investment construction management. The organizational system for implementing state management functions from the Ministry to the grassroots level is inconsistent across localities, especially in the organizational structure of provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development; at the commune level, there are no specialized agricultural and rural development cadres and civil servants.

3. Human resource development

- Cadre management

There has been no significant breakthrough in improving the quality of the cadre and civil servant corps; strengthening discipline and administrative rules within the administrative machinery, coupled with efforts to curb and reverse bureaucratic practices, corruption, and waste among cadres and civil servants, remains a pressing issue; evaluations and assessments of cadres and employees are inadequate, do not meet requirements, lack standardized criteria, and fail to effectively and accurately conduct annual reviews.

Most units under the Ministry still have a portion of cadres and civil servants who are limited in capability, political and professional qualifications, are reluctant to learn and improve, are conservative, and cling to old working methods, thus failing to meet new demands for reform and integration. However, resolving the policies to reduce this group of cadres is difficult.

- Training

While training and capacity building for cadres and civil servants have seen considerable effort, they have not truly aligned with cadre positions, standards, and planning; they focus more on sending people to schools rather than practical training, and the training programs, teaching methods, and learning approaches do not suit the needs of building a cadre and civil servant corps in the new era. Many administrative civil service managers have not been equipped with leadership skills and professional competencies according to job requirements.

4. On financial reform

Budgetary Planning and Allocation

- Democratic, transparent, and open mechanisms are not fully implemented; accountability does not keep pace with increased decentralization in investment and expenditure management; a complete process and criteria for budget planning and allocation have not been established; indicators and forms are not standardized for all units to apply; the budget management system does not focus on outcomes and does not integrate performance results into planning and budget processes.

Regarding the financial mechanism for administrative agencies

- Low administrative spending limits make it difficult to pilot the staffing and management cost mechanism; standardization in internal fund usage regulations and income increase regulations for cadres and civil servants has not been achieved.

Regarding the financial mechanism for state-owned enterprises

Units are still restricted in budget allocation oversight, changes in service provision levels and orientation, and financial autonomy across different sectors.

- Financial supervision still follows a centralized, paternalistic approach, excessively intervening in the state budget allocated to public institutions. Units are passive, dependent, and in many cases, untruthful in accounting and documentation.

Overall Assessment:

In recent years, the administrative reform work of the Ministry has achieved some important results, particularly in areas such as building and perfecting the system of regulatory legal documents, promoting propaganda, education, inspection of law enforcement; making a significant adjustment to the functions, tasks, organizational structure of Departments and Bureaus; restructuring research institutes; restructuring and shareholding state-owned enterprises; initially reviewing and publicizing administrative procedures in certain fields and units to facilitate the prompt and convenient resolution of matters directly related to citizens and businesses; administrative discipline and responsibility of civil servants in performing their duties have been initially improved; time for handling matters and responding to documents from organizations, businesses, and individuals has been shortened; office space has been initially rearranged.

However, in light of the requirements for modernizing the administrative apparatus to best meet the needs of farmers and businesses in investment and development of production and business activities, services, industrialization, modernization, and economic integration at the national level in the agricultural sector and rural development, there are still issues in the management of the State administration of the Ministry that need to be focused on solving, including: the system of regulatory legal documents on agriculture and rural development is still lacking; some documents are not truly in line with reality, causing difficulties for the production and business activities of citizens and businesses. The processing of matters for citizens, businesses, and organizations in many agencies is still slow, prolonged, and in some cases, not responded to; the sense of responsibility of some civil servants is weak, with some showing signs of harassment in the performance of their duties, indifference towards the concerns of citizens and businesses. The management system from the Ministry down to the grassroots level is inconsistent and problematic; the affiliated service units of the Ministry are very large, thus the Ministry, Departments, and Bureaus spend much time and effort on direct management and handling specific cases, affecting the overall macro-management tasks of the Ministry. Heads of agencies and units and most civil servants pay little attention to administrative reform while conditions regarding finance, training, motivation, and rewards for civil servants engaged in administrative reform are almost non-existent, hence administrative reform has not been considered a critical task in the operations of agencies and units.

Part Two

PLAN FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM PERIOD 2006 - 2010

I. OVERALL OBJECTIVES

Building a modern Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure smooth, transparent, democratic, effective, friendly management and operation, moving towards international standards to best meet the requirements of farmers, businesses, and organizations within the scope of the Ministry's state management, contributing to the stable and sustainable development of the agricultural and rural sectors in Vietnam.

II. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND TASKS.

A. INSTITUTIONAL REFORM

1. Objectives

Building a complete legal system for the agricultural and rural sectors, simplified and transparent, creating the most favorable conditions for people and businesses to invest in and develop production and business activities in agriculture and rural development, consistent with international regulations, while helping the Ministry effectively perform its state management functions and contribute to preventing corruption and waste.

2. Specific Responsibilities

- Reforming the process of issuing regulatory legal documents;

- Supplementing, amending, and perfecting the system of regulatory legal documents in the agricultural and rural development sectors;

- Reviewing and amending administrative procedures towards simplicity, transparency, and openness to best meet the requirements of citizens, businesses, and organizations;

- Enhancing legal knowledge, administrative skills, and professional ethics for civil servants of the Ministry;

- Inspecting the implementation of regulatory legal documents; providing legal assistance.

B. ORGANIZATIONAL REFORM

1. Objectives

Establishing a unified and efficient management system for the agricultural and rural development sector from central to local levels.

2. Specific Responsibilities

- Implementing decentralization to clarify the rights and responsibilities between the Ministry and Departments; between the Ministry and provincial level; between Departments and Bureaus in the performance of state management tasks in the agricultural and rural sectors;

- Establishing the functions, tasks, and organizational structures of the Ministry and its affiliated units for the new government term (National Assembly Term XII);

- Granting autonomy to service units and scientific and technological service units under the Ministry according to government regulations;

- Planning and restructuring the system of schools under the Ministry for the period 2006-2010 and guiding until 2015;

- Continuing to implement phase two of the restructuring of research institutes according to the Prime Minister's decision;

- Developing pilot models for administrative management and public services: result-based management model (PMS), legal knowledge dissemination, extension, and public service models;

C. HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

1. Objectives

Standardizing requirements and criteria for each position of civil servants

2. Tasks

- Applying information technology to build and implement a human resource management system for the Ministry; developing job descriptions for civil servants; reforming recruitment, transfer, and appointment of civil servants;

- Strengthening decentralized management of civil servants between the Ministry and its affiliated units, especially in recruitment, salary increments; managing overseas trips and study;

- Improving management capabilities, professional skills, and ethical conduct of administrative civil servants in performing their duties;

- Establishing and implementing rules of service, defining rights, responsibilities, reward systems, and disciplinary measures for civil servants in performing their duties;

- Considering, amending, and perfecting the training program on state administrative management for civil servants in the industry according to Decision No. 13/2006/QD-BNV dated October 6, 2006, of the Minister of Home Affairs.

D. PUBLIC FINANCE REFORM

1. Objectives

Improving budget planning, allocation, balance, and expenditure management to enhance initiative, accountability of units, ensuring transparency and efficiency in budget spending.

2. Tasks

- Amend, supplement, and perfect the financial regulations (current expenditures and investment expenditures) for agencies and units under the Ministry, apply the new financial mechanism of the Government for administrative state agencies; public service units and scientific units under the Ministry;

- Continue to implement the program of thrift practice, waste prevention, and anti-corruption;

E. MODERNIZATION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM

1. Objectives

Build the administrative machinery of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development gradually towards modernization, professionalism, transparency, and friendliness with citizens and businesses;

2. Tasks

- Implement the programatization of work and regulationatization of official duties in the guidance and management of the Ministry and its units;

- Gradually modernize the offices of the Ministry's agencies and units, initially equipping working tools according to the Government's standards for administrative modernization;

- Establish a "one-stop" office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for shared use by units at No. 2 Ngoc Ha Street, ensuring modern administrative standards and civil service culture to receive and deliver results of individual, organizational, and business work;

- Develop the information management system of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to meet management, guidance, and operational requirements of the Ministry and its units, storing and sharing information in accordance with the goals of the electronic government;

- Pilot and expand the commune-level information center system, agricultural extension information system, and market information system to facilitate two-way information exchange between farmers and administrative management levels;

F. REFORMING THE GUIDANCE ON ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM

1. Objectives

Ensure timely and effective guidance and management by the Ministry's Administrative Reform Steering Committee, heads of units on administrative reform activities, focusing resources to implement administrative reform;

2. Tasks

- Clearly define and fully implement the roles and responsibilities of each member of the Administrative Reform Steering Committee, the Office of the Permanent Administrative Reform Steering Committee; the contents of the Ministry's administrative reform activities are promptly and effectively evaluated;

- Enhance the responsibility of unit heads in organizing and implementing the Ministry's administrative reform program, ensuring quality and effectiveness;

- Strengthen and mobilize financial resources to serve the administrative reform program, including state budget and international support;

- Promote administrative reform activities of the Ministry and units through various forms of publicity;

- Equip civil servants involved in administrative reform with domestic and foreign knowledge and experience in administrative reform;

III. MAJOR SOLUTIONS:

1. Party committees at all levels in agencies and units under the Ministry directly lead the administration and mass organizations to thoroughly understand the objectives, requirements, and tasks of the Government's and the Ministry's administrative reform program within their agencies and units, and lead the implementation of administrative reform tasks;

2. Members of the Ministry's Administrative Reform Steering Committee, based on assigned tasks, proactively guide the development of detailed annual and quarterly plans to implement the Ministry's administrative reform tasks for the period 2006-2010; regularly monitor and inspect plan implementation and promptly report to the Head of the Steering Committee;

3. Heads of agencies and units are directly responsible for the quality of administrative reform activities in their agencies and units. Based on the content of the Ministry's administrative reform plan for 2006-2010, they proactively develop plans, concretize them into administrative reform tasks for their agencies and units, and organize implementation according to assigned functions and tasks. Pay special attention to the cadre and civil servants directly engaged in administrative reform regarding training, political theory education, skills, professional expertise, guidance, inspection of task performance, motivation, and rewards in work;

4. The Finance Department, based on the Ministry of Finance's guidelines and current financial regulations, has the responsibility to guide units in developing financial plans to implement administrative reform tasks of the units and the Ministry;

5. The International Cooperation Department is responsible for seeking international funding to support the implementation of the Ministry's administrative reform plan; monitoring and ensuring efficient use of funding; regularly reporting to the Steering Committee;

6. The Office of the Permanent Administrative Reform Steering Committee assists the Steering Committee in guiding, supporting, monitoring, and summarizing the organization and implementation of the Ministry's administrative reform plan; promptly proposing solutions to the Steering Committee for emerging issues, timely and accurately rewarding units and individuals with achievements, criticizing and disciplining units and individuals who do not strictly implement administrative reform work;

This plan includes two appendices attached as a basis for organizing and implementing the plan./.