Party building: Transparency in personnel recruitment, promotion

At its 6th plenum, the 12th Party Central Committee issued Resolution 18-NQ/TW on some issues relating to continued reform and rearrangement for a streamlined and effective apparatus of the political system. On the eve of the 6th plenum, the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission became the pioneer in implementing a pilot policy on holding examination to select officials for leading positions and renewing the process to select and appoint managerial officials, by holding a public examination for the position of head of department. The examination helped the commission choose worthy candidates with good capacity of leadership and management, deep professional knowledge, firm political will, good ethics and high prestige. It also created a healthy environment for competition, thus gradually reforming the procedure of appointing officials to leading and managerial positions. 

Assessing the pilot examination held by the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission, standing deputy director of the commission and vice head of the examination council Nguyen Thanh Binh said the examination helped choose the right and capable candidates and prevent the waste of talent and brain drain, thus it was a breakthrough in personnel affairs.

Following the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) was the second agency to hold an examination for leading and managerial positions. Deputy Minister of MoHA Nguyen Duy Thang affirmed that the examination was designed to discover and attract capable and qualified officials, preventing the phenomenon of closed and partial appointment. 

Recently, the Supreme People’s Court also organised an examination to select one head of department and three deputy heads of department. Deputy chief justice of the Supreme People’s Court Le Hong Quang said the event was a step toward reforming the process of appointment for leading positions in the court system in general and the Supreme People’s Court in particular, creating a healthy competition in the work of personnel appointment and promotion.

Earlier, the standing board of the Party Committee of the northern province of Quang Ninh issued Regulation 02 on piloting the organisation of examination for managerial positions at department and section levels. Accordingly, the appointment of officials for such positions in the province from now to the end of Quarter 1, 2020 must be done through examinations. 

The Ministry of Finance also issued a decision on piloting the organisation of examinations for a number of leading positions. 

Those moves showed that ministries and localities are serious in implementing the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat policy on piloting the selection of leading officials through examination. 

However, the holding of such examination is only the first step in personnel work, according to Professor Pham Van Duc, Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences. He said what is more important is to put in place a mechanism to monitor the work of those who are appointed through examination.