Ready for modern urban governance mindset

Having gone through the historical challenges of streamlining the organizational apparatus, Dong Nai is now facing an unprecedented opportunity to break through and rise to become a centrally governed city. This strong transformation is precisely the intense aspiration of nearly 4.5 million local residents for an integrated and prosperous mega-urban area.

At a meeting with a working delegation from the Ministry of Home Affairs and relevant ministries and sectors to appraise the Project on the Establishment of Dong Nai as a centrally governed city, Vu Hong Van, Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee (PPC), and Head of the Provincial Delegation of National Assembly Deputies, affirmed: “Dong Nai City is not merely a name, but also the aspiration of the people, an opportunity to transform governance thinking from rural administration to that of a modern mega-urban model for the cadre contingent, with the goal of improving people’s living standards, while contributing to the prosperous development of the country.”

An opportunity for cadres to mature

Since the beginning of 2025, the entire political system of the province has gone through a period full of difficulties, pressure, and challenges in the process of restructuring and streamlining the apparatus, implementing the two-tier local government model. The province’s two-tier government apparatus has come into smooth and effective operation with convincing evidence, as GRDP growth in 2025 reached 9.63% and contributions to the central budget exceeded VND100 trillion. This remarkable achievement proves that the new apparatus has successfully transformed, while also strongly shifting from a passive stance to urgent action, ready to bring Dong Nai to become a centrally governed city.

Deputy Secretary of the PPC and Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Ut inspects the service provision for people and enterprises at the Provincial Public Administrative Service Center. Photo: Cong Nghia

Assessing this transformation, Member of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Home Affairs Do Thanh Binh affirmed: Dong Nai fully deserves to become a centrally governed city. This recognition is being concretized by the fact that the Politburo has issued very close directives, and the Government together with ministries and sectors are urgently supporting the locality in removing all “bottlenecks” in infrastructure and legal institutions. The elevation is now no longer merely an internal aspiration of Dong Nai’s people, but has become a great expectation of the entire country.

That expectation originates from the profound orientation of Party General Secretary To Lam and the Politburo, requiring the building of Dong Nai City into an important growth pole, playing the role of a national gateway for integration. In this strategic vision, Dong Nai is determined not to be a satellite urban area, but must rise to become a large urban center capable of supporting, sharing, and developing together with the entire region. The locality must strive to become a model of dynamism, civility, and happiness, contributing to the creation of a new economic space for the Southeast region.

Thanks to the fresh momentum from that orientation, key projects such as the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway, the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien urban railway line (Ho Chi Minh City) extended to the new provincial administrative center (in Tran Bien Ward), then connected to Long Thanh Airport and a number of other projects, have been permitted by the Government for urgent implementation. The decisive support from the central level is creating a strong driving force, combined with the locality’s internal strength, to take Dong Nai forward into the vast sea of integration.

Ready for a modern governance mindset

According to Minister of Home Affairs Do Thanh Binh, the province must urgently develop action programs and plans right before the historic moment when the National Assembly presses the button to pass the resolution on the establishment of Dong Nai City. All proposed action programs and plans must be truly specific, sharp, and implemented quickly, with absolute precision in accordance with the spirit of “six clarities” in the organization of implementation. At the same time, Dong Nai needs to proactively propose that the central government issue specific mechanisms and policies in order to create a legal corridor for immediate application once it officially becomes a city.

Member of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Home Affairs Do Thanh Binh:

Strengthening training and fostering cadres with knowledge and modern governance skills

Dong Nai will become a mega-urban area playing an important role in the Southeast region and the whole country. For Dong Nai’s urban area to develop rapidly and achieve breakthroughs, it requires a contingent of cadres with sufficient capacity, dedication, and responsibility. The province must pay special attention to strengthening training and fostering cadres with knowledge and skills in modern governance, especially for cadres in departments, sectors, and at the commune level.

The effective operation of a mega-urban area with up to 95 commune-level administrative units and nearly 4.5 million people has been required by the Provincial Party Standing Committee for cadres from the provincial to the commune levels to make great efforts. To shoulder such a massive workload, cadre work must be considered the root of all breakthroughs, directly determining the success of the transition of the urban governance model. Therefore, the pool of cadres must be ready in terms of mindset for modern urban governance, especially heads of communes and wards, who, during their assigned tenure, must create projects and new approaches that change the local landscape.

Demonstrating the determination to achieve breakthrough results when Dong Nai officially becomes a centrally governed city, at the 3rd Conference of the Provincial Party Executive Committee (Term I), the Provincial Party Executive Committee unanimously passed a resolution to implement a special 500-day-and-night emulation plan. The Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee has been assigned to develop a specific plan to launch among all cadres, Party members, and people, with specific goals and targets for wards and communes to register emulation targets and must achieve concrete, clearly measurable results.

The Provincial Party Standing Committee also requires the PPC’s Organization Commission, the PPC’s Inspection Commission, the PPC’s Commission for Information, Education and Mass Mobilization, and the PPC’s Internal Affairs Commission to fully promote their functions, tasks, and roles, advising the Provincial Party Standing Committee and the Standing Committee of the PPC to lead and direct the successful implementation of double-digit growth targets and state budget revenue reaching VND150 trillion. It also calls for strengthening communication, inspection, and evaluation of the performance of cadres at the local level, and promptly taking corrective measures. For cadres who perform well, rewards and encouragement must be given; for those who fail to meet requirements, they must be resolutely replaced in a timely manner so as not to affect the development process of the locality.

By Cong Nghia - Translated by Diec Quyen, Thu Ha