VietNamNet Bridge – A two-tier administrative system that will do away with legislative bodies and administrations below the district level is the highlight of a plan that HCM City will implement in the future.

An urban administration reform plan for the city that was approved by the National Assembly on Tuesday will also see the establishment of satellite urban areas, or "cities within the city."

The plan will benefit HCM City residents significantly as it will reduce administrative procedures, said Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, deputy secretary of the city Party Committee and chairwoman of the city People's Council.

Speaking to the media after the parliamentary approval, Tam, who is also a National Assembly deputy, said that the city had spent a long time on preparing the plan.

It was a realistic plan prepared after researching urban administration models in many other countries, she said.

Explaining the "cities within the city" concept, she said four satellite cities would be set up at the city's four gateways by combining existing districts.

For example, one satellite city would be formed by merging districts 2, 9 and Thu Duc; and another with the merger of several districts in the west of the city, she said.

The satellite cities would have their People's Council, People's Committee and other administrative bodies, Tam said.

The current 13 inner districts that do not have a large area would be governed by administrative management committees and would not have their own legislative bodies (People's Council), she said.

Under the two-tier administration model, there would be no ward level administrations, so all issues would be dealt with by district-level administrations, she said, adding that this would considerably reduce red tape for residents.

Currently, all civil administrative procedures are dealt with at both ward-level and district-level administrations.

Tam also said that city People's Council would have greater autonomy and take decisions on many important issues for which it has to take permission from relevant ministries or the National Assembly at present.

Therefore, many issues concerning the city residents would be resolved faster, she said.

The plan would generate conditions for the city to develop faster, promote its role as a national growth engine and improve the lives of its residents, she added.

Source: VNS