The Capital Conundrum: Hundreds of Unassigned Officials, Many Cashing Out with Retirement Bonuses

On June 12th, Hanoi People’s Committee Chairman Tran Sy Thanh chaired a meeting with the task force directing and guiding the arrangement of administrative units (AU) at the communal level in the city.

At the meeting, Mr. Truong Viet Dung, Chief of Office of the Hanoi People’s Committee, announced the decision of the City Chairman on the establishment of 11 task forces to direct and guide the arrangement of AUs at the communal level in the city.

Regarding the arrangement of officers, Mr. Tran Dinh Canh, Director of Hanoi Department of Home Affairs, said that through the review, the city currently has 9,536 officers and civil servants arranged for 126 communes and wards. Of these, 876 people have requested to retire under Decree 178, and the city has settled the regimes for 300 people.

Currently, Hanoi’s districts, counties, and towns have a surplus of 253 officers and civil servants who have not been assigned positions. The Department of Home Affairs will work with the City Party Committee’s Organization Committee to arrange them appropriately.

At the meeting, the Hanoi Chairman stated that the city’s important task is to ensure that the new government apparatus at the communal level functions effectively to serve the needs of its people and businesses. Therefore, Mr. Thanh requested that the task force members closely coordinate with the assigned agencies to promptly implement this critical mission.

According to the Hanoi Chairman, the arrangement of the administrative apparatus at the communal level is a new and challenging task without precedent, especially as the legal documents are not yet available. Thus, the implementation process is like “running and queuing at the same time.” He instructed the task forces and localities to prioritize serving the people and businesses regarding administrative procedures.

It is expected that after June 20th, the city will have a full staff of officers and civil servants for the 126 new communes and wards to operate under the new model.

The Hanoi Chairman requested that the preparations be completed before June 25th to ensure smooth and effective official operations starting July 1st.

Information revealed that the Hanoi People’s Committee has just approved the expenditure of nearly VND 47 billion to pay policies and regimes for officials, public employees, and laborers who retired in the fourth phase of the organization’s apparatus arrangement according to Decree 178/2024/ND-CP and Decree 67/2025/ND-CP of the Government. Many of these were managerial staff who retired early.

Accordingly, at the City Party Committee Office, four officials received a total of over VND 6.7 billion. Among them were former leaders of units under the Party Committee of the Business Bloc, the Party Committee of Industrial Parks and Export Processing Zones of Hanoi, and the Party Committee of the City’s Internal Agencies.

Additionally, some cases, such as the former Head of the Organization and Personnel Board under the Party Committee of Industrial Parks and Export Processing Zones of Hanoi and the former Chairman of the Inspection Commission under the Party Committee of the City’s Internal Agencies, received over VND 2.5 billion each.

In this fourth phase, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development had 13 people retire, with a total expenditure of over VND 14.7 billion. The Department of Health had a total expenditure of over VND 7.2 billion for seven officials, mainly leaders of drug rehabilitation centers under their control.

The Department of Industry and Trade had five retirees, with a total amount of over VND 3.1 billion, including a former deputy head of the Market Management Force. The Department of Finance had seven officials receiving a total of over VND 10.2 billion, including positions like the Chief Inspector, Deputy Head of the Budget Department, and senior officials. The Hanoi People’s Committee Office had one retiree who received over VND 1.9 billion.