People complete administrative procedures in Hoang Su Phi district, the northern province of Ha Giang (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnamese Government has failed to downsize itslarge staff, with the number of officials continuing to increase.
Leading aNational Assembly delegation supervising the administrative reforms from2011-2016 to work with the Government on May 27, NA Deputy Chairman Uong Chu Luusaid that work to reduce the number of people on the State payroll had been“very limited”.
“Thestatistics say that it (number of public servants) is not decreasing,” he said.
The number of public servants nationwide was morethan 3.56 million by December 31, 2015, and climbed to more than 3.57 millionby February 1 this year.
Government officials’ wages also expanded by 5trillion VND (222.2 million USD) in one year, from 405 trillion VND in 2015 to 410trillion VND in 2016, Luu said.
HomeAffairs Minister Le Vinh Tan, on behalf of the Government, explained that newadministrative duties and establishing new district and communal units resultedin the increase.
He alsonoted that 11 localities employed more than the quotas given by the ministry,resulting in a total of 7,951 extra officers by December 2016. The localitiesincluded Hanoi, HCM City, Da Nang, Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Binh Thuan,Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Long An.
Thenumber of public servants at communal level and below, meanwhile, hit more than1.9 million people by the end of last year.
A member of the NA supervision delegation, formerNA Legal Affairs Committee Chairman Phan Trung Ly said that few Governmentalagencies had managed to downsize. Most of the job cuts they reported wereofficials who were going to retire anyway.
“Thosewho can’t do their jobs, meanwhile, still get to stay in their roles,” Ly said.-VNA
In a bid to ease payroll pressure on the national budget and improve staff performance, the PM has decided to reduce the number of those on the State payroll by 1.4 percent at all levels next year.
Minister of Home Affairs Le Vinh Tan took the floor at the question & answer session of the 14th National Assembly’s second session in Hanoi on November 16, clarifying issues of public concern.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has been requested to press ahead with reducing the size of its workforce and eradicating family member employment and appointment to promote staff’s performance.
The Ministry of Health said it will step up administrative reform and improve public services to increase the satisfaction of people and businesses in 2017.
The monthly basic salary for civil servants, public employees and those working in the armed forces will be raised to 1.3 million VND (57.16 USD) from July 1.
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People complete administrative procedures in Hoang Su Phi district, the northern province of Ha Giang (Photo: VNA) 
