General Secretary To Lam highlighted this during a meeting with leading Party and State officials, veteran revolutionary cadres, meritorious individuals, and exemplary policy recipients in the Northern region on April 15th.
Recalling the country’s many achievements throughout its history, General Secretary To Lam described them as “miracles.”
“Don’t Let Citizens File Complaints”
Vietnam, once a poor nation ravaged by war, has now become a developing country with a middle-income status, deeply integrated into the global political, economic, and cultural landscape, and assuming numerous international responsibilities. Vietnam’s 2024 GDP exceeded USD 470 billion, placing it 34th globally and among the top 20 economies in international trade.
Alongside this, the Party and State have prioritized various policies. From the 2025-2026 academic year, tuition fees for students from preschool to high school will be waived; the government will improve the living standards of the people, especially workers, vulnerable individuals, and those who have contributed to the nation.
Regarding healthcare, he set a goal of “striving for each citizen to receive at least one health check-up per year,” and aiming to raise the average life expectancy from 74.5 years to 80 years by 2045.
General Secretary To Lam meeting and conversing with exemplary veteran revolutionaries and meritorious individuals in the Northern region (Photo: Hai Long).
In informing veteran revolutionaries about the Party and State’s major strategies, the General Secretary emphasized three core tasks: maintaining a peaceful and stable environment; achieving rapid and sustainable socio-economic development; and improving people’s livelihoods, all for the people.
The recently concluded 11th Central Committee meeting, according to the General Secretary, was a historic one, marking high consensus among the Central Committee members regarding restructuring the political system’s organizational structure, reforming administrative units, and restructuring local governance at two levels with a 100-year vision. This restructuring aims to expand opportunities for economic, social, and cultural development.
Specifically, the number of provincial-level administrative units after the merger will be 34 provinces and cities, consisting of 28 provinces and 6 centrally-controlled municipalities. The number of village-level administrative units will be reduced by 60-70%, and district-level units will be eliminated.
The Central Committee also agreed to streamline and consolidate the Vietnam Fatherland Front and other political and social organizations, mass organizations; streamline the People’s Courts and the Procuracies; and cease operations of the People’s Courts and Procuracies at the district level.
The new local governance model, according to the General Secretary, has two levels: the provincial level (provinces and centrally-controlled municipalities) and the village level (villages, wards, and special districts).
General Secretary To Lam speaking at the meeting (Photo: Hai Long).
The General Secretary explained that under the new administrative structure, the provincial level implements central policies, while also enacting policies for their respective province or municipality. Provinces also directly guide and manage the activities of villages within their jurisdiction.
Village-level units primarily execute policies from the central and provincial governments. The village level will have increased delegation of power and authority to issue legal documents to determine how to execute laws within their jurisdictions, and decide on matters within their authority.
In this model, the General Secretary stressed that the provincial level manages common issues and delegates responsibilities to the village level.
All administrative procedures and people-related matters should be addressed at the village level, as requested by the General Secretary.
He urged village-level units to efficiently handle all matters so that citizens do not have to go to the provinces or the central government. “If a village cannot address a citizen’s concern, then the task has not been fulfilled. Villages must be close to the people, understand their needs,” the General Secretary reiterated, and cautioned village leaders against allowing citizens to file complaints.
He stated that when dealing with citizen issues that cannot be resolved at the village level, the village should report the matter and seek a resolution, rather than allowing citizens to appeal to the province.
Unquantifiable Losses from Wastefulness
Addressing anti-corruption, negativity, and waste, the General Secretary shared that following the passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, some were concerned that this work might be neglected or slow down. However, he emphasized that the anti-corruption campaign remains firmly underway, comprehensively, meticulously, and intensely, without any exceptions or limitations.
General Secretary To Lam presenting an 80th-anniversary Party badge to Major General Dang Quan Thuy (Photo: Hai Long).
“The Politburo and Secretariat have strongly agreed to continue vigorously enforcing the fight against corruption, negativity, and waste. They have decided to expand the scope, adding waste to the ‘three evils’ to be eradicated, namely corruption, waste, and negativity,” emphasized General Secretary To Lam.
This creates significant deterrence and a warning, and this policy will be consistently pursued.
Evidence of this is the Politburo’s addition of anti-waste functions to the Central and provincial anti-corruption committees, focusing on preventing waste in public financial and asset management.
Recognizing the extensive waste in society, the General Secretary highlighted the need for a nationwide movement to promote frugality and fight waste in everyday life, at the family and individual levels.
“Waste is a highly alarming issue. In some aspects, it’s even more damaging than corruption and negativity,” he observed.
He cited figures from the Ministry of Public Security showing that there are approximately 2,805 stalled or unused projects across the country, posing a risk of waste.
Using the example of Hanoi, which recently recovered two out of hundreds of abandoned projects, generating approximately VND 80 trillion for the budget, he argued that hundreds of projects worth hundreds of trillions to trillions of VND are facing obstacles and stagnating.
General Secretary To Lam taking a commemorative photo with attendees at the meeting (Photo: Hai Long).
“These projects not only cause financial losses and waste but also inflict damage on various social aspects that cannot be fully quantified,” the General Secretary stated.
Especially during the party congresses at all levels, the reorganization of the administrative system, and the reallocation of cadres, moving agency headquarters, eliminating district-level organizations, and restructuring village-level organizations, the General Secretary cautioned against potential “opportunistic behavior” and “conflicts of interest” that could lead to corruption, waste, and negativity.
Therefore, he asserted that the fight against corruption, waste, and negativity will continue to be resolutely and relentlessly pursued by the Party, with no exceptions or limitations.
General Secretary To Lam taking a picture with veteran revolutionary cadres, meritorious individuals, and exemplary policy recipients in the Northern region (Photo: Hai Long).
Furthermore, the General Secretary noted that from the beginning of 2024 to April of this year, prosecuting agencies nationwide had initiated investigations into over 6,000 cases, involving over 13,000 defendants, prosecuting 5,040 cases and 13,519 defendants; and completing the first-instance trial of 5,134 cases, 11,718 defendants, for corruption and economic crimes. Of these, 1,197 new cases involving 4,811 defendants related to corruption were filed.
Additionally, party committees and disciplinary inspection committees at various levels have imposed disciplinary actions on 107 party organizations and 3,209 party members. Notably, among the 70 officials under central management who received disciplinary actions, 28 were Central Committee members, former Central Committee members, including 3 key leaders, 3 deputy prime ministers, 6 ministers, 10 secretaries, former secretaries of city and provincial committees, 11 deputy ministers, former deputy ministers, 26 chairmen, and former chairmen of provinces, and 4 deputy secretaries and former deputy secretaries of provincial-level units.
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