Under the needs of grass-roots governance, the reform of "full-time" and "administrative" of village cadres has continued to advance. The reporter recently visited the grass-roots level in many places and found that the problem of low governance efficiency of village-level organizations has generally been alleviated, but some village cadres have changed their mentality, unconsciously put on the "official hat", and the emotional and interest connection "swings up and down", which brings risks to ensuring the effectiveness of grass-roots governance.
They are the "peasant masses" and "public cadres"
The work in the village is getting less and less easy, and the reporter of the half-moon talk went to many places and found that many village cadres have such feelings. "Today's village cadres are different from before, sitting in shifts all day, often working more than 10 hours a day, and village cadres must also dock with various departments in townships and towns." A village party secretary in Henan said.
Some village cadres reported that "90% of the energy is invested in the administration, and 10% of the time is in contact with the masses" has become the norm of work. A village branch secretary in Jiangxi told the half-moon talk reporter that there are more than 8 major items and more than 40 small items in the annual assessment of village committees in townships and towns, and the operation of village-level organizations has matched the requirements of the township government. A town party secretary believes that under the current work requirements, village cadres, especially village party secretaries, are not allowed to work part-time.
"We represent both the government and the villagers." In the interview, many village cadres explained their professional identities in this way. Some scholars believe that at present, village cadres have multiple identities, in the past they were the head of the village collective, they were part of the peasant masses, and now they are still the agents of the grass-roots political power in the administrative villages.
At the same time, the division of labor in village affairs is becoming clearer, and the organizational scale required for village-level governance is also larger than ever. Some village cadres reported that "they can't get busy at all without inviting people." The reporter learned that in a large village with a relatively large population in the central region, in addition to the village party secretary, 7 village cadres have also hired 17 staff members to serve as public security directors, financial accountants, district chiefs, and information officers.
Where did the "official hat" come from
During the interview, the reporter found that the role of village cadres as "public cadres" is gradually becoming prominent. In this process, some village cadres have wavered in their mentality, looking up more and running down less, which has also given rise to some new problems in village-level governance.
Posts serve as "springboards," and some village cadres want to be "officials." A prefectural and municipal organization cadre believes that the original intention of selecting civil servants from among outstanding village cadres is to encourage more people to work in the village. In the actual implementation process, there are indeed a small number of people who regard the post of village cadre as a "springboard" for entering the system. "The examination channel is relatively narrow, and there are often hundreds of people competing for one or two indicators." A number of grassroots cadres reported that the willingness of village cadres to "move upwards" is strong, and the phenomenon of not being able to retain people in the villages has not decreased but has increased.
A village party secretary in a certain place in the south observed and found that there are indeed some people who do not really want to be village cadres. "He didn't know where there was a shortage of electricity in the village, but the relationship with his superiors was clear." The village party secretary said that some village cadres have official addictions, are not interested in understanding the people's feelings and handling contradictions, and are very active if they communicate with the leaders above, but he is not willing to do a project in a down-to-earth manner.
Guidance changes to "instructions," and higher-level organizations treat village cadres as "officials." The investigation and investigation of the reporter of the Half Moon Talk found that some township units transferred administrative tasks to the village level through the ranking mechanism and competition for listing, and for village cadres with low work performance rankings, they were required to do a public review at the town-wide meeting. Under pressure, village cadres either actively or passively attach themselves to and close to higher-level organizations.
At the same time, higher-level organizations are also more aggressive in personnel arrangements at the village level. A grassroots cadre in Hubei told the Half Moon Talk reporter that at present, the candidates for the post of village party secretary are "more dominant by the superiors", and under the requirements of selecting the best and the strongest, it is possible to serve across villages or be hired. A township cadre in a certain place in the east said: "My opinion is very important about who in the village will be the main cadre, so I can make the village cadre 'obedient'." ”
The masses become "passers-by," and the villagers regard village cadres as "officials." The reporter's investigation learned that in some rural areas, it is not uncommon for local villagers and village party secretaries to be "unfamiliar" and "not known." "Anyway, I didn't vote for the village party secretary, and he didn't come to us, so I don't know how he understands the actual problem." A villager said.
The communication between villagers and village cadres is reduced, which is prone to misunderstanding and even contradictions. The reporter learned that when a certain village in the south was carrying out the construction of an industrial project, the superior asked the village cadres to first do the ideological work of the villagers. However, the village cadres were worried that the loss of the project could not be understood, and without adequate communication, they filled in some of the villagers' cultivated land in the middle of the night, causing dissatisfaction among the villagers.
Local villagers believe that some village cadres have the idea of "official standards" and feel that they hold power, that the system of "one matter, one discussion" and so on has not been thoroughly implemented, that village affairs are basically decided by the two village committees, and that some village cadres have arbitrarily made claims to harm the interests of villagers.
Start with mass work to strengthen village-level governance
Interviewees believe that the process of "full-time" village cadres should be promoted to solve the problem of insufficient development of autonomy capacity in some rural areas. A cadre of the organization department of a certain central city told the half-moon talk reporter that through the cultivation of "full-time" village cadres, the problem of villagers' autonomy "failing" and becoming an "empty shelf" has been solved to a certain extent.
Making village-level organizations strong is the consensus of cadres and the masses, and it is also a requirement for the modernization of grass-roots governance. Liu Gang, an associate researcher at the Henan Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the "official hat" of village cadres is not chased by everyone, but many people regard it as a "hard job." How to match village-level organizations with jianqiang and innovate the incentive mechanism for village cadres is still a practical problem faced by many villages.
In the process of village-level governance, some matters are difficult to be included in the assessment. A village party secretary in Hunan told the reporter that there were 5 groups in the village who built a road, but each group had its own ideas and proposed 5 kinds of amendments. In the face of similar problems, "administrative orders" do not work, and it is even more necessary for village cadres to play the role of "a member of the peasant masses" and solve problems by "flexible" means.
Only by walking through a hundred doors and knowing a hundred family feelings can we do a hundred family affairs. Wang Xiangyang, assistant researcher of the School of Public Administration of Southwest Jiaotong University, believes that on the one hand, it is necessary to continue to do a good job in reducing the burden on the grass-roots level and leave sufficient space for the independent governance of the grass-roots level; on the other hand, it is necessary to return to the road of doing in-depth and practical mass work, seek a balance in stimulating the enthusiasm of cadres to start a business, meet the demands of the masses, and solve the tasks of governance, fully mobilize the vitality of the grass-roots level, and cultivate the modern governance ability of grass-roots cadres.
(Original title: Unconsciously wearing the "official hat", how big is the official addiction of full-time village cadres? ）
Source: Half Moon Talk
Process Edit: tf011