HANOI: Vietnam’s National Assembly approved amendments to the constitution on Monday (Jun 16) to abolish an entire level of government, as part of major reforms to the way the communist country is run.
Lawmakers voted unanimously to do away with district-level administration, reducing the governmental structure to two layers – provinces and communes.
The move is the latest in a series of drastic changes to Vietnamese government aimed at saving billions of dollars in expenditure by cutting one in five public sector jobs.
In February they slashed the number of government ministries, resulting in 23,000 job losses.
The dramatic changes echo the steps taken by US President Donald Trump and Argentina’s Javier Milei to take an axe to government spending.
But in a communist system where working for the state has long meant a job for life, the reforms piloted by party chief To Lam have caused some unease.
Lam, the Communist Party general secretary and top national leader, has said the drastic restructuring is needed if Vietnam is to achieve “fast, stable and sustainable development” in its quest to be a middle-income country by 2030.
