The Party Central Committee’s 7th Plenum issued the Resolution on “building a pool of cadres at all levels, particularly at the strategic level with sufficient qualities, capabilities and prestige on a par with their mission”. The Resolution includes new significant, breakthrough, feasible elements relevant to reality which should be thoroughly grasped and effectively implemented by all sectors, cadres and party members.
1. Position and role of strategic-level cadres
Strategic-level cadres who are under the management of the Politburo and the Secretariat occupy a role of paramount importance to the success of Vietnamese revolution. This is the core force in operating the political system, proposing new, creative, strategic, long-term ideas, formulating guidelines and policies on a macro scale for the country, opportunely forecasting changes in the situation and quickly adjusting strategies. Performing their role, they lead, direct and carry out inspection and supervision of cadres, party members and people’s implementation of the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law and policy. Besides, it is necessary to include top scientists and experts in the contingent of strategic-level cadres as they provide scientific bases and arguments for shaping the policies, thereby impacting on the Party and State’s strategic leadership. It could be said that strategic-level cadres are the elite of the country who have good knowledge and sufficient qualities and prestige to operate and develop the country.
2. The status quo of the contingent of strategic-level cadres and the building of this staff
After more than 30 years of national reform, our country’s contingent of cadres, including strategic-level ones, has rapidly developed. They have played a key role in making great, historic achievements of the country’s reform and Homeland construction and protection. According to the Resolution of the 12th Party Central Committee’s 7th Plenum, generally speaking, strategic-level cadres have political zeal, maintain steadfastness in Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, and the goal of national independence and socialism, being capable of formulating and executing guidelines and policies.
However, the Resolution pointed out weaknesses and shortcomings of this staff. The organizational structure of several offices and units in age, gender, ethnicity and speciality terms has yet to be ensured or proper; there is a dearth of high-quality cadres and managers, top scientists and experts in many fields while this staff’s capability, professional competence and foreign language knowledge have yet to meet the task requirements. Notably, a number of cadres have shown the signs of degradation in political ideology, morality and lifestyle as well as “self-evolution”, “self-transformation”, corruption, group interests, individualism, and violation of the principle of democratic centralism; some senior-level cadres, even members of the Party Central Committee have violated the Party’s discipline and the State’s law, causing serious consequences. All of them have been punished by the State’s law. That has been one of the reasons for diminishing the achievements of the country’s reform and undermining the people’s faith in the Party and State.
Strong and weak points of the contingent of strategic-level cadres is partly attributed to both success and downside of the personnel work, which necessitates the Party vigorously renewing and improving the quality and efficiency of the building of cadres, particularly strategic-level ones to meet the requirements set by the cause of industrialization and modernization and international integration.
3. Striving to build a contingent of strategic-level cadres on a par with their mission
Grounded in the evaluation of the international and domestic situation as well as the requirements for cadres’ qualities and capabilities in today’s cause of national construction and defence, the 7th Plenum of the 12th Party Central Committee issued the Resolution on building a contingent of cadres at all levels, particularly at strategic level with sufficient qualities, capabilities and prestige on a par with their mission. The Resolution set viewpoints, targets, and synchronous, highly feasible measures. Therefore, strictly grasping and effectively implementing the Resolution is the responsibility of all party committees and organizations, cadres and party members, with a focus on the following points.
First, raising public awareness of the importance and significance of the building of strategic-level cadres. It is believed that the collapse of the socialist regime and the Communist Party in the Soviet Union stemmed from the degradation in political ideology, organization and morality among strategic-level leaders, from the mistaken economic, political, ideological, organizational, and diplomatic policies by the Soviet Union’s Party Central Committee, and from the betrayal of several highest-level leaders of the Party and the State of Soviet Union. Learning from that lesson and Vietnam’s reality, we need to promote the work of propagation and education to make all cadres and party members more fully understand the role of strategic-level cadres; they should be aware that cadres act as a determinant to the success of the revolution and that the personnel work serves as the key to the work of building the Party and political system. The building of cadres, particularly strategic-level ones is the Party’s prime task of routine. And the building of cadres is the investment in the country’s long-term, sustainable development. Thus, it is vital to build a contingent of cadres who have enthusiasm, strategic vision, good knowledge and capability in forecasting the situation; not commit to individualism, group interests, corruption, and bureaucracy; devote their life to the Homeland and the people; always stay close to, learn from, and respect the people; has diligence, thrifty, integrity, selflessness, scientific working style; and resolutely fight against formalism, negative practices and wrongful, hostile viewpoints. Only by building such a contingent of cadres could the Party fulfil the mission assigned by the people in the new revolutionary phase.
Second, renewing the work of strategic-level cadre recruitment, planning and rotation. During the process of leading Vietnam’s revolution, President Ho Chi Minh always paid due regard to detecting and encouraging talented people so that they could devote themselves to the country. Under the President’s spirit, the 7th Plenum of the 12th Party Central Committee determined to renew the method of cadre recruitment, assessment, planning and rotation to prepare a contingent of talented cadres, particularly the young ones. To do so, Central offices should complete the mechanism to further attract talented graduates and potential young scientists in order to prepare a contingent of high-quality cadres for our revolution. Due attention should be paid to selecting typical, excellent cadres who have been trained according to their job titles and tested in reality to hold the positions of leaders and managers. At the same time, priority should be given to formulating the preferential treatment policies for top scientists and experts in key, potential fields to keep pace with the region and the work.
Over the past time, those who have been put under job rotation have acted as deputy heads with a lack of connection between new and old positions; therefore, these cadres couldn’t promote their abilities. Cadres under job rotation often only fulfil their role to wait for retirement or promotion. Therefore, it is necessary to make detailed plans for cadre rotation with emphasis placed on the areas in difficulty, key fields, and localities with pilot new models. It is essential to renew the work of evaluating cadres in a practical, accurate fashion, particularly those who have been put in the personnel planning and appointed to strategic-level positions. Great value should be attached to periodically reviewing and supplementing the personnel planning related to the positions of key leaders of the Party, the State and socio-political organizations; to building the Party Central Committee with the improved quality and proper quantity and structure and making its members typical examples in revolutionary morality, political will, and knowledge.
Third, renewing and enhancing the quality and effectiveness of training cadres. Ability of a cadre is made up by various factors, such as knowledge and hands-on experience during the process of study and self-improvement, especially the work of cadre training and cultivation by all levels. Thus, the Party needs to renew and improve the quality and effectiveness of training cadres in general, strategic-level cadres in particular, especially in science, theory, foreign language, and new knowledge terms. Educational establishments should renew the program, content and method for teaching and learning political theory; closely combine theory and practice, awareness and action, study and self-improvement; attach importance to the way of thinking, particularly the way of strategic thinking; resolutely fight against the laziness in studying political theory and the pursuit of qualifications.
Fourth, it is vital to create the mechanisms for inspecting and supervising power and combating bribery for job titles. Several recent corruption cases have revealed that power has yet to be controlled closely, which has led to power abuse in the personnel work and serious consequences. When it comes to the contingent of strategic-level cadres, the consequences will be much more serious. Thus, it is urgent that the mechanisms for controlling power and fighting bribery for job titles be formulated and completed on a democratic, public, transparent basis. Cadres’ responsibility for self-control should be heightened to ensure that power must be closely controlled while authority must be bound by individual responsibility. At the same time, it is important to strictly follow the procedures for the personnel work; to ensure the transparency in personnel standards, process, and profiles; to clearly assign the responsibility to each individual and collective and heighten the role of leaders in the personnel work; to closely, effectively manage cadres under the Party Central Committee’s regulations; to work out and well implement the policies for cadres, particularly the road map for salary reform and the housing policy for cadres.
Fifth, encouraging the role of the people in building a contingent of strategic-level cadres. According to Ho Chi Minh, cadres are those who bring the Government’s policies to the people; therefore, it is necessary to consolidate the close-knit relationship between cadres and the people. Cadres, particularly strategic-level ones must stay close to the people, respect the people, bring the interests to the people. Cadres must take the accountability before the people while the people must be responsible for building the contingent of cadres in all phases of the personnel work. In this regard, it is essential to create favourable conditions and proper mechanisms for the people to evaluate the personnel planning, strengths and weaknesses, detect new factors, and give recommendations to leaders on the personnel work. To that end, it is necessary to promote the openness and transparency in the personnel work and create a favourable condition for the people to inspect and especially supervise the exercise of power and cadres and party members’ responsibility to set examples. Moreover, it is essential to hold public consultations on each cadre and leader in the political system and complete the mechanism for receiving and settling the people’s recommendations, complaints and denunciations on the personnel work.
It is expected that by 2030 we will have built a contingent of cadres, particularly strategic-level ones with typical political will, ideology, morality, capability and prestige; over 15% of them are aged under 45 while 40%-50% of them are capable of working in the international environment. This is a high requirement for the Party’s personnel work. However, with the resolve and participation of the whole Party, organizations, sectors, cadres, party members and the people, it is believed that the Resolution will help build a contingent of cadres with sufficient qualities and capabilities to lead the entire Party, military and people to the success in the cause of building and defending the Socialist Homeland of Vietnam.
Prof., Dr Le Huu Nghia, Former Director of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics