Ho Chi Minh City operates a two-level government: Smooth - effective

TP. Hồ Chí Minh vận hành chính quyền hai cấp: Thông suốt - hiệu quả - hướng tới bền vững - Ảnh 1. — *Working Group No. 10 of the Ministry of Science and Technology worked with the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City.*

More than 535,000 records, 2,251 procedures resolved in just one and a half months

Speaking at the opening of the working session, Ms. Tran Bich Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Radiation and Nuclear Safety (DNS), Head of delegation collaborate emphasized that the delegation's goal is to grasp the actual situation in Ho Chi Minh City, especially the initial results and difficulties in implementing the two-level government model. The delegation hopes to listen to the difficulties and recommendations of the locality to synthesize and report to the Minister and the Ministry's leaders, thereby perfecting the mechanism and policies on science and technology, ensuring the system operates smoothly and effectively, best serving the people and businesses.

According to the report of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, in the past time, the unit has advised the Provincial People's Committee to synchronously deploy newly issued documents and directives, plans to inspect the operation of two-level government, clearly assign responsibilities; proactively mobilize and supplement information technology (IT) human resources to serve digital transformation at the commune and ward levels; ensure technical infrastructure and information systems to serve the smooth and stable operation of two-level government.

In particular, the City's dedicated data transmission network infrastructure has connected to 569 points with a bandwidth speed of 20Mbps, the average speed of each unit equipped with an Internet line is 300Mbit/s, meeting the needs of serving the operations of digital government and deploying digital services. The City has deployed information security for information systems according to the 4-layer model, connecting to the National Information Security Monitoring System in Vietnam; established the City's Network Information Security Incident Response Team and regularly inspected to promptly detect, handle and prevent incidents and cybersecurity risks.

Notably, from June 18, 2025, the City officially "closed the interface" of the Provincial Public Service Portal, merging it into the National Public Service Portal, meeting the organization, arrangement of the apparatus, and implementation of two-level local government. To date, 2,251 administrative procedures (AP) have been made public, including 1,921 provincial-level APs and 400 commune-level APs; integrating 1,644 online public services. In just 45 days (from July 1 to present), the City's AP handling information system has received 535,893 records, of which commune-level records accounted for 361,183 records. The Document Management and Operation System also recorded over 600,000 incoming and outgoing documents.

In parallel, the Ho Chi Minh City Smart City Operation Center project is being implemented at 6 Tu Xuong, expected to be put into operation by the end of 2025 - 2026, inheriting, merging or synchronizing the database and current infrastructure of the Ho Chi Minh City Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau IOC Centers (before the merger), towards a modern data management center. The city is also expanding the socio-economic management system, linking reports with the Government; providing online meeting accounts for 168 communes and wards, expanding the scope of digital management.

Currently, the Public Administration Service Center (HCC) at the commune level and 38 local groups are operating stably, contributing to the quick and timely resolution of administrative procedures for people and businesses. The Department is also drafting a Project to invest in upgrading IT infrastructure to serve the two-level government and the City HCC Service Center.

However, the process of decentralization and delegation of authority in the field of science and technology in Ho Chi Minh City still has some difficulties and problems such as: Some administrative procedures related to the fields of quality measurement standards (TCĐLCL), atomic energy (NLNT), ATBXHN, intellectual property (SHTT) ... still lack specific guiding decrees; the IT infrastructure at the commune level is still weak, many national platforms are not operating stably, and there is a shortage of IT human resources. For the field of telecommunications, internet and radio frequencies, initial support has been favorable, but because the City People's Committee has not completed decentralization, the return of results is still slow, the frequency management software is still malfunctioning, affecting the progress of handling records...

TP. Hồ Chí Minh vận hành chính quyền hai cấp: Thông suốt - hiệu quả - hướng tới bền vững - Ảnh 2.

Mr. Vo Minh Thanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City reported to the working delegation of the Ministry of Science and Technology on the operation of the two-level government model in the locality.

At the meeting, Mr. Vo Minh Thanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, proposed a number of key contents to remove the above difficulties. Specifically, the Ministry of Science and Technology is recommended to: (i) Clearly guide the authority to grant certificates in the case of multi-sector dossiers, issue specific regulations on granting registration numbers, unify the authority in the field of measurement; soon have instructions on terminating the validity of certificates and unify the validity period between circulars; (ii) Train and foster provincial-level civil servants in assessing, preliminary appraisal and processing dossiers for administrative procedures decentralized from the Ministry; transfer management database; issue instructions on funding sources and expenditure norms for appraisal and inspection work; (iii) Upgrade the specialized information system, connect and integrate with the City's TTCH settlement information system to process dossiers based on data.

The Department also recommends that the Department of Nuclear Safety review and transfer the complete database of radiation equipment, licenses, and certificates of radiation workers; promptly issue a decree guiding the implementation of the 2025 Law on Nuclear Safety. As for the Department of Intellectual Property, promptly issue a clear coordination mechanism between the Ministry and localities, detailed technical instructions for each decentralization procedure, unified regulations on forms, diploma blanks, and amend and supplement Decree 133/2025/ND-CP to handle arising situations. In particular, the Department of Frequency should promptly build new or upgrade management software, support the assignment and licensing of radio frequencies to ensure the licensing process is smooth and stable.

Accompanying to remove difficulties, promote science and technology, innovation and digital transformation from the grassroots

On the same day, the Delegation directly surveyed and worked with the Department of Science and Technology's reception and results return department. and the HCC Service Center of Ban Co ward to grasp the actual situation of the operation of the commune and ward government; the implementation of the contents that have been assigned authority for the commune-level government in the field of science and technology.

Here, Mr. Huynh Gia Giang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ban Co Ward said that recently, the Service Center The Ward HCC has publicized 356/363 administrative procedures under the authority of the Ward People's Committee; connected LAN/WAN/internet to specialized agencies and the City People's Committee. The system is equipped with 3 high-speed transmission lines (Metronet, Viettel and VNPT); 100% of officials and civil servants use digital certificates issued by the Government Cipher Committee. Since July 1, the ward has received 4,806 records under its jurisdiction. However, some online administrative procedures have not yet been integrated into the National Public Service Portal, causing difficulties for people. The locality recommends early application of AI to support people and officials in processing records; guidance on budget estimates for science and technology and digital transformation tasks; and strengthening human resource training and supporting tools for inspection of digital transformation and digital transformation...

TP. Hồ Chí Minh vận hành chính quyền hai cấp: Thông suốt - hiệu quả - hướng tới bền vững - Ảnh 3.

Mr. Huynh Gia Giang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ban Co Ward reported at the meeting.

At the meeting, representatives of specialized units of the Ministry of Science and Technology discussed and answered specific questions about the local contents of decentralization and delegation of authority. At the same time, they guided localities in implementing regulations and professional processes, shared practical experiences; committed to accompanying and supporting localities in implementing the two-level government model to ensure smooth and effective S&T activities, better serving people and businesses. For some contents beyond the authority, the Delegation took note, summarized and reported to the Ministry's leaders to propose solutions.

TP. Hồ Chí Minh vận hành chính quyền hai cấp: Thông suốt - hiệu quả - hướng tới bền vững - Ảnh 4.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Quan, Deputy Director of the Legal Department, Deputy Head of the delegation answered some local recommendations.

Concluding the working session, Ms. Tran Bich Ngoc, Head of the Working Group, acknowledged and highly appreciated the results of Ho Chi Minh City in proactively implementing and operating the two-level government model, especially in the fields of science and technology, innovation and digital transformation. The city has demonstrated its strong determination through convincing figures on online records, electronic documents, network infrastructure, handling administrative procedures associated with people's satisfaction as well as strategic projects such as the Smart City Operation Center...

She emphasized: "Ho Chi Minh City is the economic - science and technology, innovation and digital transformation locomotive of the whole country. The successes and difficulties here will be an important practical basis for the Ministry of Science and Technology to perfect policies, and at the same time, valuable experience to replicate in other localities. The Ministry of Science and Technology is committed to accompanying the City, contributing to bringing policies into life, serving socio-economic development, and improving people's lives."

TP. Hồ Chí Minh vận hành chính quyền hai cấp: Thông suốt - hiệu quả - hướng tới bền vững - Ảnh 5. — *Ms. Tran Bich Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Traffic Safety, Head of the working delegation, delivered a concluding speech at the working session.*

The working trip provided a comprehensive and clear view of the practical operation of the two-level government model in a special urban area, thereby gradually perfecting the legal corridor and policy mechanism for operating the two-level local government model, associated with the task of defining authority, decentralization, and decentralization in the fields of science and technology, innovation and digital transformation, towards a transparent - effective - sustainable public administration.