Chapter I
Location, Role and Organization Structure

Article 6 The Province and the City

    The province is a local administration comprising of several districts and municipalities.

     The city is a local administration comprising of larger urban communities and several municipalities. It is the centre of economic, political, cultural and social services and activities that influence the socio- economic development of the country.

     Vientiane Capital City consists of several districts and municipalities.

Article 7 Role and Functions of Provincial and City Administrations

     The role and functions of provincial and city administrations is to manage political, economic, socio-cultural affairs and human resources; protect/preserve and utilize natural resources, the environment and other resources; manage national and local defense and security, and foreign affairs as assigned by the government.

Article 8 Organization Structure and Personnel of Provincial and City Administrations

     The organization structure of the provincial and city administrations is comprised of the following:

     The Provincial/City Cabinet; and
The field offices of the line ministries and equivalent organizations
The personnel of provincial and city administrations is comprised of:

The Governor/Mayor;
The Vice-Governor/Vice Mayor;
The Chief and Deputy Chief of the Provincial/City Cabinet;
Director and Deputy Director of the departments; and
Personnel appointed in provincial and city administrations.

Article 9 Location and Role of Provincial/City Cabinet

     The Provincial/City Cabinet is part of the organization structure of the Province/City. The role of the cabinet is to: assist the Governor/Mayor in their management of tasks; formulate program and project plans; study, finalize, draft, research and edit documents; coordinate with concerned parties; provide information; supervise and support the implementation of legal acts from central, provincial and city authorities; and facilitate the operation of the province and the city.

     Further details of the organization structure, personnel, authority and duties of the Provincial/City Cabinet are outlined by specific regulations.
 

Article 10 Location and Role of Field Offices of the Line Ministries and Equivalent Organizations in the Province and City

     The field offices of the line ministries and equivalent organizations are part of the organization structure of the provincial/city administration. The role of the field offices is to assist: ministries and equivalent organizations; the province/city in management of the concerned sectors according to the principle of deconcentration.

     Further details of the organization structure, personnel, rights and duties of field offices of the line ministries and equivalent organizations of the province and the city shall be defined by specific regulations.

Chapter II
Creation of a Province and City
 

Article 11 The Creation, Abolition, Division, Merger and Land Area Definition of a Province and City

     The creation, abolition, division, merger or definition of the land area of a province and city is defined and proposed by the Prime Minister and approved by the National Assembly.

Article 12 Creation Criteria

(a) The criteria for the creation of a province are:

     A suitable geographical location for administration and strategic location for national defense and security;
the presence of good conditions for socio-economic development;
the presence of infrastructure like telecommunication, roads, transportation, markets, electricity, water supply, schools, health facilities;
a population of at least 120,000;
a minimum of five (5) districts
In special cases where all of these criteria are not met, the government may still propose to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.

(b) The criteria for the creation a city are:

     Except for Vientiane Capital City , other cities will be created if they meet all of the following criteria:

     occupies a large urban area that is the centre of: economy, politics, socio-culture, tourism, services, commerce, industry, transport and foreign affairs;
makes a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the country;
Has a population of at least 80,000;
Has a developed infrastructure and public facilities.

Chapter III
Roles, Authorities and Duties of the Governor/Mayor

Article 13 Roles of the Governor/Mayor

      The Governor/Mayor is the chief of administration and representative of the province/city. S/he is responsible to the government to fulfill their role, authority and duties.

Article 14 Authorities and Duties of the Governor/Mayor

      The governor/mayor shall have the following authorities and duties:

1. To ensure the effective implementation of the Constitution, laws and rules of the State;

2. To convene and preside over provincial/city administration meetings;

3. To study and develop strategies for provincial/city socio-economic development and budget plans;

4. To implement plans for: socio-economic development; the state budget; defense and security of the province/city; prevention of negative phenomena; and monitoring and inspection of central government projects being implemented in the province/city;

5. To facilitate and manage the organizations concerned to ensure the timely and accurate accounting of local revenue collections;

6. To motivate, promote and facilitate the participation of the Lao Front for National Construction, mass organizations, civil society organizations and all economic partners and ethnic people in the socio-economic development of the province/city;

7. To issue decisions, orders, instructions, notifications and other regulations in accordance with the laws;

8. To implement citizen management at the local level;

9. To suspend or cancel other legal acts of lower local administrations, or propose to higher level authorities to cancel legal acts of departments that do not support National laws and regulations;

10. To propose the creation and abolition of districts and municipalities, and any office within the structure of the province and city administration;

11. To create, abolish, merge, divide and delineate village boundaries;

12. To propose the appointment, transfer or demotion of the chief of district, chief of municipality. To propose or acknowledge the appointment of directors, deputy-directors of the provincial/city offices of the line ministries, and equivalent organizations, and the head of offices of the line ministries, and equivalent organizations, in the districts;

13. To appoint, transfer or demote the Chief or Deputy Chief of the Provincial/City Cabinet, the Deputy Chief of District/Municipality, Chief and Deputy Chief of the District/Municipal Cabinet, Deputy Director of field offices of the line ministries, and equivalent organisations at the district/municipal level, and other personnel according to regulations;

14. To manage the performance of organizations and personnel in accordance with their authority; including the supervision and reporting on performance of civil servants of line ministries,

15. To consider, advise or resolve complaints, petitions and proposals from within the civil service, relating to inappropriate behavior or unsatisfactory performance of staff or organizations within the scope of their jurisdiction in accordance with the law;

16. To regularly report the overall situation in the province/city to the Government;

17. To cooperate with international organizations as directed by the government;

18. To assume other authorities and duties in accordance with laws.

Article 15 Authorities and Duties of the Vice Governor and Vice Mayor

     The Vice Governor/Vice Mayor shall assist the Governor/Mayor and is also in charge of some functions which are given by the Governor/Mayor.

     In case the Governor/ Mayor is unable to implement his/her duties for any reason, the Vice Governor/Vice Mayor takes over.

Article 16 Appointment and Term of Office of the Governor/Mayor, Vice Governor, Vice Mayor

      The Governor and Mayor are appointed, transferred or demoted by the President of the State based on the proposal of the Prime Minister.

     The Governor/Mayor shall have a five-year term of office and can be reappointed for one more term in the same place.

      The Vice Governor, Vice Mayor are appointed, transferred or demoted by the Prime Minister based on a proposal by the Governor/Mayor and shall have a five-year office term and may be reappointed.

Chapter IV
Provincial and City Administration Meeting

Article 17 The Provincial and City Administration Meeting

     Regular provincial and city administration meetings shall be held once a month and shall be convened and chaired by the Governor/Mayor. The participants of the provincial and city administration meetings include the Vice Governor, Vice Mayor, Chief of Provincial/City Cabinet, Director of the field offices of the line ministries and equivalent organizations. If necessary, the representatives of the Chief of Districts, Chief of Municipality or representatives of concerned parties may be invited to attend.

     In cases where an emergency or urgent matter arises, the Governor/Mayor can call a special meeting.

     In each meeting, minutes of the meeting shall be recorded. The minutes shall be approved and signed by the Chairman, and then distributed to the participants and concerned parties for implementation. In cases where there is a decision on important issues, a resolution of the meeting shall be prepared.

Article 18 Agenda of the Provincial and City Administration Meeting

     The agenda or topics to be considered and agreed upon in the provincial and city administration meeting should include:

Socio-economic strategy and development plans of the province and city;
Province and city budget plans and annual budget amendments or adjustments;
Creation, abolition of districts, municipalities and organizational structure of the province/city for consideration by the Government;
Draft legal acts of the province/city;
Consideration of investment projects in the province/ city ;
Report on the implementation of planned activities of the province/ city;
Annual report to the government;
Local defense and security, and international relations and cooperation;
Personnel management issues.
The provincial and city administration meeting may also discuss other important and necessary issues.