Vietnam to Cut 20% of Government Offices in Major Reform Plan

Vietnam’s National Assembly is set to approve a significant bureaucratic reform plan on Tuesday, aiming to reduce government bodies by up to 20% in an effort to cut costs and enhance administrative efficiency. Earlier that day, the assembly passed a revision to the Law on Organising the Government, which will lead to a reduction of 15% to 20% of the state apparatus, including five ministries, four agencies, and five state-run television channels, among other cuts.
Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary, To Lam, told the parliament last week that the changes would “not only save money for the state budget but, more importantly, increase the efficiency of the system.”
While the plan has generally been well-received by investors, diplomats, and officials, there are expectations of some short-term administrative delays in Vietnam, a key regional industrial centre dependent on foreign investment. However, the government assured that project approvals would not be impacted by the restructuring.
Several ministries will be merged as part of the reform: the Ministry of Planning and Investment will join the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Transport will merge with the Ministry of Construction, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will combine with the Ministry of Agriculture.
This move aligns with similar post-pandemic efforts by governments around the world, such as those in Argentina under President Javier Milei and the United States under former President Donald Trump, to reduce costs.
Vietnam’s state media reported last month that the restructuring would affect 100,000 state officials, though specific details were not provided. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh emphasised that “underperforming employees must be removed from the system” and stated that “state agencies should not be havens for incompetent officials.”