Holger Shredder, Head of Operations Department of the EU Delegation has visited the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office on Wednesday and talked to the Public Administration Reform Coordinator in BiH, Semiha Borovac on current results of this process. State Public Administration Reform Coordinator has presented results of the public administration reform, talked about the most significant achievements in six reform areas and challenges faced by the Coordinator’s Office. Borovac has pointed out that 11 projects have been implemented so far from the Public Administration Reform Fund, one project is in implementation and five in the procedure and that project ideas for 22 new projects have been developed. Realized PARF projects have been based on objectives from the RAP1 and their results contribute directly to realization of reform measures.
"In the area of Strategic planning, coordination and policy creation we have introduced some new methods and manners of work, which has not been the case until now. We have strengthened policy creation systems, advanced the strategic planning system, strengthened inter-governmental and inter – institutional cooperation and coordination of governments and ministries, established the communication channel between government secretaries and trained the civil servants with new skills, knowledge and standards applied in a framework of the European administrative space", has been pointed out by State Coordinator.
Public finances is the reform area tightly linked to demands of the EU, in relation to the budget adoption process as well as the principles, standards and methods of public internal financial control, Borovac has said and added that through the reform in this area, besides others, adopted has been the public internal financial control strategy, program budgeting in administration has begun and the budget management information systems (BMIS) have been introduced in ministries of finance at four administration levels.
In the area of Human resources management the progress has been achieved in part of trainings and civil service development through adopting mid-term strategies of training and civil service development in the FBiH and the RS. Also, civil service/administration agencies and the Sub-department for human resources in Brčko have been capacitated by personnel and functionality in framework of their competency and marked have also been the improvements in the area of personnel planning, availability of competition data and transferability of civil servants, discipline and ethics. Adopted have been new i.e. amended existing civil servants assessment guidelines at levels of BiH, the FBiH and the RS.
In the area of Administrative procedures and administrative services established have been the registers of procedures (e-registries) in the RS and the FBiH, while electronic communication between parties and bodies has been enabled for laws on administrative procedures at levels of BiH, the RS and the Brčko District of BiH.
The Coordinator has pointed out that in the area of Institutional communication adopted have been communication strategies of the CoM i.e. governments, introduced practice of communication planning in institutions and strengthened capacities of public relations officers.
Through the area of E-Governance established have been the central units accountable for coordination and assisting development of e-Governance, prepared has been the Interoperability framework and implemented analysis of base public registries with recommendations. Also, drafted has been the private cloud for all institutions at state level, established unified portal of the Government of the RS, developed e-Governance system at level of the Council of Ministers of BiH.
Shredder has pointed out that the public administration reform is of a huge significance because reform areas and results achieved in their framework directly encompass the segments of obligations from the European integration processes and that the focus of the European Union Delegation in the next period will be on improving coordination of the EU assistance and IPA instruments planning. He has also pointed out the significance of close contact and cooperation with the Coordinator’s Office on that road, especially in the area of public administration and its modernization.
"The Public Administration Reform Strategy in BiH is very significant because it represents strategic framework and basis for whole this process, which actually is the key precondition in the IPA programming framework", Shredder has said. "Segment of the public administration reform is one of the rare areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina which possesses such strategic framework and in that sense it deserves better accent and directing the European Union assistance provision", Shredder has said.
The European Union Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the establishers and donors of the Public Administration Reform Fund and it participates in work of the Joint Management Board of this Fund.