(Issued together with the Prime Minister�s Decision No.207/1999/QD-TTg of October 25, 1999)

In order to realize the Resolution of the 7th plenum of the Party Central Committee (the VIIIth congress) titled "A number of issues regarding the organizational apparatus of the political system and wages as well as social allowances under the State budget", the Government has studied and firmly grasped the objectives, viewpoints and tasks regarding the perfection of the organizational apparatus of the political system and the wage policy reform stated in the Resolution, and has decided on the Plan for Realization of the Resolution of the 7th plenum of the Party Central Committee (the 8th congress) as follows:

I. TASKS TO BE FULFILLED WITH CONCENTRATED EFFORTS FROM NOW TILL THE IXTH CONGRESS OF THE PARTY

1. In furtherance of the Resolutions on the Government�s regular meetings of August and September, 1999 (No.10 of August 27, 1999 and No.11 of October 13, 1999), it is necessary to study the amendment of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of the People�s Councils and the People�s Committees, clearly defining the functions and tasks of the Government according to the new requirements and new tasks; clearly determining which tasks to be concentrated to the Government or the Prime Minister, clearly determining the organizational structure of the Government which consists of ministries managing many branches or many fields and having the State management functions in the entire society.

The Government�s Commission for Organization and Personnel prepares the bill amending and supplementing the Law on Organization of the Government and the bill amending and supplementing the Law on Organization of the People�s Councils and the People�s Committees; the time for submitting them to the Government shall be the middle of the first quarter of the year 2000 in preparation for their submission to the National Assembly under the Government�s Program on Making Laws and Ordinances in the year 2000.(1)

2. To review and adjust the functions, tasks and powers of ministries, ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government.

- The review is carried out according to the following requirements:

+ Clearly defining the State management function of each ministry, each ministerial-level agency and each agency attached to the Government (both the State management and guiding non-business activities) throughout the country;

+ The functions, tasks and powers of such ministry must demonstrate correctly the level of State management, not taking on the work of the grassroots level; further clarifying the assignment of the ministry�s tasks and powers to the local administration, to non-business units as well as State enterprises under the ministry�s management;

+ Pointing to the overlappings and coincidences in functions and tasks between such ministry and other ministries and branches, ensuring that one task shall be performed by one agency that assumes the prime responsibility; overcoming the situation that many agencies are jointly responsible for one thing; at the same time pointing to domains and tasks, which have been left without any ministry or branch undertaking them;

+ Adding and adjusting the functions, tasks and powers of such ministry in a way suitable to the new managerial requirements (it is necessary to clearly determine the new functions of the ministry, the functions and tasks to be transferred from other ministries or branches to such ministry and its functions and tasks to be transferred to other ministries, branches);

+ Clearly determining the relations among the ministries and branches as well as between the ministries or branches and the local administrations in performing the common functions and tasks of the State administrative apparatus;

+ Clearly determining the competence and collective responsibility of the organization and the competence and responsibility of the head of such organization.

- The adjustment of functions, tasks and powers of the ministries is closely related to the tasks of restructuring the apparatus of the ministries and streamlining the payroll (stated at Points 3 and 4 below). Therefore, each ministry, each ministerial-level agency and each agency attached to the Government shall have to draw up its plan for addition of functions, tasks and powers in close association with its organizational restructure and payroll streamlining.

The Government determines that the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance (including the General Department of Tax under the Ministry of Finance), the Government�s Office and Commission for Organization and Personnel, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the General Department of Customs are the key agencies for pilot implementation, which must quickly prepare plans for submission to the Government within the first quarter of the year 2000.

Other agencies shall submit their plans within the second quarter of 2000. The Government�s Steering Committee for Administrative Reform and the Government�s Commission for Organization and Personnel shall assist the Prime Minister in directing this work.

3. To review and reorganize the apparatus inside the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government.

- The general requirement is that on the basis of clear and correct determination of the functions, tasks and powers of the ministries, to adjust the organizational structures of the ministries, making them more rational and operate more efficiently, and at the same time to streamline unnecessary organizations.

- The principles guiding the review and reorganization of apparatuses of the ministries are:

+ Clearly determining the State management functions of the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government (hereafter referred to as the ministries for short), which includes the study and elaboration of management policies and regimes as well as the legal documents falling within the responsibility and competence of the ministries; the direction, administration and coordination in implementing and supervising the observance of the policies, regimes and laws by grassroots units under the ministries� management.

+ Appropriate organizations shall be set up correspondingly to the functions, tasks and work volumes, not formulating many strata and many levels within the ministries� offices;

+ Generally speaking, from now to the IXth Congress, no new organizations under the ministries shall be additionally set up; in case of urgent necessity, the adjustment shall be made under the principle of not increasing the number of organizations in the ministries.

The Government�s Commission for Organization and Personnel shall draw up plans to organize the apparatus assisting the ministers to perform their State management functions and plans to organize specialized bodies under the provincial and district People�s Committees for submission to the Government in November 1999.

4. Streamlining the payroll

- The general objective is to reduce around 15% of the payroll by the end of the year 2000. Subject to such reduction shall be the staffs in the State administrative bodies, the staffs in non-business units and State enterprises. No equal rate of staff reduction shall be set; staff reduction shall not be carried out all and sundry in a rigid and egalitarian manner.

- The principles for carrying out the payroll streamlining:

+ Clearly distinguishing the payroll in the administrative bodies from the payroll in the non-business, economic and public-services units so as to work out plans for directing the staff reduction suitable to each kind of organization;

+ The payroll of each agency and unit of the ministries, branches and localities must be based on the determination of the specific work contents and volume as well as the criteria, titles and rational structure of officials and employees. There must be appropriate mechanisms to determine the allocation of funds for the operations of agencies instead of the current fund allocation according to the number of staff members;

+ From now till the complete determination of the specific plans for staff reduction, the 1999 payroll of the administrative and non-business sector shall comply with Official Dispatch No.400/TCCP-TCCB of December 29,1998 of the Government�s Commission for Organization and Personnel;

+ Quickly elaborating and promulgating specific policies to facilitate the staff streamlining (the policies towards the early retirers and staff leavers, the policies on employee transfer and job-arrangement waiting; the policies on sending employees to training, fostering courses....);

+ Directing the pilot realization and gradual expansion of the socialization of medical, educational, scientific, cultural and sport services, first in cities and industrial zones. Alongside the process of expansion of the socialization, the adjustment of payroll in non-business and public-service units shall be made.

For all the three tasks: Reviewing and adjusting the functions and tasks; reorganizing the apparatus; and staff streamlining, each ministry, each ministerial-level agency and each agency attached to the Government shall draw up its own plan to report to the Prime Minister in strict accordance with the spirit of the Resolution of the 7th plenum of the Party Central Committee. The Government�s Commission for Organization and Personnel shall, together with the Government�s Office, sum up and report them to the Government in the second quarter of the year 2000.

The People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall draw up plans for the review and adjustment of their functions, tasks; the reorganization of their respective apparatuses and their own staff streamlining for submission to the Government in the second quarter of 2000. The Government�s Commission for Organization and Personnel shall direct this work.

5. To restructure the agencies under the Government and the consultancy organizations set up under the Prime Minister�s decisions

The restructure of agencies under the Government shall be considered and decided in close combination with the review and adjustment of the functions, tasks and powers of the ministries.

In addition to the ministries and the ministerial-level agencies, which lie in the organizational structure of the Government, there have been agencies attached to the Government and consultancy organizations set up due to the all-sidedness of the Government�s direction and administration work and to the requirement of concentrated implementation for various branches and various working domains in order to assist the Prime Minister in studying, directing and coordinating the settlement of important inter-branch matters, such as Commissions, Steering Boards, Research Groups..., which have been placed directly under the Prime Minister. Recently, the Prime Minister has decided to dissolve 15 consultancy organizations; and to continue reorganizing such organizations in the coming period along the following directions:

- To dissolve the consultancy organizations which have fulfilled their duties;

- To merge organizations with similar functions and tasks and with members from a number of the same ministries and branches;

- To dissolve and transfer the tasks of the consultancy organizations whose functions and tasks have been concentrated in a number of ministries and/or branches;

- The consultancy organizations continuing to exist shall be organized with a simple and light standing and assisting section, not after the organizational structure in the ministries and the ministerial-level agencies.

The Government�s Commission for Organization and Personnel shall draw up plans to reorganize the consultancy organizations set up under the Prime Minister�s decisions and the Regulations on the establishment and dissolution of the consultancy organizations; the time for submitting them to the Government is in November 1999.

6. The tasks regarding the policies on wages and social allowances under the State budget

The 7th plenum of the Party Central Committee has decided: From now to the year 2001, to make full inflation subsidy to wages, as from January 2000, the base wage level of 180,000 VN dong shall apply and as from January 2001, it will be 210,000 VN dong; to re-establish order and discipline in wage management, overcoming irrationalities in the current wage mechanism and wage scales; to prepare conditions for further reform of the wage regime in subsequent years, and elaborate a number of social policies for the subjects entitled thereto.

To perform the above-mentioned tasks, the following things should be quickly done:

a) To promulgate the Decree adjusting the minimum wage, the allowance levels and cost-of-living allowances under the State budget.

The Government�s Commission for Organization and Personnel shall assume the prime responsibility in drafting such Decree for submission to the Government in November 1999.

b) The Prime Minister shall issue the decision on the regime of package allowances for telephone use, residence house and house maids.

The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility in drafting the decisions for submission to the Prime Minister in November 1999.

c) To issue the decision on supplements to the bonus regime for officials and employees of the State administrative sector.

The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility in drafting the decision for submission to the Prime Minister in December 1999.

d) The Government�s Decree on the regime of lumpsum preferential allowances to people with meritorious services and the pensions for officials who had retired before August 1985.

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall take charge of amending a number of articles of the Ordinance on preferences for revolutionaries, fallen combatants and their families, war invalids, diseased armymen, resistance war activists and persons with meritorious assistance to the revolution, and drafting the Decree for submission to the Government in November 1999.

e) The Government�s Decree on residence house policy towards officials and employees.

The Ministry of Construction shall take charge of drafting such decree for submission to the Government in December 1999.

f) The Government�s Decree on financial policies and mechanisms for non-business units with revenues.

The Ministry of Finance shall take charge of drafting the Decree for submission to the Government in December 1999.

g) The Government�s Decree on the regimes of hiring, package assigning or contracting a number of services in the administrative bodies.

The Government�s Commission for Organization and Personnel shall take charge of drafting the Decree for submission to the Government in January 2000.

h) The Government�s Decree on mechanism and policies for implementation of the socialization of scientific and technological research.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall take charge of drafting the Decree for submission to the Government in February 2000.

i) Circulars guiding the implementation of the Government�s Decree No.73/1999/ND-CP of August 19,1999 on the policy of encouraging the socialization of activities in the fields of education, health, culture and sports.

The ministries of Education and Training; Health; Culture and Information and the Sports and Physical Training Commission shall take charge in drafting and promulgating circulars guiding the implementation of this Decree in their respective fields in the first quarter of 2000.

II. TASKS TO BE IMPLEMENTED WITH CONCENTRATED DIRECTION AFTER THE IXTH PARTY CONGRESS

- Directing the enforcement of the Law Amending and Supplementing the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law Amending and Supplementing the Law on Organization of the People�s Councils and the People�s Committees to be passed by the Xth National Assembly in 2000;

- Directing the implementation of the plan on the functions, tasks and organizational structure of the Government and the People�s Councils as well as the People�s Committees according to the provisions of new laws on organization of the State.

III. RESPONSIBILITIES FOR DIRECTING THE IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Prime Minister shall provide the general direction for the implementation of the Government�s plan for realization of the Resolution of the 7th plenum of the Party Central Committee (VIIIth congress). The Deputy-Prime Ministers shall personally direct the ministries and branches assigned to elaborate the above-mentioned plans and inspect the implementation tempo. The Government�s Board for Administrative Reform shall assist the Prime Minister in directing the implementation of the Government�s plan for realiation of the Resolution of the 7th plenum of the Party Central Committee ( the VIII congress).

2. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government shall have to personally direct their respective ministries and branches in reviewing and adjusting the functions, tasks, organizational structures of their ministries and branches and determining the necessary payrolls therefor.

3. The plans to be submitted to the Government must be carefully studied and prepared, and be commented by the Government�s Steering Committee for Administrative Reform or the State�s Steering Committee for Wages, ensuring the quality and time schedule.

4. The Ministry of Finance shall allocate fund for the implementation of the above-mentioned plans.

5. The Government�s Commission for Organization and Personnel and the Government�s Office shall have to monitor the tempo of the implementation of the above-said plans, periodically reporting the results thereof to the Government and the Prime Minister.

6. The ministries, branches and localities, in the course of implementing the Government�s plans, shall continue furthering the administrative procedure reform. Besides 7 key areas mentioned in the Government�s Resolution No.38/CP of May 4, 1994, to continue expanding the administrative procedure reform in such fields as land administration, construction, education and public health; to improve the process of preparing and adopting legal documents of the Government and the local administration of all levels; to renovate the work style; clearly determine the responsibilities of collectives and of the heads of agencies, thus making the State administrative agencies operate more effectively and more efficiently. From now till the end of the year, the Government shall discuss and adopt guidelines and measures to continue the administrative reform in 2000.

7. The ministries, centrally-run branches and People�s Committees of all levels shall take initiative in coordinating with the Fatherland Front organizations and mass organizations at all levels in the implementation of this plan, contributing to the fruitful realization of the Resolution of the 7th plenum of the Party Central Committee (the VIIIth congress), and creating new favorable conditions for the cause of "doi moi" (renewal) and national industrialization as well as modernization.

Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI