President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: "Cadres are the root of all work"; "Success or failure depends on good or bad cadres." Cadre work consists of different stages from recruitment, observation, assessment to planning, training, retraining, rotation, arrangement, use, appointment, dismissal, regimes, and policy. Each stage plays an important role, in which cadre planning and rotation play a particularly important role.

Prompted by the role and importance of cadre planning and rotation, the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, and the Party Secretariat of different tenures have issued resolutions, directives, regulations, decisions and conclusions on cadre planning and rotation, such as Resolution No. 03-NQ/TW on 18 June 1997 of the Party Central Committee, 8th Tenure on " Strategy on cadres during the industrialization and modernization of the country,” Resolution No.11-NQ/TW on 25 January 2002 of the Politbur, 9th Tenure on "Rotating leaders, and managers at all levels"; Resolution No. 42-NQ/TW on 30, 2004, on "Cadre planning in the period of industrialization and modernization of the country," Conclusion No.37-KL/TW on 2 February 2009 (10thTenure) on "Continuing to accelerate the strategy on cadres in the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country," Resolution No.12-NQ/TW on 16 January 2012 of the Party Central Committee, 11th Tenure on "Some urgent issues on building the Party," and Conclusion No.24-KL/TW on 5 June 2012 of the Politburo, 9th Tenure on "Continuing to accelerate the cadre planning and rotation until 2020 and the coming years."

To implement the resolutions and conclusions of the Party Central Committee and Politburo on cadre planning and rotation, the Central Organization Commission issued Guidance No.06-HD/BTCTW on 2 April 2002, Guidance No.47-HD/ BTCTW on 24 May 2005, Guidance No.50-HD/ BTCTW on 6 July 2005, Guidance No.22-HD/BTCTW on 21 October 2008, Guidance No.15-HD/BTCTW on 5 November 2012 on "Planning of leaders and managers in the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization" and recently especially Guidance No.06-HD/BTCTW on 24 February 2017 on amendment and supplement to some contents on the planning of leaders and managers.

Objectives of cadre planning and rotation

Planning is the foundation and rotation is the breakthrough of cadre work. Therefore, cadre planning and rotation should meet objectives and demands to ensure that cadres have sufficient virtues, ethics and capacity for the present period and subsequent years.

Cadre planning is aimed at the following basic objectives:

First, create proactiveness and strategic vision in cadre work; overcome shortage of leaders and managers, ensure continuity and development and consistent and firm transition of generations of cadres, and maintain internal unity and political stability.

Second, early prepare and select cadres for training and fostering sources of leaders and managers at all levels, who are qualified in terms of politics, ethics, especially professional capability and practical experience; sufficient in terms of quantity and structure, meeting the requirements of modernization and modernization of the country.

The objective of cadres rotation is to train and comprehensively develop cadres to meet the requirements of industrialization and modernization. Cadre rotation is to train, challenge and test cadres for arranging, placing and using leaders and managers according to plans; create conditions for them to move to new positions suitable to their capabilities and strengths after their two terms in leadership positions, overcome closed and local-minded thinking in the current cadre work, create driving force and new sources of creativity among cadres, and prepare cadres for future, and industrialization and modernization.

Though rotation, cadres fully "understand" the real situation, and are able to see whether Party lines and State policies are suitable to reality or not; what need to supplemented, what and where should be rectified. Rotation will help overcome the situation when upper level cadres "only look down from above," and local cadres "only look up from the bottom." Both ways, according to President Ho Chi Minh, have constraints. Rotation is to combine experiences of both levels, so that they all understand the situation, join forces to set out lines, measures, and take concerted actions to push the movement up.

Requirements for cadre planning

First, cadre planning must be "open" and "flexible", democratic and transparent, not closed. "Open" planning is to plan several cadres for a position and one cadre for several positions. Introduction of cadres into planning must not only made within each locality, agency and unit and these cadres must meet criteria, conditions and are capable of assuming positions in localities, agencies and other units. "Flexible" planning means regular review with yearly supplements and adjustments to plans, adding new elements to the plans, and removing those who do not meet requirements of the new situation. Cadre planning should be conducted in all four levels from central to grassroots level. Lower level planning serves as a basis for higher level planning and higher level planning is to enable lower level planning. The planning should flow top down and bottom up and between local and central levels, and among branches, and sectors.

Second, cadre planning should be linked to cadre assessment which should be considered a particularly important criterion. Cadres who are included in planning must be qualified in terms of politics, ethics and lifestyle; have a proven track record; be proactive, creative, able to unite and rally other cadres, lead and organize implementation, forecast and handle complex issues arising in branches, domains, localities, agencies and units. At the same time, they must have credibility demonstrated in the results of votes and annual performance assessment.

Third, planning of leading cadres and managers must be done in respond to political requirements and tasks and be based on cadre resources. It must be linked to other work, accompanied by training, retraining and rotation in order to ensure that the plans have sufficient and necessary conditions for implementation.

Fourth, planning of leading cadres and managers is to early detect virtuous, talented, and promising young people. Once included in the plans, they will be trained and retrained as source leaders and managers for immediate and long-term political future of each locality, agency or unit. Hence, plans will be developed to train, rotate, arrange and use the cadres as planned.

Fifth, in order make cadre planning realistic and feasible, avoid local-minded practices, the planning must be based on political requirements of each period and each field of work to determine standards and structure of cadres, know existing cadres and forecast the immediate and long-term needs of cadres.

Sixth, cadres planning should include three age groups, female cadres, and cadres of ethnic minorities. The structure of cadres in the planning should be balanced among the age groups to create sources of cadres for different periods. Party committees and organizations must pay attention to detecting, training, planning, placing and use of female and ethnic minority cadres considering it a regular and important task.

Requirements for cadre rotation

Rotation of leaders and managers is a very important Party line on cadres to ensure comprehensive training and effective use of cadres; facilitate young and promising cadres in their self-training in their work and life; create long-term cadre resources for the country; place cadres in necessary fields and areas; overcome the local-minded and closed practice in cadre work in each branch, locality and unit. In order to achieve good results, the objectives of cadre rotation must meet the following requirements:

First, it should be linked to cadre planning. It is a solution, and a way to train, test and develop cadres already planned, creating conditions for them to improve their qualification, and capacity to better meet requirements of planned positions. In other words, cadre rotation must be based on cadre planning which in its turn is a basis to develop cadre rotation plans.

Second, cadre rotation should take into account the characteristics of jobs, positions of cadres to be appointed in the future, enabling them to adapt to reality, bring in to play their capability and strengths and supplement new knowledge and skills. If the selection of rotation locations and positions are not suitable, not up to training requirements, rotated cadres and receiving localities may loose confidence.

Third, exercise "open" and "flexible" rotation. Cadres are rotated within one sector, between sectors, among cadres working in agencies of the Party, Fatherland fronts, organizations and State offices to ensure that they can be trained and develop comprehensively in the most appropriate environment.

Fourth, careful and cautious preparations are made to rotate cadres; expand democracy and take appropriate steps. Special attention is given by sending and receiving agencies to management, supervision, care for and assistance to rotated cadres. During the rotation period, Party Committees must regularly inspect, monitor and help cadres to bring into play their strengths, overcome their shortcomings and weaknesses, and at the same time have specific criteria for cadre assessment after rotation; periodically review and draw lessons, step by step making cadre rotation a regular practice, leading to qualitative changes in this work. Cadre rotation must ensure unity between the old and new cadres, local and rotated cadres .

Solutions to improve the efficiency of cadre planning and rotation

For effective cadre planning and rotation, meeting the goal of preparing and training cadres, synchronized solutions should be taken in the coming time.

First, raise awareness about the role of cadre planning and rotation. "Cadre planning is a crucial task of cadre work, which ensure that cadres work is implemented in an orderly, proactive and forward-looking manner, meeting both immediate and long-term tasks." Cadre rotation is for cadres to study, train, improve their skills and experience.

Second, prepare source of cadres and cadre rotation. In order to have cadre resources, cadre planning must be "open" and "flexible." It is necessary to make horizontal and vertical cadre planning, not only within each agency and each locality. Leaders of agencies and units need to assign difficult and new jobs for cadres, especially young cadres, creating an environment for them to be trained and improve capacity and leading experience.

Cadre planning should comply with the regulations of including and excluding cadres from the plan. Therefore, cadres must make efforts to fulfill their tasks, and persistently and perseveringly strive to meet the requirements of the tasks.

Third, complete cadre planning, and rotation process. Cadre planning and rotation should be transparent and comply with regulated criteria. Cadres and Party members must heighten their sense of responsibility and acumen in their votes for cadre planning, avoiding nominal and easy-going practices; selection of cadres for planning must be scientific, choosing the most competent cadres with high credibility and convening power, and suitable for planned positions. Cadre planning results are made public in agencies and units so that staff and party members in the agencies and units monitor, supervise and assess the cadres.

Fourth, enhance the role and responsibility of the heads of party committees, agencies, and units, especially in cadre assessment. If cadre assessment is well carried out, it creates a good basis for cadre planning, rotation and use. This work should have specific criteria, be conducted democratically and publicly. Cadre rotation must also be implemented strictly, seriously, and objectively in both sending and receiving agencies. Rotated cadres must be assigned with appropriate work to bring into full play their capacity, and work experience.

The Party Politburo issued Conclusion No.12-KL/TW on 22 March 2017 on amending some contents on decentralization in approval of cadre plans. Accordingly, decentralization of cadre planning and approval is stepped up to enhance authority and responsibility of party committees and organizations in cadre management and use.

Fifth, intensify inspection, supervision and assessment of cadre planning and rotation, resolutely handle in time violations in cadre planning, and rotation to build people’s confidence in the Party.

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This article was published in the Communist Review No. 905 (March 2018)