Dong Nai shifts to performance-based evaluation of officials

According to Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairman of Dong Nai People’s Committee Nguyen Van Ut, the city will overhaul its evaluation system to make it more professional, focusing on work effectiveness and clearly quantifiable criteria to support rapid and sustainable development. The approach is also expected to encourage officials to become more proactive and accountable in carrying out their responsibilities.

Assigning tasks with measurable benchmarks

The Cai Riverside Road Project, spanning Tran Bien and Tam Hiep wards, is expected to create another breakthrough in revitalizing urban riverside space. The project has long been anticipated by local residents. However, many people have remained concerned that it could face delays similar to those experienced by previous infrastructure projects.

Do Huy Khanh (right), Party Secretary and Chairman of the People’s Committee of Phuoc An commune, meets with and encourages residents to hand over land for the construction of Provincial Road 25C.

Recent progress, however, has helped ease public concerns. All required land in Tam Hiep ward has already been handed over, while Tran Bien ward—known for its experience in site-clearance work—has largely completed its responsibilities. Construction units have begun mobilizing machinery and materials for work on several sections of the route, while five bridges along the project corridor have already been built and are nearing completion.

Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Party Secretary and Chairman of the People’s Council of Tam Hiep ward, said: “Rather than waiting for the city to set deadlines for site-clearance work on the Cai Riverside Road Project, the ward set its own deadline from the outset and mobilized all available resources to meet it. Households affected by land acquisition received all compensation and support policies in accordance with regulations, encouraging voluntary relocation and land handover. For those who do not cooperate voluntarily, the ward will first conduct outreach and persuasion before applying enforcement measures in accordance with the law.”

Meanwhile, Phuoc An commune is facing enormous pressure as several major transport projects pass through its territory. Do Huy Khanh, Party Secretary and Chairman of the People’s Council of Phuoc An commune, noted: “From the Ben Luc–Long Thanh Expressway to Provincial Road 25C, we completed site-clearance work in early May. Our approach is to assign tasks with clearly defined targets and deadlines. Every official knows exactly what must be done and when it must be completed, while departments are required to support one another. In some cases, both the Party Secretary and the Chairman of the People’s Committee had to meet residents repeatedly before securing agreement on relocation and land handover.”

Nguyen Tan Hung, Party Secretary and Chairman of the People’s Council of Dong Phu ward, said that after nearly one year under the two-tier local government model, local officials have matured significantly.

The most noticeable change is that although staffing levels remain limited and workloads have increased, tasks are being completed more quickly. The key is assigning the right people to the right jobs and, more importantly, evaluating officials based on actual results. If someone fails to deliver on time, they must be replaced immediately rather than allowing delays to continue.

No tolerance for slow performance

According to many officials and civil servants at departments, agencies and local administrations, workloads and expectations regarding quality and processing times are now both substantial and clearly defined. As a result, there is no longer room for the slow-paced working style that once existed. Management systems now automatically flag cases that remain unresolved beyond their assigned deadlines, sending direct alerts to the responsible officials. While an isolated delay may be accepted as a lesson learned, repeated failures to meet deadlines are no longer tolerated.

Lu Thanh Nam, Chairman of the Nhon Trach ward People’s Committee, said: “As head of the ward People’s Committee, I face pressure from the Party Secretary regarding socio-economic development outcomes. Therefore, we must strictly enforce discipline among officials and civil servants under the principle that once a task is assigned, it must be completed on schedule, with high quality and tangible results.”

He added that, following Nhon Trach’s elevation to ward status and its designation as one of the city’s key growth drivers, local authorities have set targets higher than those assigned by higher levels of government. Specifically, the ward aims to exceed annual state budget revenue targets by more than 12%. At the same time, the locality is preparing for large-scale site-clearance campaigns to support major national infrastructure projects, including the North–South high-speed railway and the Thu Thiem–Long Thanh metro line.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Huu Nguyen, Party Secretary and Chairman of the People’s Council of Long Thanh ward, said the locality is facing an unprecedented development opportunities in its history. However, these opportunities can only be fully realized if officials and civil servants have both the capacity and determination to seize them. Otherwise, the pace of development will inevitably slow. Therefore, Long Thanh ward plans to continue modernizing its urban management model through digital transformation while strengthening oversight of urban planning, construction, land management and environmental protection.

Nguyen added that the ward will further tighten administrative discipline and labor accountability among all officials, civil servants and public employees. Following nearly one year of implementing the two-tier local government model, personnel will be assessed and classified based on measurable outcomes and specific work products, serving as a basis for organizational restructuring. Once a professional civil-service workforce is supported by a transparent, results-based evaluation system, the quality and efficiency of public services for both residents and businesses will improve substantially.