What are the competences of the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office?
The Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office: directs and monitors the public administration reform, directs the public administration reform fund, prepares and organises the work of the PARF JMB, creates the conditions for development of sector capacities in the key policy sectors; develops and updates the action plans of the Public administration reform strategy; it is an author of the strategic documents in the process of public administration reform; it provides a technical and expert assistance for work of the supervisory teams; it regularly reports to all the levels of authority on implementation of the measures from the AP 1 and the RAP 1; it implements the whole procedure of public procurements for the projects financed by the Public Administration Reform Fund; in cooperation with the members of the supervisory team it prepares the projects; it provides the system of monitoring and evaluation in implementation of the measures of the AP 1 and the RAP 1; it monitors the reform process and reports on it biannually to the Council of Ministers of BiH
What the public administration reform implies?
A modern public administration, in executing its functions, serves to the citizens. This basic principle served as the grounds for the public administration reform in European countries. The reforms are implemented so the state administration could be transformed u public administration with the final objective of establishing the administration that serves the citizens. The key objective of the public administration reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the general vision of the Public administration reform strategy stipulates: “development of public administration that would be more effective, more efficient and more accountable; which would provide the citizens with better services for less money, and operate based on transparent and open procedures, meeting all the conditions set by the European integrations, which would really make it the tool for a continuous and sustainable socio-economic development.
What areas were covered by the Public Administration Reform Strategy?
So far, the reform was being implemented through six key areas that were established through the Action Plan, and later on, through the Revised Action Plan 1 of the Public Administration Reform Strategy: strategic planning, coordination and policy making, public finance, human resource management, e-administration, administrative procedures and administrative services and institutional communication.
Some call the public administration reform also the “reform of all the reforms” in BiH. How the public administration could have a positive influence on other reforms?
- a) it is a key political precondition for further progress of BiH in the process of EU integration and at the same time a key tool or instrument of adjustment of administrative structures and development of administrative capacities in the function of more efficient progress on the path of EU accession
- b) a tool of socio-economic development, especially in the part concerning regulation of the business environment and a direct link with the development strategy
- c) a tool of democratisation of the society through affirmation of the principles of good administration: transparency, accountability, participation of the citizens in public affairs, creation of policies, higher level of services to the citizens etc. and it is in direct link with the affirmation of the principles of rule of law.
What is the role of the coordinators in the process of the PAR?
Coordinators are in charge of coordination of the reform process, each within their level of authority, together with the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office. They are responsible for: direct and operational cooperation with the PARCO and other coordinators and direct participation in implementation of the AP 1 measures; cooperation and operational support to the PARCO in coordination of the work of the supervisory and implementation teams, preparation of the work of the Coordination board; monitoring of implementation of the AP 1 measures and monthly reporting to their government, and informing the PARCO and the supervisory team; active participation in work and decision making of the PARF JMB, and regarding that, proposing priority projects for financing, in cooperation with the supervisory team; coordination of the donors at the level of the FBiH, the RS and the BDBiH who are not the members of the PARF; active participation and support to the PARCO in ensuring reporting on monitoring and evaluation; and discussing proposals of the implementation team approved by the supervisory teams.
What is the role of the ST in the public administration reform process?
The function of supervision over operational implementation of the measures of the RAP 1 belongs to the supervisory teams established in six reform areas. The Supervisory Team is also competent for: establishment of the priorities in the reform area in cooperation with the PARCO and the PAR coordinators; harmonisation of the progress indicators; initiation and proposal of the project proposals in the reform area; providing support in drafting project proposals, their discussion and approval; understanding the needs in the reform area, initiation and decision making on allocation of the local and foreign human and material resources and initiation of composition and organisation of the work of the implementation teams accordingly; supervision over the work of the implementation teams and harmonisation of the approach in the reform area and with the activities in other reform areas; discussion and decision making on the measures and the results offered by the implementation teams; ensuring efficient and timely implementation of the measures of the AP 1 within the reform area through progress monitoring, cooperation, reporting and informing the responsible administration bodies, and ensuring support in implementation of the terms of reference; assistance in reporting by the PARCO on monitoring and evaluation and implementation of the activities that are financed by the PARF. The institutions have representatives in the supervisory teams and are competent to ensure in the field of responsibility of the supervisory team the appropriate expert, technical and other assistance. At the same time, many of them were named by the RAP 1 as key institutions responsible for implementation of the measures from this plan.
What is the role of the Implementation teams?
The members of the implementation teams are in charge of practical and operational implementation of individual measures of the AP 1 in a concrete reform area.
Do you have a precise records of the employees in public administration at all the levels?
The registers of civil servants at all the levels are maintained by the central civil service / administration agencies and the Subdepartment for human resources of the Government of the Brčko District of BiH. We do not have a total number of the employed persons, which implies the number of civil servants, employees and others (police and armed forces). These data could be obtained from the ministry of finance at each level.
Is the matter of rationalising the administration going to be covered by the new strategy of the Action Plan?
Preparation of the new strategy should take into account implementation of the Reform Agenda, specific context of BiH with a complex model of administration, the need to strengthen economic management at all the levels of authority, evaluation of the reference international organisation and the initiative on the condition in public administration in BiH, learned lessons of the firs PAR Strategy from 2006, legal and administrative tradition and culture that shapes the relationship of administration with the business sector and the citizens, as well as obligations that stand before the state within the European agenda – process of EI of the country, which has its political, economic, legal and administrative dimension. In any case, development of strategy framework for PAR in BiH implies a comprehensive discussion on socio-economic and political context of BiH in the light of present reform priorities and efforts to become closer to the EU.
How much the public administration reform process contributes to combat against corruption in BiH?
All the fields defined by the Public Administration Reform Strategy contain the objectives that directly or indirectly contribute to the combat against corruption – from establishment of transparent procedures when employing in the civil service, through transparency in spending public funds, introduction of internal audit to decrease of conflict of interest, mandatory participation of public during legal drafting. We would like to especially point out the project “Building of Capacities for Combat against Corruption in the Civil Service Structures in BiH”, which would be financed by the Public Administration Reform Fund. The project would promote ethical principles and principles of good administration and civil service, and a training would be implemented on the topic of combat against corruption. The Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of Combat Against Corruption already implements the trainings related with improvement of ethics in public administration.
Who are the PARF donors?
The Royal Netherlands Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID) and the European Commission Delegation in BiH created a common donor Fund for public administration reform in BiH, which started operations in 2008. The PARF was later joined also by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, and the local authorities: the Council of Ministers of BiH, the Government of the Federation of BiH, the Government of the Brčko District of BiH and the Government of the Republic of Srpska.
How much money has been spent so far from the Public Administration Reform Fund and for how many projects?
For implementation of 13 completed projects, BAM 7,213,285.93, VAT included, has been spent from the PARF. Implementation of these projects was in all six areas defined by the Public Administration Reform Strategy.
What use would the citizens have from this reform at the end of the process?
The citizens should feel the immediate benefits through quicker progress of BiH in the process of EU integration, more transparent public administration, administration that behaves rationally and responsibly in managing public financial and material assets, administration that would enable the citizens in the procedures of policy development and legal drafting, as well as the interest communities, to be active subjects of those processes, and not only the objects of regulation application, etc., administration that would base the decisions on objective indicators instead on opinion, etc. That especially applies to simplifying the procedures of administrative decision making and ensuring a higher level of services that citizens receive through or before the administrative bodies, including, of course, creating standards for development of e-services of administration. As it can be seen, the reform assumes also changes in individual manner of thinking and behaviour of both public officials and civil servants and the citizens, therefore each of us and it seems that that process is difficult to control and almost impossible to direct in a society with underdeveloped system of social values.
Where could I obtain additional information on the activities of the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office?
In addition to the web site of the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office, information on the activities of the PARCO are available by subscribing to our e-bulletin. You can subscribe here. Also, you can obtain additional information through our facebook and twitter account, as well as by contacting the public relations officer by e-mail: vedrana.faladzic@parco.gov.ba or by calling 033 565 763.