Close leadership drives effective grassroots governance

Formed through the merger of six central wards of the former Bien Hoa city, Tran Bien ward is now home to approximately 212,400 residents living in 49 neighborhoods. With a population comparable to that of a former district-level locality, it ranks among the most populous wards in Vietnam.

Officials and civil servants at the Tran Bien ward Public Administration Service Center process administrative procedures for residents.

Given these characteristics, Tran Bien faced significant challenges when the two-tier local government model was introduced. Nevertheless, the new administrative system quickly stabilized and has since operated effectively. Behind these achievements are the close involvement and decisive leadership of local officials, coupled with a governance approach that places residents at the center of public service delivery.

Staying close to the ground and resolving issues at their source

Despite its exceptionally large population, the ward has only 127 officials, civil servants and non-specialized staff members. On average, each official is responsible for serving more than 1,600 residents, highlighting the considerable pressure placed on the local administration. Since July 1, 2025, the ward’s one-stop-shop division has received and processed around 2,000 applications per month on average.

In addition, the ward is simultaneously implementing 36 public investment projects, including several key city-level infrastructure developments with a combined investment value of hundreds of trillions of dong. The sheer scale of these projects places enormous demands on the ward’s governance and administrative capacity.

According to Ho Van Nam, Party Secretary and Chairman of the People’s Council of Tran Bien ward, infrastructure projects are the true test of grassroots governance. With greater decentralization in land management and site clearance, local authorities must directly handle the most challenging issues, many of which involve residents’ rights and interests.

It has become commonplace to see ward leaders at project sites, personally monitoring progress, meeting with residents and resolving issues as they arise.

Recently, Party Secretary and Chairman of the People’s Council of Tran Bien ward Ho Van Nam personally conducted field inspections and urged faster implementation of key transport infrastructure projects across the ward.

At the Cai Riverside Road project, he instructed contractors to mobilize equipment and machinery to carry out land filling and construction simultaneously wherever cleared land was available. The ward People’s Committee was tasked with coordinating closely with relevant departments to resolve remaining issues and complete site clearance by June 2026.

The same determination has been demonstrated in two important connectivity projects: the road linking Hung Dao Vuong street with Vo Thi Sau street and the road connecting Huynh Van Nghe street with the Dong Nai Riverside Road. Although site clearance has largely been completed, the ward’s Party chief has required relevant agencies to expedite legal procedures so that construction can begin as soon as possible, with both roads targeted for completion by the end of 2026.

Such close leadership has not only accelerated project implementation but has also strengthened public consensus and mobilized resources for local development.

Sharing experiences at a recent conference reviewing one year of operation under the new organizational model of the political system and the two-tier local government structure, Ho Van Nam emphasized that many key infrastructure projects have achieved positive results thanks to persistent dialogue, public engagement and efforts to build consensus among residents.

One example is the Dong Nai Riverside Road project, which has a total investment of more than VND1.3 trillion and was opened to traffic on schedule in early 2026. The 564-meter-long Thong Nhat Bridge has also been completed and put into operation. For the Cai River Riverside Road project, with a total investment of VND574 billion, local authorities are focusing on completing site clearance in June so that construction can be accelerated and the road can be opened by December 2026, creating synchronized connectivity with Thong Nhat Bridge and the city’s central axis road.

Particularly noteworthy is the Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park conversion project, which has become a hallmark of the ward’s site-clearance efforts. Covering 329 hectares and affecting more than 1,500 households, the project has achieved approximately 96% site clearance to date. Significantly, this progress has been achieved entirely through public consensus, without a single case requiring compulsory land recovery or forced eviction. Alongside infrastructure improvements, the Aeon Mall commercial center, with a total investment exceeding VND6.1 trillion, is gradually taking shape in the ward. Local authorities continue to review and adjust planning schemes while maximizing the value of riverside land resources to support socio-economic development and urban modernization.

Improving public service delivery

In parallel with infrastructure development, administrative reform has been identified as one of the ward’s top priorities. In 2025, the Tran Bien ward People’s Committee was rated “excellent” by the city government in terms of administrative reform performance.

According to Nguyen Kim Bich Huyen, Vice Chairwoman of the ward People’s Committee, the locality has focused on modernizing the one-stop shop,  inter-connected one-stop shop mechanisms, standardizing procedures for receiving and processing applications, and accelerating the application of information technology to build a modern administration that is closer to the people and more service-oriented.

In 2025, the Tran Bien ward Party Committee fulfilled or exceeded all 22 targets set in its annual resolution, including nine targets that surpassed expectations. As a result, it was rated as having “excellent performance” by the City Party Committee’s Standing Board. In 2026, as of May 18, total budget revenue collected in the ward had exceeded VND570 billion, equivalent to 54% of the annual target.

The improvements are reflected in a range of administrative performance indicators. The rate of applications processed on time or ahead of schedule reached 99.41% on the city’s administrative system and 99.14% on systems managed by ministries and central agencies. The rate of delays in receiving online applications fell from 15.87% to just 0.3%. To date, 100% of eligible administrative procedures have been made available online, including 112 partially online public services and 247 fully online public services, while the online payment rate has reached 100%.

Nguyen Thi Thu, a resident of Tran Bien ward, said the handling of administrative procedures have become faster and more convenient than before. “Many procedures can now be completed online, and officials provide dedicated guidance, which saves residents a great deal of time and travel,” she said.

Nevertheless, local leaders candidly acknowledge that the greatest challenge remains the gap between the allocated staffing levels and the actual workload of a key locality implementing numerous large-scale projects simultaneously. This issue will require continued attention to ensure that the grassroots administrative apparatus operates effectively and sustainably in the years ahead.

Tran Bien’s experience under the two-tier local government model shows that while decentralization and greater local authority are important, effective grassroots governance ultimately depends on proactive leadership, a responsible civil service and strong public consensus.

By H.Thao – Translated by M.Nguyet, Thu Ha