Prime Minister Inspects the Operation of the Two-Tier Local Government System in Can Tho

According to the reports of Can Tho People’s Committee, the implementation of the two-tier government model has been carried out by agencies and localities in a serious and timely manner, yielding positive results and reflecting the people’s support for the policies of the Party Central Committee and the city.

The operations of commune- and ward-level authorities have remained generally stable; despite a large workload, tasks have been handled on time and in accordance with regulations. The Public Administrative Service Centers have operated stably, creating convenience for citizens. Communes and wards have assigned civil servants with information technology skills to assist citizens, digitize records, and ensure effective document storage.

After reorganization, the new Can Tho City People’s Committee consists of 14 specialization agencies, 1 Management Board of Can Tho Export Processing and Industrial Zones, and 354 municipal public service units. The total of officials, civil servants, and public employees at the municipal level currently stands at 25.958, including 2.137 officials, civil servants and 23.821 public employees.

The new total number of communes and wards is 103 (31 wards and 72 communes), with 299 specialized divisions and 1.086 commune-level public service units (excluding the Public Administrative Service Center). About 25% of communes and wards have not yet issued decisions defining functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of their specialized agencies. The total number of officials, civil servants, and public employees at the commune level currently stands at 37.290, including 4.379 officials, civil servants and 32.911 public employees.

Can Tho City has strengthened and supplemented its human resources by assigning municipal-level officials to communes and wards to assume positions in Party committees, local government leadership, and as professional officials in specialized section at the commune level. The city has appointed enough Chairpersons, Vice Chairpersons of People’s Committee, and Vice Chairpersons of People’s Council at the commune level as prescribed. A total of 480 qualified and competent officials, civil servants, and public employees from the municipal level have been assigned to communes and wards to fill vacant or understaffed positions. Can Tho City has also seconded officials from departments and agencies, as well as civil servants and public employees, to grassroots levels, though the results remain limited.

As of October 3, 2025, there were 266 vacant positions and areas of work at commune and ward units compared to the approved staffing norms, and 1,093 civil servants short of the assigned staffing quota.

Regarding the implementation of regimes and policies, as of September 30, 2025, a total of 2,719 civil servants and public employees has been settled for resignation to receive benefits and policies in accordance with Decree No. 178/2024/ND-CP and Decree No. 67/2025/ND-CP. Among them, as of October 3, 2025, 2.352 out of 2.719 individuals had received payment, with a total disbursed amount of 2.464,434 billion VND; 367 out of 2.719 cases remained unresolved.

The city has provided financial support of 5.000.000 VND for officials, civil servants, public employees and workers from former provinces Soc Trang and Hau Giang who are now working at the Can Tho City Administrative Center after the administrative unit reorganization.

Currently, there are 413 administrative procedures under the jurisdiction of commune- and ward-level People’s Committee in Can Tho City. From July 1, 2025, to the present, a total of 174.683 out of 190.295 administrative procedure dossiers have been processed (169.865 ahead of schedule, 356 on time, 4.462 overdue); 15.612 out of 190.295 are being processed (14.654 within the deadline and 958 overdue). The number of dossiers synchronized with the National Public Service Portal reached 165.631, and the rate of online payment transactions stood at 43.68%.

As for the Public Administrative Service Center of Hung Phu Ward, since July 1, it has strictly complied with regulations in receiving and processing administrative procedures, ensuring transparency and openness. The number of administrative dossiers received, processed, and returned ahead of or on schedule accounts for a high proportion, with no overdue cases.

With 15 officials and civil servants, from July 1 to October 16, the Center received a total of 2.005 dossiers (33 rejected and 35 withdrawn). The total number of dossiers accepted for processing was 1.937, of which 1.804 were submitted online (accounting for 93,13%) and 133 were submitted in person (accounting for 6,87%). A total of 1.831 dossiers were processed and returned ahead of or on schedule, achieving a 100% on-time rate. There are 105 dossiers still within the processing deadline and one dossier pending additional information.

The Center created QR codes linking the online public service portal for its administrative procedure list, which are posted on the ward’s electronic information page to help citizens easily access and look up procedural information while reducing printing costs for posting procedures at the Center.

However, in the initial period of operation, some citizens were not yet familiar with submitting dossiers online, so officials, civil servants, and youth union members on duty at the Center assisted them filling online application. Nevertheless, some dossiers are still submitted in person because, at times, the network and software systems did not function smoothly, requiring direct submission to promptly meet citizens’ urgent needs.

During his on-site inspection of the Center’s operations and discussions with citizens and officials, PM Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the key objective in transitioning to the two-tier local government model is to shift the governance mindset toward facilitating development and serving the people and enterprises.

Noting that the citizen identification card already integrates numerous data fields, the Prime Minister emphasized the need to further accelerate the development, integration, and interconnection of databases to ensure they are “accurate, complete, clean, and up to date,” particularly in the fields of justice, land and business.

At the same time, it is necessary to further strengthen and improve digital infrastructure, expand bandwidth, and promote a broad-based digital literacy movement to guide citizens in digital transformation. This will help foster the formation of digital citizens, build a digital government, and develop the digital economy, artificial intelligence, and digital society—thereby creating a widespread trend and habit of digital adoption and online administrative procedures among the people, ultimately reducing travel time and compliance costs, especially for those in remote and mountainous areas.

The Prime Minister requested that personnel be arranged and assigned flexibly, in line with a strong sense of responsibility, with emphasis on those who value citizens and demonstrate enthusiasm in guiding and serving people and enterprises in a timely, thoughtful and effective manner.