People come to make transactions at the Lao Cai Provincial Public Administration Service Center.

According to the Government's direction in the Resolution No. 45 dated on April 16, 2021, after being consolidated at the 11th session of the XIV National Assembly, it is "Strengthening decentralization of powers to ministries, agencies and localities to handle work", Lao Cai province determines that it is necessary to decentralize and innovate in all fields in order to free up resources, initialize creativity, and resolve to comprehensively fulfill each year's plan goals, creating the premise to complete the goal for the whole term 2021 - 2025.

The Provincial People's Committee has proposed and approved by the Provincial Party Committee on the policy of allowing the implementation of 16 decentralized contents and 16 innovative contents. The promotion of decentralization and innovation is the breakthrough in administrative reform and improving the operational efficiency of authorities at all levels, promoting the initiative and creativity of each department, branch, and locality, making good use of the potential and advantages of the province; creating favorable conditions for people and enterprises in carrying out administrative procedures; increasing publicity and transparency in the direction and administration of each level and each branch; promoting innovation, organizational arrangement, lean apparatus, effective and efficient operation.

Mr. Phan Trung Ba, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment said: According to the previous regulations, the Chairman of the District People's Committee was allowed to decide to invest in projects with a total investment of not more than 5 billion VND and the Chairman of the People's Committee of Lao Cai City may decide to invest in projects with a total investment of not more than 7 billion VND, including site clearance costs. Implementing the decentralization content, the Department of Planning and Investment has proposed to assign the authorities of districts, cities and towns to proactively decide on investment policies and decide on projects according to the provisions of the Law on Public Investment. Since then, increasing the autonomy, budget autonomy, more effective use of resources to implement projects, creating driving force for socio-economic development in the locality. Implementing the content of innovation, the department has reduced the time to register for new business establishment to a maximum of 1.5/3 days as prescribed; handling documents and returning results within the same day (for valid documents) at the Provincial Public Administration Service Center. Along with that, promoting the implementation of administrative procedures through the electronic network… 

The financial industry effectively implements decentralization and innovation.

Agencies in the financial industry actively and proactively advise competent authorities to promote decentralization and innovation for agencies, units and localities on the following contents, including: the field of appraisal of state property prices; decentralization of management and use of public assets (decentralization of management and use of public assets; decentralization of authority to approve estimates, approval of plans for selection of property procurement contractors); promulgating regulations on decentralization of revenue sources and spending tasks; percentage rate (%) of revenues distribution among local budget levels; allocation norms of recurrent expenditure estimates of the local budget in Lao Cai province in the period of 2022 - 2025; innovating to collect tourist fees directly into the ticket price to visit some monuments, scenic and beautiful spots.

Accordingly, strong decentralization of the authority to approve estimates, approval of contractor selection plans for heads of agencies, units and localities in accordance with their authority to decide on investment and procurement, and at the same time creating the initiative for agencies to use the budget, reducing administrative procedures. As for the allocation norm of recurrent expenditure estimates of the local budget of Lao Cai province in the period of 2022 - 2025 in the direction of innovation in terms of revenue distribution criteria and the level of increasing decentralization of revenue sources for the district and commune budgets to encourage district and commune authorities to actively participate in the management and exploitation of revenue sources, increasing the initiative in managing budget revenues and expenditures...

Mr. Phan Trung Ba added: In order to effectively deploy the contents of decentralization and innovation, the Department of Planning and Investment is very active in inspecting, supervising and requesting relevant departments, branches and units to maintain the monthly reporting regime, thereby regularly assessing the implementation situation, pointing out difficulties, problems and inadequacies in order to promptly adjust and advise the Provincial People's Committee to have solutions to solve the problems…

However, over the past time, the decentralization and innovation in state management still reveal shortcomings and limitations, for example: The legal system that regulates decentralization is not really clear. Obviously, some regulations only stop at principles and requirements without specific mechanisms. Many units and localities have not yet strongly reformed, proactively proposed and recommended contents of decentralization and innovation; some content of decentralization is not thorough, responsibilities are not clear; have not promoted the initiative and creativity of each unit; local governments have not really been involved in the content that is delegated to them...

Determining that promoting decentralization and innovation is the breakthrough in administrative reform and improving operational efficiency at all levels of government, the Department of Planning and Investment has coordinated with relevant units and localities to participate to consult the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Committee to implement this content in 2022. The contents cover social life, focusing on the fields of: Health, education, agriculture, investment, and mechanisms and policies to support workers and ethnic minorities…

At the regular meeting of the Provincial People's Committee in June 2022, Comrade Trinh Xuan Truong, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, said that the Provincial People's Committee has issued the document on approving to implement 16/22 contents of decentralization and innovation in 2022 and request relevant departments, agencies, sectors and localities to continue to review and propose 6 decentralization and innovation contents in this June. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also requested the units and localities in the province to well implement the contents of decentralization and innovation associated with administrative reform and strengthen supervision and inspection of the implementation, ensuring that policies, after being approved, to promote their effectiveness in practice.