Ministry Tran Tuan Anh

Minister Tran Tuan Anh is now in a tough situation as his ministry needs reform more than ever.

Several scandals related to the Ministry’s former officials and an unstable and ineffective apparatus left by the former Minister Vu Huy Hoang are now the matters that Minister Tuan Anh must solve immediately. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, at a recent meeting with the Ministry’s officials, pointed out the shortcomings of the Ministry’s organization and structure. At the recent National Assembly session, many National Assembly deputies also asked Mr. Tuan Anh to promote reforms.

After the National Assembly question and answer session last week, Tuan Anh immediately published on his Ministry’s intranet a reform project, which he noted as being of the utmost importance. 

The Minister requested all agencies of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to make comments on the project, which aims to carry out strong reform policy within the ministry under the government’s common spirit of building a government of action, construction, effectiveness and integrity.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is dubbed a "super ministry", which was a merger between the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Commerce in 2006. 

Earlier, this Ministry merged and split several times. For example, the Ministry of Commerce was formed from three ministries: Ministry of Light Industry, Ministry of Heavy Industry and Ministry of Energy. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce was also formed from two ministries: Ministry of Foreign Trade and Ministry of Internal Trade. Previously, these ministries were merged with other agencies and ministries.

For a long time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (with different names) left positive marks, with the contribution of many ministers such as Phan Anh, Do Muoi, Vu Tuan, Dinh Duc Thien, Dang Vu Chu, Le Van Triet, Hoang Trung Hai, Vu Khoan, and Truong Dinh Tuyen, etc

Although a head of this ministry was jailed but he was visited by and presented with a medal for his special contribution for the construction of the North - South 500KV power transmission line by Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet during his time in prison. 

Recently, another leader of this ministry was severely reprimanded for his serious violations in personnel tasks and approval of some economic projects. The mistakes made by the predecessor are now the challenges that require Minister Tuan Anh to show his firm stuff.

According to the project that was recently made public, Tuan Anh called for debate, saying it is critical to find the right answer for the Ministry’s reform, under which the number of subsidiaries will be slashed from 35 to 28.

If this project is implemented, dozens of high-ranking officials will lose their positions. Seeing a consensus, thus, will certainly not be easy, because this process will affect the interest of many officials.

It is too early now to know about the results of the reform at the Ministry of Industry and Trade but certainly it is a golden opportunity for Minister Tuan Anh to prove his ability.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will have huge administrative reform, reducing the number of agencies from 35 to 28. In particular, the General Directorate of Energy will be diverted into three departments while the Department for Mountainous Commercial Markets will be merged into the Department of Domestic Markets.

The Chemical Department, Department of Light Industry, and Heavy Industry Department will be merged into the Department of Industry. The Finance Department will be separated into two parts and each part will be merged into the Planning Department and the Department of Innovation.

In addition, the Department of Human Resources Development will re-merge into the Department for Organization and Personnel. The Emulation and Reward Department and the Department of Affairs in Southern Region will be merged into the Ministry’s Office.

The Departments KV1, KV2, KV3, and KV4 will be merged into the Department of Europe-America and the Department of America and Asia-Africa. The International Cooperation Department 2 will be merged into the Department of Asia-Africa and the Department of Europe and America. The two institutes of Trade and Industrial Policy will become one.

The Ministry will also establish the Department for Commerce Defense and upgrade the Market Management Department into the General Department for Market Management.

Other agencies will remain unchanged.

Quoc Phong