Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Amaster plan to streamline the central Government by trimming down ministrieswill be developed and determined in 2020, according to Minister of Home AffairsLe Vinh Tan.

In a press briefing on theministry’s missions in the new year, Tan said that the Ministry of Home Affairs(MoHA) would work with other ministries to thoroughly assess the performanceand efficiency of the current Government structure and to propose a restructuringplan for a leaner administrative system for the next term of 2021-2026.

The restructuring mission camefrom a direct order from the Government, the minister added, to specificallyscrutinise the performance of a number of particular ministries that somehowoverlapped with each other in their fields.

“For example, transport andconstruction sectors, finance and planning and investment, or work regardingethnicity and religions,” Tan said.

“The Government has asked (us)to look into the theoretical and reality-based foundations on some ministrieswhich oversee a wide range of sectors, especially those with similar andoverlapping functions and missions in order to work out an appropriate solutionto cut down the number of offices in the upcoming term.”

The minister also said thatanother plan to pilot merging offices in localities was put into motion.

According to a report updatedon January 6, 2020 by MoHA, a total of 15 centrally-controlled cities andprovinces have registered pilot mergers to the ministry.

Each municipality proposed tointegrate different offices which were deemed to step on each other’s feet interms of functions and responsibilities in their own locality.

Quang Ninh and Yen Bai, forexample, asked to merge their departments of home affairs with the provincialParty Committee’s organisation boards.

Dak Nong, meanwhile, wants tohave its Department of Transport and Department of Construction combined.

The number of pilot proposalssent to MoHA, however, was far from sufficient, even though the ministry hadissued a second call to the localities on December 31 to submit their plans.

Tan said that more notices willbe sent out until at least 20 per cent of provincial-level administrativeoffices are registered in the pilot plan.

“The general idea here is wehave to be extra cautious and careful when doing this (the mergers). We willonly try out the pilot plan if there’s 80 per cent chance of success,” he said.

“It’s definitely unwanted ifthe pilot is rolled out and then gets scrapped to return to the old way.”/.