site.btaDemocratic Bulgaria Proposes 15% Staff Cut in Public Administration

The Democratic Bulgaria Movement proposes a 15% cut in the staff size of the public administration over a period of three years, the Yes, Bulgaria Party said in a press release on Friday.

According to draft amendments to the Civil Servants Act, tabled by Bozhidar Bozhanov MP of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) and other CC-DB lawmakers, all civil servants, whether position holders or job applicants, should pass through a centralized-stage competition. The procedure will be held once a month by the Bulgarian Institute of Public Administration in the regional capitals. Those who do not meet the basic requirements will be dismissed if already holding a position and will not be admitted if applying for a job in the public administration.

The scores of those who successfully pass the tests will be valid for three years. They will be entered in a centralized register, and they may pursue their application at a decentralized-stage competition.

The sponsors of the bill argue that a centralized-stage competition is good international practice and was adopted in Bulgaria in 2016 but was cancelled before it actually took effect.

Yes, Bulgaria said in the press release that the idea of the legislative initiative is to discontinue the practice of appointing party loyalists who lack the competence, educational attainment and experience required for the respective public administration position. 

The bill also makes it possible to apply shared services for various administration activities. This will obviate the need of each entity having a separate unit handling human resources, finance and estate management, information and communication technologies. These activities will be carried out for multiple administrations by a centralized unit.

Within one year after the entry into force of the amendments to the Act, functional analyzes will be conducted to identify the changes necessary in the various administrative structures. This will result in a reduction in the overall staff size without affecting performance. MPs Yordan Ivanov and Bozhidar Bozhanov told reporters before Parliament's plenary sitting on Friday that, among other things, the reform seeks to downsize the public administration by 5% annually over three years.