AMBASSADOR URGES VIETNAM TO PASS NGO LAW, CARRY OUT LOCAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000227 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EINT ECON EFIN PGOV PREL VM SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR URGES VIETNAM TO PASS NGO LAW, CARRY OUT LOCAL ELECTIONS HANOI 00000227 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Ambassador met with Minister of Home Affairs (MOHA) Tran Van Tuan on March 6, 2009. MOHA oversees all Government of Vietnam (GVN) personnel appointments, public administration reform (PAR),government records and archives, and Vietnam's 2 million civil servants and public service employees. Tuan will lead a delegation to the United States April 19-25 to learn about the U.S. federal personnel system and public sector employees at the state and city level. Tuan said the GVN would shelve local elections indefinitely in favor of improving local administration. The Ambassador urged Vietnam to pass the long-delayed "NGO Law." End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador met with Tran Van Tuan, Minister of Home Affairs (MOHA) on March 6. MOHA was formed in 2002 after it was upgraded from the Government Committee on Organization and Personnel. Tuan, appointed Minister in 2007, has a PhD in Economics and is a member of the Communist Party Central Executive Committee. MOHA oversees all GVN personnel appointments, from vice-minister down, working in coordination with the Communist Party of Vietnam's (CPV) Personnel Commission. The Ministry also oversees public administration reform (PAR),government records and archives, and Vietnam's 2 million civil servants and public service workers. ¶3. (SBU) Tuan said public service workers included police, public works, transport and postal workers, and those working in the medical and education sectors. In November 2008, the National Assembly passed the "Law on Civil Servants," which eliminated lifetime employment and established a code of conduct for Vietnam's 600,000 federal workers. The law will take effect on January 1, ¶2010. Tuan told the Ambassador that a forthcoming law would cover Vietnam's 1.4 million public service employees. Visit to the United States -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Tuan will lead a ministerial delegation to Washington, Boston and New York City April 19-25 to learn about the U.S. federal personnel system and public sector employees at the state and city level. While in Washington, the delegation hopes to visit the Office of Personnel Management, and the Ambassador suggested a visit to Capitol Hill to meet with congressional committees that have oversight over the U.S. civil service, including the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Public Administration Reform -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In 2001, MOHA launched a ten-year Public Administration Reform (PAR) effort, supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP),to reduce red tape and corruption and improve Vietnam's bureaucracy to help it meet the demands of a market economy. PAR includes Project 30, a USAID-funded program carried out by Support for Trade Acceleration (STAR) and the Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (VNCI) that reviews GVN administrative procedures and recommends simplification. Tuan said the GVN had reduced the number of ministries from 26 to 22 and that reform would continue, particularly in the areas of public finance, administrative procedures and local government. He called PAR a "long-term effort." ¶6. (SBU) The Ambassador expressed concern that a reform-driven pilot project to streamline local government by abolishing local People's Councils would conflict with the Party's long-stated goal to introduce direct election of local officials. Tuan confirmed that the National Assembly and Politburo would shelve local elections for now in favor of improving local administration. He said the GVN still planned to introduce local elections in the future. NGO Law -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The Ambassador also inquired about the status of the long delayed "Law on Associations" (or "NGO Law") and urged the government to act. In the absence of clear legislation, local organizations and international NGOs are forced to navigate an opaque and complicated process to register and operate in Vietnam. Tuan agreed that he would like to see the law pass and acknowledged it was long overdue. He was unable to predict when it might happen, however, saying only "bottlenecks [had] arisen." The Ambassador noted that most of the issues delaying the law's passage were unrelated to the registration and operation of NGOs. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: Rapid economic growth continues to pose challenges to Vietnam's legislative and regulatory framework. As the lead ministry in charge of reform, MOHA may find itself at the center of important bilateral issues during Minister Tuan's tenure. Continuing U.S.-Vietnam engagement via USAID-funded Project 30, in HANOI 00000227 002.2 OF 002 combination with MOHA's role as a legislative and regulatory reformer, make Minister Tuan an important Embassy interlocutor. MICHALAK