The reduction in the number of employees in the state administration did not produce visible results, and there was no register of officials financed by citizens' money.
This was said in an interview for "Vijesti", Minister of Public Administration Maraš Dukaj.
According to him, at the end of January, slightly over 50.000 employees were employed in the administration, both at the local and state level.
Dukaj says that free access to information is an irreplaceable instrument for exercising control over the work of authorities and a condition for quality and efficient enjoyment of other human rights and freedoms, and he promises that he will soon propose to the Government to re-establish a draft law that would regulate this area in a better way.
The minister also assesses that Montenegro did not invest in digitization in the past period, and that the biggest challenge is the insufficiently well-developed infrastructure, the normative framework that does not fully promote the use of digital signatures, electronic seals and the reduction of paper use, as well as the absence of unique digital standards at the level of Montenegro for the development of electronic services.
Do you have an estimate of how much is the surplus of employees in the state administration, in which institutions is the largest surplus? What are your proposals to rationalize public administration, which is also a requirement of international addresses?
Despite all the efforts implemented in the previous period, the reduction in the number of employees did not produce visible results, especially at the central level. There was no single registry record of the number of employees financed from the budget of Montenegro, nor a system for centralized calculation of wages. Public Administration Reform Strategy (PRA) 2022-2026. basic principles are given, i.e. data on the number of employees in the public administration, classified by institution and established instructions for keeping records on the number of employees, for the purposes of implementing the aforementioned Strategy. Data on the number of employees are also given for local governments.
According to data from the Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare, at the end of January 2022, the total number of employees at the central level was 43.727 (in 459 institutions), while at the local level, the number of employees was 6.775 employees (in 79 institutions). For the first time, records on the number of employees include public institutions, both at the central and local levels, which creates a basis for monitoring changes in the number of employees at a deeper level in the public administration structure.
This Strategy is a framework for the next five-year period, which will be a platform for building a responsible, efficient and transparent public administration, focused on the needs of citizens, creating new services for citizens and for further digitization of public administration.
What will be revised in connection with the Law on Free Access to Information and whether this will delay the changes to the Law, since several non-governmental organizations submitted amendments back in December 2020 and urged to change the bad solutions that are still in force ?
Free access to information is an irreplaceable instrument for exercising control over the work of government bodies and a condition for quality and efficient enjoyment of other human rights and freedoms. The Ministry of Public Administration is committed to cooperation with non-governmental organizations because it sees them as partners in the decision-making process. With their constructive proposals, they contribute to finding the best legal solutions and eliminating challenges in the application of the law.
As is known, the process of preparing this law has been going on for a long time. These preparations were followed by a broad consultative process in which a series of interdepartmental meetings were held, as well as meetings with partners from the NGO sector, the media and other interested parties, along with constant communication with the European Commission/Sigma and the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data and free access to information, as would arrive at the best legal solutions that will systematically contribute to greater openness of the Government and authorities.
The previous Government of Montenegro, at the session of December 29, 2021, determined the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information, but it was returned from the parliamentary procedure after the formation of the new Government. Currently, the Ministry of Public Administration is once again reviewing the provisions of this law and will soon propose to the Government to re-establish the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information, after which it will be referred to the parliamentary procedure.
I remain convinced that very soon, through new legal solutions and other joint activities, we will succeed in creating an environment in which every citizen, non-governmental organization and media will have the opportunity to exercise the right to free access to information in government bodies more efficiently and effectively.
Will you continue to apply the Strategy for Public Administration Reform that was adopted at the end of 2021? Will employment in agencies and public institutions be regulated, and will directorial powers be abolished during employment in the public administration?
The Ministry of Public Administration will certainly continue to monitor the implementation of the Public Administration Reform Strategy, in order to contribute to the achievement of the set strategic goals in coordination with the competent authorities. The issue of employment in state bodies and the improvement of personnel policy management is recognized as a challenge, and we will continue to work on improving the democratic social environment in this area.
In cooperation with the departmental Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, whose jurisdiction is the Labor Law, which is applied, we will seek mechanisms that will enable us to lead a responsible employment policy in agencies and institutions, through purposeful planning and monitoring of achieved results, and thus contribute to strengthening the responsibility of managers.
The implementation of the Action Plan, which follows the Public Administration Reform Strategy for the period 2022-2024, includes numerous activity carriers. Due to organizational and personnel changes, as a consequence of the reorganization of administrative bodies after the formation of the 43rd Government, we recognize the challenges. In this direction, intersectoral coordination and strong political support for such an important reform process is necessary.
How do you see further digitization of public administration - both when it comes to internal processes and communication, but also when it comes to services to citizens and the economy? During the past years, in the reports, as one of the problems for progress, the unwillingness of employees in the public administration to adapt and accept changes is stated. How will you overcome it?
Digitization in Montenegro is an area that needs to be improved as soon as possible. The achievements of advanced countries, including neighboring countries, are far ahead of Montenegro. At this moment, public administration is not an appropriate service for citizens and the economy, so there is room for ambitious aspirations that we will implement with dedication. We are not satisfied with the current situation in public administration. In the remaining part of the mandate, this 43rd Government will make an effort to improve the digitization of public administration, which is an important part of the public administration reform process and one of the three key conditions in the process of enlargement of the European Union.
Our goal is to build simple, fast and better public services for citizens and the economy, and to provide all the necessary platforms that enable other state administration bodies to develop their electronic services available to all citizens, but also to empower and educate public servants and provide them with a modern way of working. .
In the past period, Montenegro did not invest in digitization, and the biggest challenge we faced was insufficiently well-developed infrastructure, a normative framework that does not fully promote the use of digital signatures, electronic seals and the reduction of paper use, as well as the absence of unique digital standards at the level of Montenegro. Gore for the development of electronic services.
Montenegro cannot be competitive in the 21st century, at any level, if it does not have digitized processes and services, which citizens and businessmen will know how to use successfully.
We are aware that the process of digitization, i.e. its complete implementation, is challenging. Sometimes there is talk about the unwillingness of citizens to adapt to the digital world, and the unwillingness of the public administration itself for the changes that are inevitable is also observed. In the current strategic documents, directions of action are foreseen in order to overcome obstacles. It is envisaged to work on strengthening the skills of public servants through the organization of a series of trainings, both those aimed at mastering basic digital skills and specialized trainings related to digital management and change management.
We will make efforts to justify the expectations of citizens and the economy.
Do you have an electronic identity card, and do you use it and for which services?
I have an electronic identity card that I use for health services...
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