The Government set the public administration reform as a strategic priority. With this reform underway, IPN News Agency conducted an interview with the Government’s secretary general Lilia Palii about the expected changes and the benefits for the people.
– This summer, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said the public administration reform will start with the Government. How does the reform process go?
– The process of reforming the public administration launched by the Government with the aim of orienting it to the people started with the reformation of the State Chancellery, which is to be transformed into a more efficient and effective body. This process consisted of several stages. First of all, there was assessed the current situation. In order to have an impartial view on the functioning of the State Chancellery, we asked for the assistance of the development partners. Thus, with the assistance of UNDP Moldova, a study was carried out to ensure the transformation of the State Chancellery into a Center of the Government, in accordance with the best European practices. This was conducted by Ernst and Young Baltics. At the first stage, we will optimize the structure, business processes and circulation of information. Afterward, we intend to eliminate a number of improper posts, but this process will be connected with the central public administration reform.
The process of reforming the State Chancellery envisions also new approaches to the management of this body’s personnel, namely: revision of functional duties and tasks; assignment of responsibilities to each subdivision and person; extension of requirements in the employment and promotion processes; strengthening of capacities of personnel, improvement of the process of motivating the personnel (financial and non-financial). The reform of the State Chancellery is only a first step that precedes the transformation of the whole system of public administration in the country. It is important to make progress in improving the public administration standards, using the best experiences in this regard.
An assessment of the public administration was carried out with the support of SIGMA OECD. As a result, there was worked out the public administration reform strategy for 2016-2020. The plan of action for implementing this strategy is being finalized. The National Council for the Public Administration Reform was reinvigorated. There is also a first design of the new structure of the central public administration, which is being consulted at internal level and which will be put forward soon. In parallel, a working group was constituted to think up the local public administration reform that is to be prepared for launch in 2018.
A special division called the Public Administration Reform will be created within the State Chancellery. Also, by order of the Prime Minister, a Task Force was set up of representatives holding executive posts at the State Chancellery, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, which will ensure the implementation of the reform. The main role in this process will be played by the National Council for the Public Administration Reform.
– How will these actions increase the executive’s efficiency?
– The public administration reform is a strategic priority of the Government, which is actually envisioned in Moldova’s Association Agenda with the European Union because this is connected with many other reforms that must be done in the Republic of Moldova. As a result of this reform, the Government’s structure will be improved, the budget costs will be optimized, transparency will be ensured in the activity of public authorities and efficiency will be increased by reducing bureaucratic elements. It is also important to have an efficient system for monitoring the performance of institutions. I think the public sector must be adjusted to the socioeconomic developments, while efficient and professional public administration can serve as a competitive advantage for developing the country. The new conception of the public administration system must be based on such values as transparency, predictability, responsibility, adaptability and efficiency.
– The executive’s reform envisions a reduction in the number of ministries, which now stands at 16. When will this happen? How many ministries will remain and how many will be liquidated?
– The public administration reform will be done on stages. The first stage is the reform of the State Chancellery. This will be followed by the central public administration reform, the reform of the public administration system in general. The territorial-administrative reform will be prepared for launch by 2018. I do not want to provide now concrete figures about the number of ministries as a final decision in this regard hasn’t been yet taken. The approval of this decision is within the competence of political decision-makers. It should be noted that no public administration post will be lost. The duties of miniseries that will be liquidated will be taken over by ministries that will remain. The duties that are not appropriate to a central public authority will be conceded to implementing public institutions. The tasks of working out and promoting policies will be separated from the inspection and service provision tasks.
Another goal is to minimize and optimize administrative costs. The share of support duties will be reduced and the doubling in duties will be excluded. The revision and adjustment of the business processes at intra- and inter-institutional levels are essential for achieving success. Here, we return to the importance of strengthening the State Chancellery as a Center of the Government.
– Will the number of other bodies also be reduced, like of agencies, for example?
– The carried out analysis and assessments show the number of public functionaries in the central apparatus is not so as large as that of functionaries in the inferior administrative institutions. I note that the reform for this hierarchical level of the public administration will be definitely implemented, starting with the reform of inspection bodies of the Republic of Moldova.
Recently, there was adopted Law No. 230 of 26.09.2016 to amend and supplement a number of legal acts. An important provision of this law envisions the initiation of the institutional reform, which proposes a list of 13 inspection bodies and their inspection areas and a list of five existent authorities for which the law will be applied partially. It should be noted that 64 bodies with regulation and inspection duties work at present. As a result of the reform, their number will be reduced to 18. Simultaneously with the reduction in the number of institutions, the public services will be modernized and an electronic one-stop shop will be created for issuing authorizing documents. We are assisted by the development partners in the implementation of these projects.
– What are the direct benefits for the people of the public administration reform? How and when will these be felt?
– The public administration in any country must be the ally of the citizens. In our view, the existence of close and durable cooperation with civil society, the private sector, academic community and with the development partners is an important precondition for the public administration reform in Moldova to be successful. The direct benefits of the public administration reform for the people will include improvement in the quality of services provided by the public authorities, ensuring of transparency in the activity of state institutions, reduction in the bureaucratic elements and corruptive factors. Our goal is to have modern, professional, small, but efficient public administration so that the government’s decision are understood and perceived by each citizen.
Elena Nistor, IPN
