Directive No. 40-TTg stipulates certain points in the working relationship between officials responsible for administrative machinery at all levels.

DIRECTIVE

REGULATIONS ON SOME ASPECTS OF THE WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESPONSIBLE COMRADES IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE MACHINERY AT ALL LEVELS

To implement and organize the execution of the Government Organization Law, at its first session recently, the Government discussed the working regulations of the Government, including the working relationship between the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, and Ministers. The Government Organization Law and the working regulations of the Government have defined Deputy Prime Ministers as assistants to the Prime Minister, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister to direct and manage, directly responsible for resolving matters within their assigned areas of work, viewing this as a delegation from the Prime Minister. Ministers regularly interact with the Prime Minister, meeting and working directly with the Prime Minister when necessary, but when working with Deputy Prime Ministers responsible for their sectors or fields, they must follow the directives of the Deputy Prime Minister, considering it as the Prime Minister's directive.

The spirit mentioned above also needs to be reflected in the working relationship between Ministers and Chairpersons of People's Committees at provincial and municipal levels, and among comrades responsible for administrative levels within provinces (cities), to enhance individual responsibility, ensure centralized and unified direction, overcome bureaucratic practices, unnecessary formalities, and sluggishness. It is necessary to eliminate poor working methods such as: overusing meetings to resolve very general issues; so-called summary meetings that do not propose measures to address major difficulties, not closely aligned with the specific situation of each sector or locality; heads of higher-level agencies not directly handling matters but delegating them to assisting agencies such as Bureaus, Departments, Offices, Boards, Divisions, etc., to work with heads of lower-level administrative agencies; or merely calling subordinates up for reports rather than personally going down to work with them, etc.

While the full set of working regulations of the Government, Ministries, and People's Committees at all levels has yet to be issued, the following actions need to be implemented immediately:

1. In the working relationship between Ministers and Chairpersons of People's Committees at provincial and municipal levels.

Ministers must directly work with Chairpersons of People's Committees at provincial and municipal levels (or Vice Chairpersons authorized by the Chairperson) to resolve matters directly, quickly, and sufficiently responsibly for issues within the authority of the Minister. When the Minister delegates a Deputy Minister to work with the Chairperson of the People's Committee at the provincial (municipal) level, the opinions of the Deputy Minister are considered as those of the Minister.

When the Chairperson (Vice Chairperson) of the People's Committee at the provincial (municipal) level has issues requiring resolution by the Ministry, the Minister (Deputy Minister) must provide a response within the shortest possible time, ending the situation where the People's Committee Chairperson (Vice Chairperson) must visit each Bureau or Department to present their requests before the Minister can take action. Relevant Bureaus and Departments, upon receiving requests from provincial (municipal) People's Committees, must consider these as tasks directly assigned by the Minister and report promptly, presenting their opinions for the Minister to directly resolve matters with the province (municipality).

In cases where the request of the province (municipality) involves multiple Ministries, the lead Ministry must personally coordinate discussions with other Ministries, avoiding the need for the Chairperson of the People's Committee at the provincial (municipal) level to visit each Ministry to seek solutions.

2. For matters exceeding the authority of the Minister, the Chairperson (or Vice Chairperson) of the People's Committee at the provincial (municipal) level works with the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister). In this case, the Minister and Director of the Government Office are responsible for organizing direct meetings between the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister and the Chairperson (Vice Chairperson), preventing the Chairperson of the People's Committee at the provincial (municipal) level from having to visit various sections of the Office. Opinions provided by the Deputy Prime Minister are considered as those of the Prime Minister.

3. The provisions stated in Articles 1 and 2 of this Directive also apply to Heads of government agencies with national management functions over sectors or areas of work.

4. In the working relationship between the Chairperson of the People's Committee at the provincial (municipal) level and Directors of Departments, Chairpersons of People's Committees at district (urban district) levels, similar principles should be applied.

The Chairperson of the People's Committee at the provincial (municipal) level must increase direct interaction with Chairpersons of People's Committees at district (urban district) levels and with Department Directors. If the Chairperson delegates a Vice Chairperson to handle matters, the opinions of the Vice Chairperson are considered as those of the Chairperson.

Department Directors must directly work with Chairpersons of People's Committees at district (urban district) levels to resolve matters within their sectors and assist districts (urban districts) in effective management and implementation. In necessary cases, Deputy Directors may be delegated, but their opinions are considered as those of the Director, and the Director is responsible for these opinions.

In cases where the opinion of a district involves multiple Departments, the lead Department must organize the working method and resolution process similarly to how it is done at the Ministry level as mentioned above.

5. In the working relationship between the Chairperson of the People's Committee at the district (urban district) level and the Chairperson of the People's Committee at the commune (ward) level, the aforementioned spirit should also be adhered to. The Chairperson of the People's Committee at the district (urban district) level must spend most of their time closely interacting with communes (wards), resolving matters on-site, minimizing the resolution of matters through general meetings or calling commune (ward) Chairpersons to the district (urban district) for reports and opinions.

When the Chairperson of the People's Committee at the district (urban district) level delegates a Vice Chairperson to work with the Chairperson of the People's Committee at the commune (ward) level, the opinions of the Vice Chairperson of the district (urban district) must also be considered as those of the Chairperson of the People's Committee at the district (urban district) level, and the Chairperson must bear responsibility for the opinions of their deputy.

In order to handle tasks accurately and efficiently, reduce bureaucracy and inconvenience for subordinates, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Heads of government agencies, Chairpersons, and Vice Chairpersons of Provincial People's Committees (cities) need to strengthen their presence at grassroots levels and closely with subordinates, thoroughly understanding the reality. The head of each level is primarily responsible to superiors and subordinates, must promote collective wisdom while emphasizing individual responsibility in implementing and complying with superior directives, as well as when handling specific tasks requested by subordinates.

Upon receiving this Directive, Ministers and Chairpersons of Provincial People's Committees (cities) must immediately study and adjust their administrative procedures accordingly. During the implementation of this Directive, if it is deemed necessary to supplement the above provisions to suit the circumstances, then Ministers and Heads of government agencies, Chairpersons of Provincial People's Committees (cities) shall submit a report to the Prime Minister for consideration.