General Secretary To Lam is promoting fundamental changes in State and Party institutions

Carlyle Thayer made the above statement when he was questioned by VGP about his comment on General Secretary To Lam's call for "revolution" in rearranging and streamlining the political system.

He recalled that the fifth National Party Congress of the Viet Nam Communist Party called for a change in overlapping structures of the state bureaucracy. Four years later, Viet Nam's Party leaders called of "renovation" mainly in the economy.

Viet Nam has grown steadily since then moving up to lower middle-income status. While the number of government ministries has declined from thirty-six in 1997 to twenty-two today. It is however clear there are overlapping areas of responsibility not only between ministries but between general departments within a ministry. Party and state structures also overlapped.

General Secretary To Lam clearly sees that if Viet Nam continues on its present course it will have great difficulty achieving the objectives of the 13th national party congress to become a developed country with a high income by 2045. Business as usual is not an option.

Viet Nam's Government and Party structures are due for a major overhaul. At least five existing new ministries will be created through mergers and two ministries will have their responsibilities clarified. The Party apparatus will also be reorganized through mergers and in some cases the transfer to responsibility to government ministries. Similar mergers will take place in the structure of the National Assembly's committees. The objective is to eliminate bottlenecks by streamlining the bureaucracy to make it more efficient.

The process of revolutionizing Viet Nam's State and Party structure will likely be disruptive because of the magnitude of change and the swiftness in which it is being carried out. Unexpected difficulties will arise such as finding employment or paying compensation for those who lose their jobs. However, large-scale institutional change should lead to greater efficiency and an increase in productivity with the passage of time.

Viet Nam's leaders have already identified three breakthroughs that must be given priority: institutional reform, decentralization of power, and legal and administrative reform to promote business. Restructuring and merging ministries is not enough there must be continual innovation and adaptation to new information and communication digital technologies, according to Carlyle Thayer.

Human resource development must be one of Viet Nam's top priorities, said Carlyle Thayer, adding that this involves not just formal education and training but practical experience.

Carlyle Thayer went on to say that the "best and the brightest" must be given accelerated promotion not only in ministries but provincial and municipal governments and the central party apparatus as well. 

In order to plan for the future, all of Vietnamese universities and training institutes must review and revise their curriculums and incorporate best practices from Viet Nam from abroad. Top priority should be given to business administration and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), suggested Carlyle Thayer./.