HÀ NỘI — Streamlining the Party’s structure is a difficult, sensitive, and complex task that takes time, said Party General Secretary, President Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

The leader made the statement at a meeting in Hà Nội on Tuesday that reviewed the inspection results by five working groups regarding the implementation of Resolutions Nos 18 and 19 of the 12th Party Central Committee and Conclusion No 64 of the 11th Party Central Committee.

Resolution No 18 stipulates streamlining the working structure of the political system in an effective and efficient manner while Resolution No 19 prescribes the revamp of organisation and management and the improvement of the quality and efficiency of public agencies. Conclusion No 64 targets the renovation and consolidation of the political system from central to grassroots levels.

The five working groups were set up by the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat to monitor the compliance of the Party’s documents at 15 Party committees and organisations in 2018.

The initial inspection is intended to encourage changes in awareness and actions and discover obstacles needed to be tackled for smoother implementation, the Party chief added.

General Secretary Trọng called for more efforts in reviewing the function of agencies, reducing intermediary units and cutting personnel.

So far, two problematic trends have emerged, either the leadership has been too hasty in cutting down the workforce or merging different agencies without careful planning only to separate them later, while on the other hand, there are leaders who are “too cautious and passive”, meaning unsatisfactory progress, he added.

The report said that public agencies, in general, have started to have more reasonable planning, while the implementation of the autonomy and self-responsibility mechanisms has proven effective in these agencies.

However, there remains limitations in the work, especially in the fields of health care and education, while coordination between ministries, agencies and localities is still loose..

The report pointed out the irresolute leadership and failure to develop solutions and plans in some agencies, leading to the poor results in implementing the Party’s documents.

Delegates at the event suggested focusing the apparatus rearrangement in the administrative and services sectors, reducing the position of deputy heads and applying technology in the work.

Party expels nearly 12,500 members over seven years

The Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) removed nearly 51,000 members from the Party rolls from 2011-2017, of whom 38,519 were removed for violating Party regulations.

Meanwhile, 12,499 other members were expelled from the Party as punishment for their wrongdoings.

The figures were revealed at a meeting of the CPV Central Committee’s Secretariat yesterday to discuss the issuance of a directive on enhancing the quality of Party membership and removing unqualified members from the Party.

As of December 31, 2017, the Party had more than 4.92 million members in 270,046 Party cells. In 2011-2017, the Party admitted more than 1.46 million members, or an average 209,572 members a year.

The quality of Party members has increased with higher ratios of young people, women, people from ethnic minority groups, religious followers and people with high educations. However, the number of expelled members rose from 6,005 in 2011 to 9,822 in 2017.

Meanwhile, Party development in many localities and social groups has faced difficulties.

Addressing the meeting, CPV General Secretary, President Nguyễn Phú Trọng emphasised that member quality is a key factor in the strength of the Party.

He stressed the need to improve the quality of new members and to purify Party membership, while expelling members who are not up to standard as well as those who joined the Party without proper procedures or cause.

“The degradation of political ideology is even more dangerous than corruption,” stated Trọng, underlining the necessity to strengthen political and ideological education. — VNS