Immediately after the Politburo and the Secretariat issued Conclusion No. 126-KL/TW (February 14, 2025) and Conclusion No. 127-KL/TW (February 28, 2025) on conducting research and proposing a further organisational restructuring of the political system in 2025, various reactionary media outlets and social media pages began disseminating misleading opinions. These included claims such as “the restructuring is based on personal motives to score political points or eliminate rivals”, “mergers will eventually be undone”, and “the downsizing of personnel and streamlining of the structure serve only certain interest groups.”
However, reality has proven that streamlining the administrative system is a consistent, long-term policy of our Party.
Since initiating the Doi Moi (Renewal) process at the 6th Party Congress in 1986, the Party has issued numerous resolutions and conclusions to guide the restructuring of the political system toward a more streamlined and efficient operation. A cumbersome bureaucracy leads to waste and hinders development, often slowing down or preventing the effective implementation of Party policies.
The resolutions of the 9th, 12th, and 13th Party Congresses emphasised specific tasks related to streamlining the apparatus and developing a comprehensive model for organising the political system in a new era. On April 17, 2015, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 39-NQ/TW on reducing personnel and restructuring the workforce of civil servants and public employees, setting a target of reducing staffing by at least 10% by 2021.
On October 25, 2017, the 12th Party Central Committee issued Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW, outlining key measures to reform and streamline the political system. This resolution set the goal of restructuring by 2021, eliminating unnecessary intermediary levels, and reducing staffing by at least 10% compared to 2015. By 2030, a comprehensive model for the political system was to be developed, tailored to the country’s specific conditions in the new phase. As of 2021, personnel had been reduced by 11.67%, exceeding the original target.
Presenting the Government’s 2023 report on practising thrift and combating wastefulness at the 7th session of the 15th National Assembly (May 2024), Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc (now Deputy Prime Minister) reported that the government had issued 27 decrees defining the functions, tasks, and structures of ministries and government agencies. Key results include the reduction of 17 general departments and equivalent entities, the elimination of 10 departments and 144 divisions within general departments and ministries, the reduction of 108 offices within departments and agencies, and the closure of 22 public service units.
According to the Government’s Administrative Reform Steering Committee, in 2023, the Prime Minister approved plans to simplify 144 business regulations. Since 2021, a total of 2,770 regulations have been reduced or streamlined. Additionally, 147 administrative procedures and personal identification documents related to population management have been simplified, achieving a 49.26% reduction.
As part of the personnel reduction efforts, between 2015 and December 15, 2023, 84,140 personnel had been cut from the administrative system.
Reforming the administrative system is crucial for improving the efficiency of state management, enhancing the synergy of governmental agencies, and minimising unnecessary administrative costs. Starting March 1, 2025, newly merged government agencies will officially begin operations, focusing on increasing effectiveness and efficiency, thus driving national development.
The restructuring process has significantly reduced the number of administrative entities and redundant agencies. The restructuring follows the principle of optimising ministries with multi-sectoral management, ensuring that one agency handles multiple tasks while preventing overlapping responsibilities. This enhances government effectiveness while ensuring that no functions or responsibilities are overlooked.
A significant early achievement of this major reform effort is that, following a government report on budget reallocation resulting from the restructuring, the Politburo decided to grant free tuition to all students from preschool through public high schools nationwide, effective from the 2025–2026 school year.
This decision not only alleviates financial burdens for families in disadvantaged areas but also ensures equal access to education for students of all backgrounds. It contributes to the successful implementation of universal secondary education, raising the overall educational level and strengthening the nation’s human resource foundation.
Across the country, officials and civil servants from newly merged or restructured agencies have immediately begun reorganising responsibilities and ensuring smooth operations from day one. Notably, since March 1, commune-level police stations have started handling administrative tasks previously managed at the district level, such as vehicle registration (cars and motorcycles); issuing, renewing, and replacing national ID cards for individuals aged 14 and above, as well as for children under 14; issuing digital identity accounts for organisations and individuals; processing applications for driver’s license renewals and replacements; among others.
The Party and State’s policy of streamlining the bureaucracy aims to improve governance, reduce administrative costs, and allocate resources more effectively for national development. However, hostile forces continue to distort these efforts, claiming they are merely superficial or wasteful.
The terrorist organisation Viet Tan has even launched discussions under the pretext of analysing the “true nature of staff reductions”, featuring so-called “experts” who spread misinformation. Their narrative claims that downsizing “shrinks in one area while expanding in another” and that restructured personnel simply “land safely” in other government positions.
A common tactic of these hostile elements is to take official data, misinterpret it, and twist the narrative. For instance, when post-merger government agencies temporarily had more deputy positions than initially regulated, these groups quickly spread the misleading claim that the “streamlining process led to expansion.”
While it is true some agencies initially had more deputies than the set limit, this was a transitional solution to accommodate experienced officials from merged agencies. Over time, the number of deputy positions will be reduced to comply with legal regulations.
The 9th extraordinary session of the 15th National Assembly recently confirmed that the total number of deputies in reorganised agencies must be in line with the law within five years. Thus, the claim that restructuring is causing an expansion in bureaucracy is baseless.
Given the sophisticated efforts of hostile forces to distort the Party’s policies, citizens must remain vigilant, critically assess information, and trust the Party and State’s leadership. It is essential to avoid sharing unverified or misleading information on social media, as this could spread confusion and negatively impact society.
Those who intentionally spread false information will be held accountable under the law. Every official, Party member, and citizen should develop strong “filters” to discern information and build “resilience” against misinformation. It is crucial to actively counter those who disguise themselves as “critics” or “democracy activists” to undermine the Party, State, and the people.
