Some ministries in Vietnam not only have the numbers of deputy ministers but also the numbers of department vice chiefs more than enough. As a result, they want to set up new agencies. This is the report of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

According to regulations, each ministry can have up to four deputy ministers. However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have up to ten deputy ministers each.

Other ministries, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment have seven deputy ministers each.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Construction and the Government Office have six deputy ministers each. Many other ministries have five deputy ministers.

Not only the ministries that were created by merging several ministries but also ministries that were not merged have higher numbers of deputy ministers than regulation.

Some ministries also have higher numbers of department deputy chiefs than allowed by regulations. Many departments under ministries have up to seven or eight deputy heads, four or five more than regulations.

At the recent National Assembly session, many deputies questioned the Ministry of Home Affairs about the high numbers of deputy chiefs at ministries and agencies. Minister of Home Affairs Tran Quoc Tuan said that the situation was the results of the merge of ministries, to serve the policy of rotating officials, and to realize the policy of increasing the number of female officials under the Law on Gender Equality.

Tuan said that after the upcoming National Party Congress in early 2011, ministry officials will be rotated to reduce the number of vice chiefs.

He also explained that the number of deputy ministers rose because some ministries had new agencies and the agencies’ chiefs must be deputy ministers.

The last reason, according to Tuan, is the Prime Minister permitted some ministries to appoint more deputy ministers to be in charge of state-owned corporations or agencies.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the number of general departments and departments under ministries rose by 39. Some ministries have proposed to set up new agencies. For example, the Ministry of Industry and Trade wants to establish the General Department of Energy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to have the Press Department.

Le Nhung