HANOI: Vietnam’s National Assembly on Thursday (Jun 12) approved plans to merge provinces and cities, slashing nearly 80,000 state jobs, as part of major reforms to the communist country’s administrative structure.
Lawmakers voted to reduce the country’s 63 provincial and city administrations to just 34, as the government looks to radically cut state expenditure.
The move comes after the government cut the number of ministries and agencies from 30 to 22 in February, resulting in 23,000 job losses.
The dramatic changes echo United States President Donald Trump’s push to take a hatchet to government spending, but have created unease among some in a communist system where working for the state has long meant a job for life.
Vietnam’s top leader To Lam has said the drastic restructuring of the country’s governance is needed if it is to achieve “fast, stable and sustainable development”.
In Thursday’s vote, the assembly approved the government’s plans by 461 ballots to one, with three abstentions.
Only 11 provinces and cities are left unchanged by the reform, with the rest all merged.
Interior Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra said it amounted to the “biggest ever revolution since the country was founded” in 1945, state media reported on Wednesday.
“79,339 officials will have to be streamlined, quitting their jobs or submitting for early retirement following the merge,” Tra told the National Assembly.
One provincial official told AFP he was “shocked and sad” as he will have to leave his position after more than 30 years of public service.
“I may receive some billion dong (around US$38,000) in compensation, but I am not happy,” the 58-year-old communist party member said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“I don’t know what to do now though I think I am still completely fit for work.”
“NATIVE PROVINCE GONE”
The streamlined administrative bodies will be expected to “shift from passive management to active service to the people”, said Lam, the Communist Party general secretary and most powerful figure in the country.
“I think the merge is good for all and I fully support it,” said Nguyen Thang Loi, 52, from northern Thai Binh province, which is being merged.
“Though I feel really sad as the name of my native province, which has lasted generations, will now be gone. It’s so weird to say I come from Hung Yen,” Loi told AFP.
According to the government, all cities and provinces will announce their new leadership on Jun 30 and start full operation at the beginning of July.
In the next few days, the National Assembly will vote on an amended national constitution, under which the country’s three-level administrative structure of province, district and commune will be reduced to two.
The middle district level will be eliminated and the commune level expanded.
Vietnam – a global manufacturing hub – recorded economic growth of 7.1 per cent in 2024 and is aiming for 8 per cent this year as it targets “middle-income country” status by 2030.
But the economy is dependent on exports and Trump’s threatened 46 per cent tariff on Vietnam has sent officials racing to negotiate a reduction.
The reforms to the structure of government follow a sprawling, high-profile anti-corruption campaign in recent years.
Dubbed the “blazing furnace”, the drive has swept up dozens of business leaders and senior government figures, including two presidents and three deputy prime ministers since 2021.
The radical reforms piloted by Lam come after a long period in which change came slowly, with the government emphasising stability and calm to build a reputation for predictability that foreign investors found appealing.
