Although the Ministry of Public Administration claims that the new draft law on civil servants and state employees reduces the discretion of the head of the authority when selecting candidates for employment, the Institute of Alternatives believes that the new provision would also lead to problems in practice.
The legal provision according to which employment in the public administration did not have to be given to the best-rated candidate in previous years opened opportunities for nepotism and party employment.
The Minister of Public Administration himself, Marash Dukaj, for "Vijesti" previously assessed that the provision of the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, according to which the manager can choose someone from the list of the three best candidates after a special interview with them, can be an area for abuse.
In the draft of the new law, which is under public discussion for another ten days, that provision has been changed, so after the knowledge verification procedure, as a rule, the first-ranked candidate is chosen.
However, the head of the body can choose someone else from the list, after interviewing the candidates, but in that case the decision must be justified.
"Namely, the current law stipulates that the first three candidates are selected, for which reason the proposed amendment reduces the discretion of the head of the body when selecting candidates," the explanation of the draft law states.
The Institute of Alternatives, in its comments on the draft law, claims that the exception to the rule that the best-rated candidate should be selected for the election should be deleted.
"We followed the identical provision until July 2018, and it produced the same problems in its application, as well as the abolition of the rule...Neither an interview, nor an interview, without standardized criteria, can be adequate compensation for the previously conducted ability verification procedure, and we are against of practical retention of this solution", it is stated in the remarks of the Institute of Alternatives.
In the report "Freedom in the World" published in February of this year, the international organization Freedom House (FH) stated that widespread nepotism is still a problem in Montenegro.
"The state sector dominates a large part of the Montenegrin economy, and the associated clientelism, as well as corruption, represent obstacles to normal business," the report states.
FH also indicates in the report that jobs in the public sector are still awarded through networks of clientelism, undermining meritocracy and limiting access to those without connections.
And the European Commission in the report on the progress of Montenegro for 2023 assessed that "relaxed employment conditions are a source of constant concern for employment based on merit, competence and independence of civil servants". The Minister of Public Administration previously told "Vijesta" that the changes to the law on civil servants and state employees will definitely be aimed at professionalizing public administration, which is one of the requirements of the European Commission.
Especially, he claims, in the recruitment process based on merit and results.
"We believe that the only recommendations for employment in the public sector must be education, knowledge, experience and commitment to work," said Dukaj.
He said that the candidate selection procedure must be transparent and arranged in such a way that it does not leave any doubt regarding the selection of candidates.
At the panel discussion "Employment in the public sector: Challenges and practices", which was held last week in the organization of the Institute of Alternatives, it was assessed that the process of conducting interviews in public competitions must be adequate and more transparent and that it is necessary to draw up minutes, explain the evaluations in more detail, but and abolish subsequent interviews with candidates, as a disputed and insufficiently regulated solution, all with the aim of choosing the best and preventing abuses.
It was also assessed that the interview process, as part of the ability check, is still not sufficiently transparent and adequately implemented and as such does not guarantee that the best candidates will be selected in public competitions.
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