VZCZCXRO7352
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHHI #0227/01 0711011
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121011Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9302
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5669
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

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