Dong Thap Marks the First Anniversary of the Province’s Establishment

(DTO) On the afternoon of June 30, Dong Thap Province held a ceremony celebrating the first anniversary of the province’s establishment (July 1, 2025 - July 1, 2026) under the theme “Dong Thap - One River, Moving Forward Together.” The event was livestreamed to 102 commune- and ward-level venues across the province. 

Attending the ceremony were Mr. Ngo Chi Cuong, Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and Chairman of the Provincial People’s Council; Deputy Secretaries of the Provincial Party Committee; and former provincial leaders from different periods. 

Since July 1, 2025, the province has received more than 983,500 administrative applications and processed over 966,270, including more than 947,000 completed on or ahead of schedule, achieving a rate of 98%. 
The Provincial People’s Committee has also issued 14 decisions approving measures to simplify administrative procedures and shorten processing times for 2,039 procedures across various sectors by at least 30%. 

At the same time, the province has taken decisive action to manage public assets following the merger. Authorities reviewed 6,134 public land and building facilities, identifying 511 surplus properties. To date, all surplus facilities have completed the second stage of the process, with priority given to converting them into offices for the police, military, health stations, or placing them under the management of the Public Service Center. 

To strengthen grassroots governance, the Provincial People’s Council passed a Resolution allowing commune-level authorities to retain 100% of several key revenue sources generated locally, including corporate income tax, personal income tax, and registration fees for property and motorcycles under their administration. The policy also grants local authorities greater flexibility in funding socio-economic development. 

According to official statistics, commune-level authorities have been assigned 33,092 tasks, including 9,078 for Party organizations, 5,774 for People’s Councils, 17,016 for People’s Committees, and 1,224 for the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations. 

The growing workload across multiple sectors has placed increasing demands on grassroots officials and civil servants. Meanwhile, staffing at the commune level remains below approved levels. 

Many officials and civil servants are now responsible for multiple tasks and roles across the political system, resulting in mounting workloads. As local authorities are entrusted with greater authority and responsibility, they are also facing new challenges that require stronger management, implementation, and problem-solving skills. 

In his address, Secretary Ngo Chi Cuong emphasized that public consensus, unity across the political system, and the business community’s confidence in the province’s future are the greatest achievements and the most valuable resources for Dong Thap’s continued development. 

On behalf of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, he expressed appreciation for the dedication and contributions of Party members, civil servants, public employees, armed forces personnel, businesses, and residents who worked together to overcome challenges during the province’s first year. 

He called on all levels of authorities to shift from an administrative management mindset toward governance and public service while strengthening leadership capacity. He also urged the continued building of a clean, strong, streamlined, effective, and efficient political system, while accelerating administrative reform with public and business satisfaction as the key performance indicator. 

He stressed the need to improve the capabilities of grassroots officials, eliminate dependence on higher authorities, and promote the development of the province’s five socio-economic regions as outlined in the provincial master plan. 

He also emphasized that economic growth must go hand in hand with social progress and equity. Greater efforts should be made to improve both the material and spiritual well-being of the people, especially policy beneficiary families, low-income households, and residents in remote areas. No child should be deprived of education due to a lack of schools or classrooms, and no one should be left without access to medical care. 

Secretary Ngo Chi Cuong further called for promoting the core values of the people of Dong Thap, namely patriotism, unity, integrity, self-reliance, diligence, cooperation, compassion, dynamism, and creativity, while inspiring pride, determination, and the aspiration to contribute among Dong Thap people wherever they may live.

With the guiding principle of “Unity - Democracy - Discipline - Breakthrough - Development,” Secretary Ngo Chi Cuong expressed confidence that the Party organization, authorities, people, and business community of Dong Thap would continue building on the province’s revolutionary tradition and achievements, unifying their thinking and actions, sharing the same determination and confidence in success, and working together to realize the goal of building a rapidly, comprehensively, and sustainably developed Dong Thap Province. 

On this occasion, the Chairman of the Dong Thap Provincial People’s Committee presented Certificates of Merit to 50 organizations and 50 individuals for their outstanding contributions to administrative restructuring and the implementation of the two-tier local government system. 

By HA NAM
Translated by ANH DUC