Two-level local government: Reality at the grassroots

Close to the base

The road to Van Son commune (merged Van Son and Huu San communes of the old Son Dong district) winds around the mountainside. Early in the morning of August, the road is covered with white fog. On both sides of the road, acacia and eucalyptus hills stretch out. In the office on the second floor of the commune headquarters, Party Secretary and Chairman of the Commune People's Council Nguyen Van Hong is studying documents. He said that his working day starts at 5:30 a.m., traveling more than 10 km from the (old) district center to arrive at the headquarters early to arrange work. During the preparation period for the Commune Party Congress, he was always present at the headquarters on weekdays and weekends.

Comrade Nguyen Van Hong (third from left) visits the model of growing Morinda officinalis in San village.

After the merger, Van Son commune has an area of nearly 74 km², more than 6 thousand people, ethnic minorities account for 97.5%, mainly Tay and Dao. People's lives mainly depend on acacia and eucalyptus forests and small-scale livestock farming; annual budget revenue is less than 100 million VND. The commune still has 223 poor households (15.4%), 218 near-poor households (15.1%). The commune aims to have basically no poor households by 2027; reach the new rural finish line by 2030, completing the 3 missing criteria on the poverty rate, cultural institutions and traffic infrastructure. While introducing the new commune, Secretary Hong shared: "There are many difficulties, but whatever is beneficial to the people, the Party Committee and the commune government will prioritize doing first."

At the Commune Public Administration Service Center, the officials and civil servants are equally busy. In a room of less than 20 square meters, four computer desks are always lit, and people come and go continuously. Comrade Duong Van Son, a one-stop shop officer, guides people to complete online applications for birth certificates while answering questions for an old man about the procedures for receiving subsidies. "There are days when we receive more than 50 visits, many people from far away villages have to travel for an hour to get here. We try to process them within the day so they don't have to travel back and forth," said Mr. Son.

Van Son commune currently has 73 cadres, civil servants, public employees, and workers; of which 35 comrades have transferred from the (old) district level. Before, during, and after the merger, the commune leaders did a good job of ideological work, arranged personnel reasonably, and encouraged cadres to overcome difficulties (some had to travel nearly 20 km) to quickly adapt. The workload increased 3-5 times, with many new jobs added. The area is large, and it sometimes takes hours to travel from the commune center to the remote villages. Many cadres have to run continuously between the headquarters and the grassroots, from guiding people through procedures to going down to the villages to propagate, resolve land disputes, and inspect schools and constructions. Despite the hardship, they still strive to overcome it, because they all determine to "work for the people".

Unity for the highest goal

Operating a two-level local government, not only the highland communes but also the central wards face many difficulties due to changes in the nature of the work, requiring the staff to be proactive and make efforts to overcome difficulties and complete their tasks well. Kinh Bac Ward was established on the basis of merging the entire administrative boundaries of 6 wards: Kinh Bac (old), Suoi Hoa, Tien Ninh Ve, Van An, Hoa Long, Khuc Xuyen. After the merger, Kinh Bac Ward has a natural area of 19.95 km², with a population of more than 84 thousand people. As the "core" ward of the old Bac Ninh urban area, trade and services are developed, with many traditional occupations... Therefore, the number of administrative procedures arising in Kinh Bac Ward is always high compared to the general level of the whole province.

One day in late August, even though it was 4 p.m., the Kinh Bac Ward Public Administration Service Center was still crowded with citizens waiting. Mr. Nguyen The Tan, a general staff of the center, often had to pause his work on the computer to urgently handle arising situations, so as not to interrupt the settlement of administrative procedures for the people. Having just completed the household registration procedure, Mr. Vu Quang Huy, 73 years old, in Tien Mon 2 Quarter, Bac Giang Ward, happily said: “Before coming here, I was very worried about having to wait a long time and travel back and forth many times, because the distance from Kinh Bac Ward to Bac Giang Ward is quite far, and I am old. However, the center staff gave me enthusiastic guidance, so I completed the procedure quite quickly.”

Right from the first day of operation, the Party Committee and People's Committee of Kinh Bac ward proactively implemented many drastic and close-up solutions. The Party Committee issued regulations on coordination between the Party Committee, the government, the Fatherland Front and mass organizations; organized training, fostering and capacity building for the staff. The ward established working groups led by Party Committee members, directly going to residential areas to grasp the situation and solve difficulties at the grassroots level. In addition to arranging staff suitable to their capacity, the ward established working groups to review and handle infrastructure bottlenecks, administrative procedures, speed up site clearance for key projects... All for the highest goal of quickly and smoothly operating the grassroots government apparatus, best serving the needs of the people.

A day at the grassroots level partly showed us the difficulties and hardships of the staff and civil servants. However, through that, we also saw their determination in contributing to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the government apparatus to meet the development requirements in the new era.

Article and photos: Thanh Huong - Do Quyen

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/chinh-quyen-dia-phuong-2-cap-thuc-te-o-co-so-postid425368.bbg