Vietnam parliament to approve plan for leaner government

Vietnam's National Assembly will on Tuesday approve a bold bureaucratic reform plan that will slash up to a fifth of government bodies, as it tries to cut costs and improve administrative efficiency.

The assembly earlier on Tuesday passed an amendment to a Law on Organising the Government, paving the way for a cull of 15% to 20% of the state apparatus that will include five ministries, four agencies and five state television channels, among other cuts.

The move would "not only save money for the state budget but more importantly, boost the efficiency of the system", General Secretary of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party, To Lam, told parliament last week.

Investors, diplomats and officials have broadly welcomed the plan but expect some administrative delays in the short term in Vietnam, a regional industrial hub that relies heavily on foreign investment.

The government has said the overhaul would not impact project approvals.

The planning and investment ministry, which approves foreign investment projects, will join the finance ministry, while the transport ministry and the construction ministry will be merged.

The natural resources and environment ministry and the agriculture ministry will also be merged.

The plan coincides with similar post-pandemic government cost-cutting measures being implemented or pledged across the world, including by Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei and US President Donald Trump.

Vietnam's state media last month reported the restructuring would affect 100,000 state officials. It did not elaborate.

"Poor-performing employees must be removed from the system," it quoted Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh, as saying.

"State agencies must not be safe shelters for incompetent officials."