Can Tho City currently consists of nine district-level administrative units and eighty-three commune-level administrative units, which include forty-two wards, thirty-six communes, and five towns. According to the provisions of Resolution No. 1211/2016/UBTVQH13 of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the city's administrative units' current situation does not comply with the standards of natural area and population size for district and commune-level administrative units. Therefore, four wards in Can Tho city are subject to rearrangement in the 2023-2025 period as per regulations.

As per Can Tho city's plan, Ninh Kieu district will merge four wards - An Phu, An Nghiep, An Cu, and Thoi Binh - into a new ward expected to be called Thoi Binh ward. After the rearrangement, Thoi Binh ward will have a natural area of 1.99 km2 and a population of 56,364 people. The new ward's headquarters will be the current Thoi Binh ward People's Committee.

To implement this plan, the People's Committees of the wards have compiled and posted a list of voters to prepare for comments on the above arrangement. Ninh Kieu District People's Committee and wards have also reviewed and developed plans to arrange the apparatus and personnel in wards that are redundant after the rearrangement, along with plans for arranging redundant offices and organizations.

The Steering Committee has announced that the city now has 80 commune-level administrative units, consisting of 36 communes, 39 wards, and 5 towns. The merger of 4 wards, namely An Phu, An Nghiep, An Cu, and Thoi Binh, has resulted in the establishment of a new ward. This move is expected to increase resources such as land and human resources and provide the newly established administrative unit with the necessary conditions to develop into an economic and social center of Ninh Kieu district and the city as a whole.

Moreover, the administrative unit organization has been streamlined and made more efficient. The quality of officials and civil servants has been improved, and budget expenditures have been reduced. These changes are aimed at promoting administrative reform, ensuring efficiency, better serving the people, and facilitating smooth and consistent management and operation at all levels of government.

In the 2023-2025 period, the city will ensure that the newly established ward administrative units comply with regulations on population size and natural area. Resources will be allocated to promote economic and social development, improve people's lives, ensure national defense, maintain political security, order, and social safety, and meet the requirements of the city's industrialization and modernization process.

Mr. Tran Viet Truong, Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee, Head of the Steering Committee, spoke at the meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee and Head of the Steering Committee Tran Viet Truong requested the Department of Home Affairs to urgently synthesize and complete the draft project for arranging commune-level administrative units within the 2023-2025 period. The goal is to organize voter consultations according to regulations. He also requested the Department of Information and Communications to cooperate with Ninh Kieu district to strengthen information and propaganda efforts regarding the implementation of commune-level administrative unit arrangements within the 2023-2025 period. This will be directed towards agencies, organizations, officials, civil servants, workers, and people in the area to create a consensus of voters before, during, and after organizing voter consultations on the implementation of ward arrangements.

Furthermore, Chairman Tran Viet Truong also requested the People's Committee of Ninh Kieu District to direct the People's Committees of the wards involved in the arrangement to gather voters' opinions on the project to arrange administrative units. This must comply with the law and must be completed before March 29, 2024.

The Department of Home Affairs has advised and submitted a proposal to Can Tho City People's Committee regarding the unit arrangement dossier for commune-level administration during the period 2023-2025. This proposal has been created based on the opinions of local voters and the results of People's Council meetings at all levels. The deadline for guaranteeing the implementation of this project is April 30, 2024.

As the project is of utmost urgency, with just over 1.5 months left to complete important tasks, Mr. Tran Viet Truong has requested that the Steering Committee members, agencies, and localities strengthen their leadership and direction in implementing the above tasks. This will ensure construction progress and timely submission of the project to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Government.