11 September, Vietnam’s Ministry of Home Affairs held a press conference to discuss the implementation of Decree 178, a policy introduced at the end of 2024 to manage the status and benefits of civil servants affected by the merger of administrative bodies. Vũ Hải Nam, head of the Personnel Organization Department, said the overall re‑allocation of ministries, agencies and local units had proceeded well, with timely resolution for affected staff. However, a State Audit report highlighted a small but notable error rate of roughly 0.3%, mainly stemming from organisational shortcomings in the execution phase.
Vice‑Prime Minister Phạm Thị Thanh Trà has signed a directive requiring all ministries, agencies and local authorities to use the audit’s findings as a basis for a comprehensive review, identify any violations, and rectify them while clearly assigning responsibility. The Ministry has asked sub‑national bodies to submit consolidated reports by 15 September.
Deputy Minister Vũ Chiến Thắng emphasized that the reform is unprecedented in scale and not intended to cut staff numbers but to streamline and improve the quality of the civil service. He acknowledged that the rapid, nationwide rollout inevitably led to misunderstandings and inconsistent practices in some locations. Consequently, the Ministry has ordered a full audit of all retirements and benefit claims under Decree 178/2024, as amended by Decree 67/2025, with any over‑payments to be recovered and cases of over‑stepping authority reported to the Prime Minister.
Both officials stressed that, despite the minor error margin, strict corrective measures will be taken to prevent any loss of state budget while ensuring the administrative apparatus retains sufficient personnel to fulfil its duties.