Business environment reform has been slowing down over the last two years. Some bad regulations that were removed because they hindered the development of enterprises have been revived.

The number of civil servants at the district level has been reduced by 706 out of 2,411, while the number of cadres and civil servants at the commune level has been cut by 9,694 out of 20,403 under the program on district and commune mergers.

The task on state apparatus streamlining set by the Politburo was fulfilled in 2021 for the first time. More than 10 percent of civil servant personnel and 11.67 percent of public employees at non-business public units have been cut.

Noting that the apparatus inside ministries and branches is still cumbersome and hierarchical, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked ministers to restructure departments and general departments.

In 2021, there were a total of 1,173 departments and branches, which means seven departments and branches were cut. Around 10 percent of the number of civil servants and 11.67 percent of public employees were reduced.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, after taking office, has been paying high attention to fostering the public apparatus’ proper implementation of their functions and tasks, especially the fulfillment of the great responsibilities assigned to them.

Hanoi has proposed an allowance equal to 3-month salary for 21 ward leaders who will have to leave when the city officially applies the pilot urban administration model.

The total number of civil servants who are paid by the state budget in 2022 will be 256,685, an increase of 7,035 people compared to 2021.

The supervisory team of the National Assembly Standing Committee will supervise the arrangement and consolidation of the organizational apparatus and of personnel, after the merger of districts and communes in 45 provinces and cities.

As mentioned in Part 1, stagnation has taken root in many fields, and personnel work, especially cadre planning and rotation, is no exception.

Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra says that the state apparatus is overly cumbersome with too many levels of hierarchy and an overlapping structure in ministries and ministerial-level agencies.

It aims to ease the administrative burden in the country.

If public agencies consider the work of people and businesses as their own, the number of complaints about administrative procedures will decrease.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has proposed reducing the number of ministries and ministerial-level agencies from 22 at present to 16-18 by 2030; and to promote digital transformation and the digital government.

Improving the state apparatus is an objective requirement that needs to be resolved soon.

In early March, the People's Committee of District 6 in HCM City put into use the first automatic administrative document receipt and return machine, dubbed administrative ATM, in Vietnam.

Reforming the state administrative apparatus is a national policy which has been noted in resolutions of all eight national congresses of the Communist Party of Vietnam during the 35 years of Doi Moi (reform).

Vietnamese people and businesses are still struggling with administrative procedures and are being held back by an unstable business environment.

Administrative reform has been thoroughly implemented at all levels and helped save more than 18 million working days each year, equivalent to over VND6.3 trillion ($274.32 million) of social expenditure, Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh has said.

Another cycle of state administrative reform is coming. This is the time to review the results of the administrative reform program in the 2011-2020 period and set the orientation for the next decade.