Phân quyền triệt để gắn với trách nhiệm giải trình trong dự thảo Luật Đô thị đặc biệt: Thực tiễn của Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

As Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) enters a new developmental era oriented towards becoming a smart, innovative, and sustainable megacity, the consideration of enacting the Special urban area Law constitutes a historic policy decision. This paper analyzes the bottlenecks of the current governance mechanisms and the limitations of pilot resolutions, thereby affirming the urgent need for a formal and comprehensive legal framework. The research proposes a breakthrough legal framework for comprehensive decentralization and devolution across key areas: organizational structure, talent compensation mechanisms, finance and investment management, urban planning and land management, science and technology (sandbox), and rule-making authority. Simultaneously, the paper emphasizes a dialectical principle: comprehensive devolution must be intrinsically linked to the establishment of transparent accountability mechanisms, which include a multi-layered supervision system, the application of the “six clears” governance principle, and the institutionalization of mechanisms to protect innovative public officials. This Law is expected to serve not only as an institutional lever enabling the City to break through limitations and maintain its status as the nation’s economic locomotive, but also as a crucial testing ground for the comprehensive reform of laws on local government organization nationwide.