Ten ministries merged into five after apparatus streamlining: Minister

Minister of Home Affairs Phạm Thị Thanh Trà (left). — VNA/VNS Photo

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Việt Nam has approved a plan on restructuring and streamlining the organisational apparatus of the political system, in which 10 ministries are merged into five, Minister of Home Affairs Phạm Thị Thanh Trà said on Saturday.

Specifically, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance will be merged into the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport will be merged into the Ministry of Construction; the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will be merged into the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment; the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Science and Technology will be merged into the Ministry of Science and Technology; while the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs will be merged into the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The plan includes the establishment of the Ministry of Ethnic Minority and Religious Affairs on the basis of the Government Committee for Ethnic Affairs, which will take on additional functions, tasks, and State management for religious affairs from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Party Central Committee has agreed with the policy to re-organise the inspectorate system by restructuring and consolidating the Government Inspectorate and the current local and specialised inspection agencies.

Additionally, it has also agreed with the policy to re-organise the local public security apparatus with the district-level police force eliminated. For island districts, police stations will be established, as there are no commune-level administrative units.

After the apparatus restructuring, the streamlined government will have 14 ministries and three ministry-level agencies, a reduction of five; and five Government-affiliated agencies, down by three.

Specifically, the 14 ministries are the Ministry of National Defence; the Ministry of Public Security; the Ministry of Justice; the Ministry of Industry and Trade; the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Education and Training; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of Construction; the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment; the Ministry of Science and Technology; the Ministry of Home Affairs; and the Ministry of Ethnic Minority and Religious Affairs.

The ministry-level agencies are the Government Office, the Government Inspectorate, and the State Bank of Vietnam, while the five Government-affiliated agencies are the Việt Nam Academy of Science and Technology, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, the Vietnam Television (VTV), Radio the Voice of Việt Nam (VOV), and the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).