SAN: While in the Public Administration Reform Office of the BiH they wait for the Council of Ministers to adopt the report, system which is being advocated for might lead to problems, because the parties want to control everything. Public administration reform, which is one of the conditions of the BiH road to the EU, is a longer process and it cannot be finished overnight, they said in the European Commission Delegation in Sarajevo.
Difference is being decreased
There was certain progress in this field, coordinators for that reform in the FBiH, the RS and in the Brčko District were appointed, contacts have been established, there is a strategy, action plan… There is also the memorandum on establishment of the common fund, which has been signed last year, from which this public administration reform would be financed.
Now efforts must be invested in realisation of the action plan – said Zora Stanić, spokesperson of the European Commission Delegation in BiH.
Experts and “experts”
I have people with university degree, working for two, three and four years, and they are not in condition to be led into this job. This is expert job, it is being built in the Ministry and one has to be an expert here. And I have “experts” thrown to me from the international institutions, to whom we help and they learn from us, instead we from them – said Emir Silajdžić.
At this moment the RS progressed a bit more than the FBiH. The European Commission evaluates the progress on the level of the state, but, as Stanić said, progress on lower levels is welcomed. Besides, she warned, it must be born in mind also that the structure of the RS is simpler than the one in the Federation.
Dejan Buha, associate for communication and information in the Public Administration Reform Office of the BiH said for “San” that the report for the last four months of this year is being completed. He assumes that the difference between the RS and the FBiH will not be as big by administration levels, because in the last period not all the data were available.
In the following days we will submit this report to the Council of Ministers of BiH – said Buha, who did not want to say what has been written in that report until it is adopted by the Council of Ministers.
They are piling up advisors
Among things planned in the Federation are also the amendments to the Law on civil servants, according to which the assistants of the ministers instead of civil servants would be appointed officials, who could be appointed and removed by political parties. Assistant of the minister for budget in the Ministry of Finances of the FBiH, Emir Silajdžić, claims that “everybody is against this kind of reform”.
Road to confusion
Emir Silajdžić, personally, he claims, is not fighting for his position, because retirement is not too far away. But, he warns that people, who want to push through in this way, do not know the procedures, that their levels of education – from secondary school to university, have nothing to do with the Ministry.
They have never worked in the state bodies, they do not even know the procedures under which the state body functions – says Silajdžić and warns that the “manner in which the public administration is intended to be reformed, will lead to absolute destruction and general confusion”.
One has to bare in mind the warnings which came from the federal Legislation Office, which gave negative opinion on this matter. The OHR as well warned several times that it cannot be done, but they still advocate for it – said Silajdžić.
Logic is rather clear: new government wants to hire their own people. Now they cannot do that so they piled up advisors. 72 people were brought. I have nothing against advisors who are exactly that and who will help us. However, the fact is that most of the “advisors” are completely illiterate for the function they were brought in. I say that from the aspect of finances, where not only that they do not help, but practically they bring confusion in work – said Silajdžić.