Ho Chi Minh City plans wider powers for communes and wards to manage roads and hire teachers

Ho Chi Minh City plans to transfer much more responsibility for local roads to communes and wards, after officials found that even minor repairs on roads with four or more lanes can be delayed when they fall under a city department.

At a People’s Council hearing on administrative reform, Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Truong Nhat Phuong supported expanding local authority to improve management and match conditions on the ground. The Department of Construction is studying changes that would allow communes to manage suitable roads within their areas.

Under the proposed arrangement, the department would manage 1,014 roads, or 1.64% of the city’s total. Communes and wards would manage 60,918 roads, or 98.36%. The city also plans to strengthen coordination on funding and technical support so local authorities can maintain roads safely and respond more quickly.

Education was another focus of the hearing. Phuong asked the Education and Training Department to advise the city government on authorizing principals to recruit teachers and staff at kindergartens, high-quality public schools, schools involved in educational partnerships and other advanced models.

She said the council also broadly supported a proposal to give commune chairpersons authority to recruit public employees for local schools once the reorganization of schools has stabilized. The Home Affairs Department and the city’s public administration service center were asked to study staffing arrangements under the urban-development law and avoid allocating personnel uniformly without considering population and local conditions.

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After the school reorganization has stabilized, we also strongly support the wish to authorize commune chairpersons to recruit public employees for local schools, so localities can take the initiative on staffing.