HANOI
\n Vietnam\u2019s National Assembly on Tuesday approved a bold bureaucratic reform plan that will slash up to a fifth of government bodies, as the country tries to cut costs and improve administrative efficiency.
\nThe number of government ministries will be reduced to 14 from the current of 18, to be up and running from March 1, the assembly said in a statement.
\nMore than 97 percent of the lawmakers present approved the plan.
\nThe assembly earlier on Tuesday passed an amendment to a law on organizing government, paving the way for approval of the planned cull of 15 percent to 20 percent of the state apparatus, which will also include four agencies and five state television channels, among other cuts.
\nThe move would \u201cnot only save money for the state budget but more importantly, boost the efficiency of the system,\u201d General Secretary of Vietnam\u2019s ruling Communist Party, To Lam, told parliament last week. Investors, diplomats and officials have broadly welcomed the plan but expect some administrative delays in the short term in Vietnam, a regional industrial hub that relies heavily on foreign investment. The government has said the overhaul would not impact project approvals.
\nThe planning and investment ministry, which approves foreign investment projects, will join the finance ministry, while the transport ministry and the construction ministry will be merged.
\nThe natural resources and environment ministry and the agriculture ministry will also be merged.
\nLawmakers on Tuesday ratified the appointment of two new deputy premiers, including the incumbent investment minister. That will increase the number of deputy prime ministers from five to seven.
\nThe plan coincides with similar post-pandemic government cost-cutting measures being implemented or pledged across the world, including by Argentina\u2019s libertarian President Javier Milei and US President Donald Trump.
\nVietnam\u2019s state media last month reported the restructuring would affect 100,000 state officials. It did not elaborate.
\n\u201cPoor-performing employees must be removed from the system,\u201d it quoted Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh, as saying.
\n\u201cState agencies must not be safe shelters for incompetent officials.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HANOI Vietnam\u2019s National Assembly on Tuesday approved a bold bureaucratic reform plan that will slash up to a fifth of government bodies, as the country tries to cut costs and improve administrative efficiency. The number of government ministries will be reduced to 14 from the current of 18, to be up and running from March […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-462427","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n