Since 1 July 2025 Viet Nam has operated a two-tier local government model, in which the ward is no longer the lowest rung of a three-tier chain but the level that deals directly with residents and businesses on almost every routine matter. This article sets out what the Loc Ninh Ward People's Committee is, what the law requires it to do, and how it is organised to do it.

1Legal basis

The functions, duties and powers of the Loc Ninh Ward People's Committee derive from the following instruments:

1. Law on Organisation of Local Government No. 72/2025/QH15, passed by the National Assembly on 16 June 2025 and effective from the date of its passage. It replaced Law No. 65/2025/QH15 and is the instrument that put the two-tier model into operation.
2. Decree No. 150/2025/ND-CP on the organisation of specialised agencies under provincial and commune-level People's Committees, as amended by Decree No. 370/2025/ND-CP of 31 December 2025, effective 1 January 2026.
3. Resolution No. 237/NQ-UBTVQH16 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, dated 14 April 2026, which established Loc Ninh Ward.

The practical consequence for Loc Ninh is significant: a substantial body of work that used to sit with Loc Ninh District now sits with the ward itself, and residents no longer need to travel to a district office for it.

2Legal status and role

Article 6 of Law No. 72/2025/QH15 defines the People's Committee in terms that apply directly to Loc Ninh Ward. The Ward People's Committee is:

• elected by the Ward People's Council;
• the executive body of that Council, and at the same time the State administrative body in the locality;
• responsible for organising the implementation of the Constitution, the laws and the resolutions of the Ward People's Council; and
• accountable to the people of the ward, to the Ward People's Council and to the superior State administrative body.

This dual character matters. As the executive arm of the Council, the Committee answers to a locally elected body. As a State administrative body, it also sits inside the national administrative chain and answers upwards. Both lines of accountability run at once.

3Duties and powers of the Ward People's Committee

The law builds the ward's mandate in two layers. Article 22 sets out the duties common to every commune-level People's Committee, and Article 25 adds the duties that apply specifically because Loc Ninh is a ward — that is, an urban unit — rather than a rural commune.

3.1. General duties (Article 22)

3.2. Additional duties as an urban ward (Article 25)

On top of the ten duties above, Article 25 assigns the Ward People's Committee five further tasks that reflect its urban character:

4Duties and powers of the Chairman

Article 23 lists seventeen duties for the Chairman of a commune-level People's Committee. Article 26 then provides that the Chairman of a ward performs clauses 1 to 13 and 15 to 17 of Article 23 — clause 14, which concerns the self-management of rural hamlets, does not apply — together with seven duties specific to a ward.

4.1. Core duties (Article 23)

1. Lead and run the work of the People's Committee; convene and chair its sessions.
2. Lead implementation of the Constitution, the laws and the documents of superior bodies and of the Council and Committee; inspect and handle violations arising in the course of that implementation.
3. Lead and take responsibility for the operation of the State administrative apparatus, for administrative and civil service reform, and for the effective application of information technology and digital transformation in the work of the local administration, in the settlement of administrative procedures and in the delivery of public services.
4. Lead, direct, urge and inspect the work of the specialised agencies and other administrative organisations under the Committee.
5. Direct and take responsibility for implementing the local budget estimates and for the effective management and use of investment capital, finance and budget resources.
6. Direct and organise the performance of socio-economic development tasks, the development of sectors and fields, of the private economy, and of science, technology and innovation.
7. Direct and organise external relations work and the assurance of national defence, security, public order and social safety in the ward.
8. Direct and organise the implementation of ethnic and religious policies, and preserve and promote the cultural identity of ethnic minority communities and religious followers in the ward.
9. Direct and take responsibility for implementing approved plans in the ward, and manage markets, commercial centres, tourist sites, preschool and general education institutions and similar facilities.
10. Direct the recruitment, use and management of civil servants and public employees in the ward, and decide appointments within his or her competence.
11. Direct the timely handling of emergencies relating to natural disasters, epidemics and catastrophes in the ward.
12. Take responsibility for delivering essential public services in the ward — public lighting, water supply, wastewater and waste treatment, environmental sanitation, and fire and explosion prevention.
13. Organise the reception of citizens, the settlement of complaints and denunciations, and the prevention of corruption, waste and negative practices in the work of the local administration and in socio-economic activity in the ward.
14. Issue decisions and other administrative documents within his or her competence, and repeal, amend, supplement or replace them when they are no longer appropriate or are contrary to law.
15. Decide, on behalf of the People's Committee, matters within the Committee's competence — except those reserved for collective decision under Article 40(2) — and report to the Committee at its next session.
16. Perform the duties and powers decentralised or delegated to him or her, and other duties provided by law.

4.2. Additional duties as chairman of a ward (Article 26)

1. Direct and organise the implementation of urban plans, programmes and development of urban infrastructure so that development across the urban area is synchronous and balanced, including the use of urban land for infrastructure works.
2. Direct and organise measures to protect the urban environment, manage solid waste and wastewater, control pollution, and protect green space and the urban ecosystem.
3. Direct and take responsibility for the management, maintenance and upkeep of urban infrastructure, and inspect compliance with the law in the construction of housing and works in the urban area.
4. Direct and organise measures to ensure security and order, prevent crime, ensure traffic safety, counter congestion, prevent fire and explosion, and secure a safe living environment for urban residents.
5. Direct and organise urban population management and the prevention of social evils in the urban area.
6. Manage and protect urban space, architecture and landscape.
7. Guide and inspect the self-management activities of the residential groups in the ward.

5What the Committee decides collectively

Article 40 draws the line between what the Chairman may decide alone and what the People's Committee must decide as a body. The Committee meets in ordinary session once a month, and may meet in thematic or extraordinary session at the Chairman's decision, at the request of the Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, or at the request of at least one third of its members.

Matters reserved for collective discussion and decision include:

• draft resolutions of the People's Council and draft decisions of the People's Committee;
• the five-year and annual socio-economic development plans, the public investment plan, the State budget estimates and the plan for allocating the local budget, adjustments to those estimates, and the budget final accounts;
• monthly, quarterly, six-monthly and annual socio-economic reports, or reports on important or unexpected matters, together with the tasks and measures for directing their implementation.

6Organisational structure

Article 39 provides that a People's Committee comprises a Chairman, Vice-Chairmen and members, and that a commune-level People's Committee may organise specialised agencies and other administrative organisations, or assign specialised civil servants, to advise and assist it, as regulated by the Government.

Decree No. 150/2025/ND-CP, as amended by Decree No. 370/2025/ND-CP effective 1 January 2026, sets the framework. The provincial People's Committee decides the number of specialised departments applied at commune level, subject to an average of no more than 4.5 organisations per commune-level administrative unit — a figure that includes the Public Administration Service Centre. For wards, the standard set of specialised departments is the Office of the People's Council and People's Committee, the Department of Economy, Infrastructure and Urban Affairs, and the Department of Culture and Society.

Loc Ninh Ward is organised exactly on this model. Its units are:

The Committee is currently headed by a Chairman and two Vice-Chairmen. Membership, leadership and contact details for each unit are published on the ward portal under “Organisational structure”.

7Working with residents

Article 43 of the law places a specific obligation on commune-level government. At least once a year — or whenever at least 10% of the ward's registered voters so request, or whenever circumstances require — the ward administration must hold a dialogue conference with residents, in person, online, or through a lawfully operating social network, to discuss how the local administration is performing and matters affecting citizens' rights and obligations. Where the ward is large, the dialogue may be held by clusters of residential groups.

8What changed under the two-tier model

Three shifts are worth noting for anyone dealing with the ward:

• The ward is now the direct point of contact. With the district level abolished on 1 July 2025, procedures that once required a district office are handled at ward level.
• The ward has real professional capacity. Instead of individual specialised civil servants alone, the ward now runs organised departments with their own heads and deputies, and a service centre dedicated to administrative procedures.
• Urban duties are written into the law. Articles 25 and 26 give a ward an explicit mandate over urban planning, infrastructure, environment, landscape and urban order that a rural commune does not carry — which is directly relevant to Loc Ninh as a newly established urban centre.