The merger of commune-level administrative units to streamline the apparatus and enhance efficiency was the right policy. Yet, larger populations, wider geographic areas, and heavier workloads after consolidation have created enormous pressure on grassroots officials.

Mường Tùng commune, formed by merging the former Huổi Lèng and Mường Tùng communes, is one example. According to Chairman of the commune People’s Committee Nguyễn Quang Hợp: “Since the merger and the implementation of the two-tier local government model, the assigned staff have been operating stably. However, the commune still lacks specialists in various fields to properly fulfill tasks.”

Currently, the commune has 34 civil servants and public employees, while 44 are needed to operate effectively. Beyond the numbers, the greater concern is the lack of staff with the right expertise for specialized positions, especially in construction. By regulation, the commune requires three civil servants in this field, yet it currently has only one. The People’s Committee is proposing to recruit two additional specialists for urban and rural planning, architecture, construction investment, housing, building materials, and transportation. Other sectors, such as trade, agriculture, land management, environment, health, finance, and science and technology, are each short of at least one qualified civil servant.

Due to the shortage, some officials are working outside their areas of expertise. For instance, civil servants trained in administration or cultural management are handling digital transformation, while a former pedagogy major is covering both education and health. Although this ensures daily operations, it is unsustainable in the long run.

Chà Tở commune faces similar challenges. Its local government has 33 civil servants and public employees, three of whom are completing retirement procedures. Compared with the assigned quota, the commune lacks five staff members in finance, construction, IT, health, and education.

Chairman of the commune People’s Committee Lò Văn Nọi explained:
“The Public Administrative Service Center requires six staff, but we only have five. To cope, we’ve had to assign multiple duties to each official, with colleagues supporting and sharing tasks. For areas without trained personnel, such as health or education, we assign staff from other disciplines to study and coordinate with local schools and clinics to manage.”

While these measures maintain basic operations, they are clearly not sustainable.

The shortage of qualified personnel after commune consolidation is not unique to Mường Tùng or Chà Tở. As decentralization and delegation of authority expand, commune-level governments face heavier responsibilities that demand greater professionalism. Tasks now require well-trained staff with proper qualifications. Assigning staff outside their expertise is only a stopgap measure, carrying risks of errors and undermining service quality for citizens and businesses alike.

In response, the Department of Home Affairs has recently asked commune-level Party Committees and People’s Committees to review and reorganize their staffing to ensure proper structure and assignments. They are also required to report and propose specific needs, particularly for sectors with heavy workloads. Based on these submissions, the Department will advise the provincial government on comprehensive, flexible solutions, including reallocating staff from surplus to deficit areas and seconding or transferring qualified provincial-level officials to support communes.

Resolving this human resource “bottleneck” is crucial to improving efficiency and ensuring commune-level governments truly serve as the effective foundation of the new two-tier local administration.