Decision No. 85/2002/QĐ-TTg Issuing the Implementation Plan for Resolution No. 17-NQ/TW dated March 18, 2002 of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Party (Term IX) on "Reforming and Improving the Quality of the Political System at the Grassroots Level of Communes, Wards, and Towns"

Pursuant to …;

Issuing the Plan to Implement Decision No. 17-NQ/TW dated March 18

2002 of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Party (Term

IX) on "Renewing and Improving the Quality of the Political System at the Grassroots Level of Communes, Wards, and Towns"

" township, town"

_____________________

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 07/2002/NQ-CP of the Government dated June 3, 2002 at the regular meeting in May 2002;

At the proposal of the Minister, Head of the Organization-Cadre Department of the Government Office.

DECISION:

Article 1. This Decision promulgates the Plan to Implement Decision No. 17-NQ/TW dated March 18, 2002 of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Party (Term IX) on "Renewing and Improving the Quality of the Political System at the Grassroots Level of Communes, Wards, and Towns".

Article 2. This Decision shall take effect from the date of signing.

Article 3. The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

PLAN

IMPLEMENTATION OF RESOLUTION NO. 17-NQ/TW DATED MARCH 18, 2002 OF THE FIFTH PLANNING SESSION OF THE PARTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE (TERM IX) ON "RENEWING AND IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL OF COMMUNES, WARDS, AND TOWNS"

(Issued attached with Decision No.: 85/2002/QĐ-TTg dated June 28, 2002 of the Prime Minister)

To implement Resolution No. 17-NQ/TW dated March 18, 2002 of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Party Central Committee (Term IX) on "Renewing and Improving the Quality of the Political System at the Grassroots Level of Communes, Wards, and Towns"; to thoroughly implement Directive No. 11-CT/TW dated April 8, 2002 of the Party Central Committee on "Studying and Implementing Resolutions of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Party Central Committee", the Government issues this Implementation Plan with the following main contents:

I. TASKS TO BE CONCENTRATED ON SOLVING FROM NOW UNTIL 2005

1. Clearly define the functions and tasks of grassroots administrative bodies, renew and enhance the effectiveness of the People's Council and People's Committee.

- Clearly define the functions, tasks, and powers of grassroots administrative bodies within the four-tier state administrative system as stipulated by the Constitution in organizing the implementation of the Party's and State's policies and guidelines, economic, cultural, social, security, and defense goals at the grassroots level; manage state administration affairs within their jurisdiction; guide and supervise community self-management activities, facilitate citizens and businesses to operate according to the law. Higher levels should not burden grassroots levels with tasks that they themselves must perform and should not compel grassroots levels to undertake all administrative management tasks.

- Clearly delineate responsibilities and powers for grassroots administrative bodies in state management; specify the matters delegated by higher levels to grassroots administrative bodies. Specific contents include:

+ Delegating to grassroots administrative bodies the authority to collect and allocate budget revenues and expenditures; organize and manage cadres; manage land; protect dykes, irrigation works; manage household registration; manage investment projects funded by the state budget and mobilized from the public, manage educational, health, and cultural facilities serving the people in communes, wards, and towns;

+ Delegating to grassroots administrative bodies the authority to collect certain types of taxes, manage natural resources; implement social policies using the state budget; fulfill national defense and security tasks;

+ Ward administrative bodies do not manage all production and daily life activities comprehensively like commune and town administrative bodies, but have important responsibilities in urban management. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly define their authority and responsibilities and create conditions for them to effectively perform their duties, especially in urban planning, land management, housing, population, environmental sanitation, and urban order management.

- Reform the organizational structure of grassroots administrative bodies, reduce the number of members of the People's Committee to facilitate its operation, increase dynamism, emphasize responsibility, clarify the authority of the collective People's Committee, the Chairman of the People's Committee, and committee members. Improve the support staff including the People's Council and People's Committee Office and three sectors: economic-finance (including accounting), culture-social, and internal affairs, distinguishing between communes, wards, and towns.

- Reform the election mechanism for People's Council representatives to ensure greater democracy in nominations, candidacies, and selections so that the representatives truly represent the people. Increase the number of People's Council representatives; appropriately increase the proportion of non-Party representatives. Enhance the quality of sessions and oversight by the People's Council.

2. Build a cadre corps and policies for cadres at the grassroots level.

In accordance with Resolution No. 17-NQ/TW dated March 18, 2002 of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Party Central Committee (Term IX), the political system at the grassroots level has both full-time and part-time cadres. Full-time cadres are those who dedicate most of their working time to performing assigned duties, including:

- Cadres elected to positions: key cadres of the Party's local committees, People's Councils, People's Committees, heads of the United Front and mass organizations.

- Professional cadres selected by the People's Committee: police chiefs, commune militia chiefs, office staff, land administration, finance-accounting, judicial, culture-social workers. The number of professional cadres is determined by the Government.

Full-time cadres at the grassroots level enjoy work systems and benefits similar to civil servants; when they are no longer full-time cadres and do not meet retirement conditions, they can continue to pay social insurance contributions or receive a one-time allowance according to the early retirement policy. Grassroots-level civil servants who meet the criteria can take examinations for higher-level civil service positions. From now until 2005, about 70-80% of full-time cadres elected to positions will be trained and developed to meet the prescribed standards; approximately 80% of professional cadres will have a college degree or higher in plains areas, and a secondary school degree or higher in mountainous regions.

To implement the above content, it is necessary to focus on the following tasks:

- Amend the Ordinance on Cadres and Civil Servants, clearly distinguishing three types: administrative cadres and civil servants; cadres and staff members of public institutions; and cadres and civil servants at grassroots levels.

- Gradually rejuvenate and establish specific standards for each specialized cadre position, and develop training programs and curricula for cadre and civil servant training and development at the grassroots level.

- Localities should develop planning and training plans for cadres and civil servants, combining in-place training with recruitment from newly graduated college and university students to work at the grassroots level, striving to meet the targets set out in the Resolution by the end of 2005.

- Implement the project on salary policies for specialized cadres and allowances for non-specialized cadres at the grassroots level.

- Based on the project classifying provincial administrative units, develop and implement the project classifying village, ward, and town administrative units.

- Draft a new Decree on cadres at the grassroots level to replace Decree No. 09/1998/NĐ-CP dated January 23, 1998, amending and supplementing Decree No. 50/CP dated July 26, 1995, of the Government on living expenses for village, ward, and town cadres, Decree No. 40/1999/NĐ-CP dated June 23, 1999, on Village Police, Decree No. 46/2000/NĐ-CP dated September 12, 2000, amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 35/CP dated June 14, 1996, of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on People's Militia Self-Defense, and other related documents concerning policies for cadres at the grassroots level.

3. Grant financial autonomy to grassroots-level authorities and gradually ensure common material facilities serving the agencies within the grassroots political system.

- Develop a proposal for financial autonomy at the grassroots level, expanding revenue sources left entirely for grassroots authorities, encouraging increased revenue generation to ensure that medium-developed grassroots units can balance their regular expenditures; study financial mechanisms for two types of grassroots authorities: those villages, wards, and towns capable of balancing regular expenditures and those not yet able to do so, with incentives for units exceeding budgeted revenues.

- Develop a proposal for investment in building office premises and purchasing necessary equipment for the grassroots political system, suitable to the characteristics of each region, especially mountainous areas and difficult regions. Strive to have all villages, wards, and towns equipped with office premises and necessary working tools by 2005, gradually modernizing according to the requirements of administrative information management. Ensure good radio broadcasting systems and post offices-culture houses to provide information to the people.

- Propose investment in constructing cultural activity houses for villages, hamlets, ấp, bản, tổ dân phố.

4. Improve the Regulations on Democratic Implementation at the Village, Ward, and Town Level and gradually improve organization and operation in community settings.

- Amend and supplement the Regulations on Democratic Implementation at the Village, Ward, and Town Level based on the principle of centralized democracy, promoting the people's right to self-governance through direct democracy, enhancing representative democracy, and specifying the implementation of the people's supervisory rights over organizations and cadres at the grassroots level and replacing those who lack trust. Promoting democracy must be accompanied by reinforcing and improving discipline and order according to the law.

- Villages, hamlets, ấp, bản, sóc (collectively referred to as villages), neighborhoods, or community groups are not administrative levels. The village head, head of bản, neighborhood head, or community group leader is directly elected by the people, representing both the people and the grassroots authority to perform certain administrative tasks in the village, neighborhood, or community group, commissioned by the commune-level People's Committee.

- Develop the Regulations on Organization and Operation of Villages, Neighborhoods, or Community Groups to promote community self-management, assist each other in production, reduce poverty, build a civilized lifestyle, prevent social evils, maintain public order and safety, and environmental hygiene.

5. Reform the guidance of higher levels towards grassroots authorities.

- Organizations within the political system from the central to the district level must reform their methods of guidance, overcome bureaucratic tendencies, distance from the people, and focus more on the grassroots level, strengthening close contact and direct work with the grassroots and the people, assisting grassroots authorities in resolving people's difficulties, summarizing exemplary cases and people's initiatives from the grassroots level. Each level of government should have specific regulations regarding time spent at the grassroots level, reducing paper-based guidance and meetings.

- In 2002, while continuing the mass movement "All People United to Build a Civilized Lifestyle," the Government will cooperate with the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front to launch a mass movement for economic reform "All People Competing to Be Good at Business, Each Household Becoming Rich for Themselves, Their Communities at the Grassroots Level, and the Country."

- Submit to the National Assembly for amendments and supplements to the Law on the Organization of People's Councils and People's Committees, the Ordinance on Cadres and Civil Servants, the Law on Associations, and the regulations on the organization and working methods of grassroots authorities, as well as policies for cadres at the grassroots level.

II. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

1. Contents of work to be implemented in the last six months of 2002:

a) Amend and supplement the Ordinance on Cadres and Civil Servants.

b) Draft a Decree on the duties and powers of village, ward, and town authorities in managing economy, finance, land, culture-society, national defense, and security.

c) Amend and supplement the Decree on the Regulations on Democracy at the Village, Ward, and Town Level.

d) Draft a Proposal for Classifying Village, Ward, and Town Administrative Units.

đ) Draft a Proposal on Standards for Specialized Cadres and Planning and Training of Cadres at the Village, Ward, and Town Level.

e) Draft a Proposal on Salary Systems for Specialized Cadres and Allowances for Non-Specialized Cadres, and Other Policies for Village, Ward, and Town Cadres.

g) Issue a Decision on the Regulations on Organization and Operation of Villages, Hamlets, ấp, bản, sóc, Neighborhoods, or Community Groups.

Leading agency: Government Organization and Cadre Board.

h) Develop a proposal on financial mechanisms to create conditions for grassroots authorities to be proactive in their budgets.

Leading agency: Ministry of Finance.

i) Develop a proposal on plans, programs, and curricula for training village, town, and ward cadres.

Leading agency: National Academy of Public Administration.

k) Develop a proposal for constructing village centers (including administrative and cultural areas, sports facilities), communal cultural activity houses, and village, hamlet, and commune houses.

Leading agencies:

The Ministry of Construction will conduct surveys, develop master plans, and design models.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment will develop plans and allocate investment funds.

The Ministry of Finance will provide construction funding and purchase equipment.

Provincial People's Committees and municipal people's committees under central government jurisdiction will organize and implement.

2. Implementation tasks for the year 2003:

a) Amend the Law on the Organization of People's Councils and People's Committees; the Law on Elections of People's Council Deputies.

b) Develop a Decree on cadres in village, town, and ward administrations.

Leading agency: Government Organization and Cadre Board.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. Organize research and implementation of Resolution and Directive No. 11-CT/TW dated April 8, 2002, in central ministries and sectors and local administrative systems. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and agencies under the Government shall be responsible for organizing research and implementation of the Resolution within their units. Chairpersons of provincial and municipal people's committees under central government jurisdiction shall be responsible for organizing research and implementation among cadres and civil servants at all levels from the provincial to the grassroots level. Through research and implementation, accurately assess the current situation of their locality, identify the correct causes leading to weaknesses in the grassroots level, and find effective solutions; ensure consistency in understanding and actions to implement the Resolution.

2. Based on the Overall Program for Administrative Reform of the State for the period 2001-2010 (Decision No. 136/2001/QĐ-TTg dated September 17, 2001) and the Government's implementation plan for Resolution No. 17-NQ/TW dated March 18, 2002 of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Party, central ministries and sectors assigned to lead these tasks shall cooperate with relevant ministries and sectors and localities to build and proactively organize and complete the work according to the specified time frame.

During the process of amending the Law on the Organization of People's Councils and People's Committees and the Law on the Election of People's Council Deputies, ministries, sectors, and localities within their authority shall actively implement the issues mentioned; issues within the authority of the Government and the Prime Minister shall be reported to the Government and the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

3. Local authorities at all levels, primarily the Chairpersons of provincial people's committees, are responsible to the Government for organizing the implementation of the Resolution of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee of the Party in their locality, actively developing specific plans and organizing implementation; ensuring completion according to the targets and timelines set out in the Resolution and the Government's Plan.

4. The Standing Committee of the Central Steering Committee for Commendation and Reward will cooperate with the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee to develop the objectives, requirements, contents, and indicators of a new economic campaign and plan its organization, so that it can be implemented immediately after the first session of the Eleventh National Assembly.

5. The Ministry of Finance shall ensure necessary funding for the implementation of the tasks outlined in Section II of this Plan.

6. The Government Organization and Cadre Board shall be responsible for submitting to the Prime Minister for issuance of guiding documents for implementing the above plan; monitoring, urging, inspecting, and regularly reporting to the Prime Minister on the results of plan implementation and proposing solutions to address any difficulties encountered.