Vietnam lawmakers abolish district-level government

Vietnam's National Assembly approved amendments to the constitution on Monday to abolish an entire level of government, as part of major reforms to the way the communist country is run.Lawmakers voted unanimously to do away with district level administration, reducing the governmental structure to two layers -- provinces and communes.The move is the latest in a series of drastic changes to Vietnamese government aimed at saving billions of dollars in expenditure by cutting one in five public sector jobs.Last week lawmakers in the assembly -- a rubber-stamp body in a one-party system -- voted to merge most of the country's provinces and cities, cutting nearly 80,000 jobs.In February they slashed the number of government ministries, resulting in 23,000 job losses.The dramatic changes echo the steps taken by US President Donald Trump and Argentina's Javier Milei to take an axe to government spending.But in a communist system where working for the state has long meant a job for life, the reforms piloted by party chief To Lam have caused some unease.Lam, the Communist Party general secretary and top national leader, has said the drastic restructuring is needed if Vietnam is to achieve "fast, stable and sustainable development" in its quest to be a middle-income country by 2030.

The National Assembly also voted Monday to reorganise the lowest level of government, reducing the number of communes from over 10,000 to around 3,300. With this "important reform", the size of communes will be expanded, minister of Interior Pham Thi Thanh Tra said.The move will mean eliminating around 120,000 part-time jobs at commune level, Tra said last week.The governmental reforms follow a huge, wide-ranging anti-corruption drive that has seen dozens of senior government figures and top business leaders caught up.Export-dependent manufacturing hub Vietnam is aiming for eight percent economic growth this year after hitting 7.1 percent last year.But a 46 percent trade tariff threatened by Trump is causing anxiety, and Vietnamese negotiators are locked in talks with their US counterparts to find a solution.