Speaking at the monthly cabinet meeting in Hanoi on September 29, Minister Dam said the Government has asked every ministry to reconsider and propose its own number of deputy ministers in line with Decree 36 which says each ministry has four deputy ministers.

He noted that many ministries have more than four deputy ministries involved in management.

Dam citied the Government Office as a case in point, saying the Office has six vice chairpersons or deputy ministers. As the Government has one Prime Minister and four Deputies, the Government Office needs at least five deputy ministers to handle the daily affairs of five key cabinet members, he said.

Despite having six deputy ministers, the Government Office sometimes is unable to cover important meetings of the Government and the National Assembly.

The Government Office’s Chairman affirmed that a plan to rearrange the number of deputy ministers will be submitted to Party agencies before the final decision is made.

Under the plan, the number of deputy ministers will not be the same as it was previously fixed at three or four for each ministry, he added.