A worker of the Duy Xuyên Commune Public Administrative Service Centre guides residents to complete administrative procedures. — VNA/VNS Photo Đoàn Hữu Trung

ĐÀ NẴNG - A fresh layer of efficiency is emerging from Việt Nam’s evolving two-tier local government system, now delivering noticeable improvements in public services — with Đà Nẵng standing out as a model of smooth, citizen-focused administration.

The model, which has been actively directed by the Party Central Committee, the Government and the Prime Minister, and seriously implemented by ministries and localities, is already showing important results.

Đà Nẵng central city has become a standout example. With 94 communes covering more than 11,859sq.km, it is the largest centrally governed city in the country, home to more than 3 million people. After just over two months of operating under the two-tier structure, local governance is running smoothly.

Satisfied citizens

On schedule, Lê Thị Thu Ly from Chiêm Sơn Hamlet, Duy Xuyên Commune, came to the local Public Administrative Service Centre to receive her family’s reissued land use rights certificate. In less than an hour, the process was completed after officials verified the required documents according to regulations.

“Previously, I went three times to the commune and district people’s committees to apply for the certificate. The commune told me to go to the district, the district would approve my application, then I had to return to the commune to complete the procedure. Despite many trips, my family’s land dossier was still unresolved,” said Ly.

“This time, with the enthusiastic support of the land administration officer, the procedures were simpler and faster than before. The most important thing is that after just one visit to the centre, I received an appointment, and today I collected the certificate.”

After processing Ly’s application, other households were invited one by one by the Duy Xuyên Commune Public Administrative Service Centre for similarly meticulous assistance. According to a Vietnam News Agency reporter, each service desk was assigned to specific tasks, handled smoothly with adequate seating for citizens waiting their turn.

At the Điện Bàn Tây Commune Public Administrative Service Centre, Đặng Ngọc Sương arrived to register a business trading agricultural products. Officers warmly welcomed her and provided step-by-step guidance for business registration, including OCOP (one commune one product) items.

“I chose to start my business by trading agricultural and OCOP products. All initial procedures for establishing the enterprise and business sectors went quite smoothly. I hope this will be a good start for my startup idea,” Sương said.

Deputy Director of the Duy Xuyên Commune Public Administrative Service Centre Nguyễn Thị Tân said the staff are trained thoroughly in professional skills, software use and appropriate public service conduct.

“In the past two months, we have received over 13,000 dossiers, with more than 99 per cent of them returned to citizens on time, ensuring public satisfaction,” said Tân.

Chairman of the Duy Xuyên Commune People’s Committee, Đặng Hữu Phúc, added: “We are aiming for administrative reform that is flexible and creative in our work, following the spirit of the five news: new space, new resources, new vitality, new determination to step into the new era.”

To realise this, the commune people’s committee strictly adheres to democratic centralism when setting goals, defining tasks and managing work. Its leaders frequently visit grassroots areas to understand local conditions, meet with residents and businesses, and assign clear responsibilities to each department, with regular monitoring and inspections to ensure performance.

Enterprise expectations

Chairman of the Điện Bàn Tây Commune People’s Committee Nguyễn Như Phong (standing) checks work performance at the communal Public Administrative Service Centre. — VNA/VNS Photo Đoàn Hữu Trung

Quế Phước Pig Breeding Farm is currently the largest and most modern project in the pig farming sector in Đà Nẵng.

Director Đỗ Xuân Đức of the An Cư Đức Phú Joint Stock Company, the project owner, said the project’s phase one completion coincided with the initial implementation of the two-tier local government model.

At first, they were very concerned about the progress and administrative procedures.

But the Quế Phước Commune authorities took decisive action, dispelling their initial worries. All procedures related to investment and land lease in accordance with the law were carried out smoothly and properly by both the enterprise and the local authorities.

Thanks to this, to date, An Cư Đức Phú Joint Stock Company is coordinating with the city’s relevant departments and Quế Phước Commune to complete boundary demarcation, thoroughly and comprehensively assess environmental impacts and finalise the investment deposit last month.

Chairwoman of the Quế Phước Commune People’s Committee, Tào Thị Tố Điểm, stated that with the two-tier local government, tasks previously handled by the district level are now managed by the commune.

They proactively coordinate with investors and relevant departments to fully complete procedures, regulations and steps for thorough and comprehensive environmental impact assessments, requiring investors to apply truly scientific, safe and effective measures, thereby building investor confidence.

The determined involvement of the Party committee and local authorities is always the key factor, not only creating trust among residents and businesses and facilitating private economic development but also thoroughly resolving issues related to site clearance and building materials for infrastructure works, especially key projects, improving the public investment disbursement rate, exemplified by the regional linkage road.

Participating in the construction of the regional linkage road, Director Phạm Hữu Sĩ from the An Phú Thịnh Construction and Energy Joint Stock Company said that thanks to the decisive action of the local authorities, during the past two months the company received the entire site and registered for power disconnection.

It also relocated electric poles and transmission lines and handed over a clean site to the contractor for roadbed widening and other technical works, with the clean site handover completed within this month.

Director Nguyễn Văn Thường of the Transport Works Management Board said that the volume of projects under their management is very large. Therefore, the unit’s constant concern was that the two-tier local administration system, along with personnel changes in many positions, could significantly impact the overall progress.

After a period of operating the two-tier local government, this concern no longer exists. On the contrary, construction progress on projects has accelerated thanks to the removal of site clearance obstacles.

To promptly resolve obstacles in work operations, Chairwoman Tào Thị Tố Điểm of the Quế Phước Commune People’s Committee said that the reality in Quế Phước presented many issues that needed timely resolution to achieve the goal of improving effectiveness and efficiency in leadership and management.

“Land management dossiers are an important task but are currently not digitised and still rely on paper records. Therefore, there is an urgent need to organise training classes for technical transfer and support in equipping specialised machinery and equipment for land management officers in the commune,” she said.

Deputy Director Trần Quốc Hùng of Đà Nẵng City’s Department of Agriculture and Environment said that the city has assigned 75 highly specialised land officers to communes and wards to assist with professional tasks.

Officers assigned to commune and ward people’s committees will guide and support localities in handling professional tasks and addressing emerging difficulties in land matters, helping grassroots workers overcome immediate challenges and ensure smooth operations.

During working sessions with localities on implementing the two-tier local government, Deputy Chairman Trần Nam Hưng of the municipal People’s Committee highly appreciated the efforts and determination shown by the Party committees and local government in the initial period.

He affirmed that performance, citizen satisfaction and business expectations are measures of the officers’ competence as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of local government. — VNS