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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Effective public administration standard-bearer of economic and social reforms

Belgrade, 8 March 2006

Serbian Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Zoran Loncar said today that ministry activities in the past period have primarily been directed towards realisation of the Strategy for the reformation of public administration. Loncar said the ultimate aim of the Strategy is to create a more effective and professional public administration.

Zoran Loncar at today's press conference

At a press conference devoted to presentation of the ministry's results achieved in the past two years, Loncar explained that the ministry aims to create a public aministration capable of offering high-quality services to citizens and become a standard-bearer of overall economic and social reforms in the country.

Loncar said that from the start of democratic changes on October 5, 2000 until the appointment of the present government, barely anything was done in the area of state administration. The minister stressed that this is not a political remark, but a conclusion based on facts, since during a three-year mandate of the previous two governments not a single new law regulating this area was passed.

He said that soon after the appointment, the ministry's representatives established a legal and institutional framework for managing reforms of public administration in Serbia and as a result dissolved the then Agency for reformation of state administration and the Council for state administration, which were part of the ministry.

Instead of the dissolved bodies, the Council for reformation of state administration was appointed, consisting of the Prime Minister and most relevant ministers in this area, so that strategic political decisions concerning the sector of public adminitration could enjoy government support. The Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government has become the sole operative exponent of reforms, Loncar explained.

The next step was to draft a strategic document directing public administration reforms. The result was the Strategy for reformation of public administration, which was addopted on November 5, 2004, recalled the minister. He added that together with the Strategy, an action plan envisaging a precise time framework for its implementation was passed.

Loncar pointed out that the five-year Strategy is fully founded upon the principles of the European administrative framework and as such has represented a basis for positive assessment of a feasibility study.

According to Loncar, this document is built upon five key principles – decentralisation, depoliticisation, professionalisation, rationalisation and modernisation of public administration. Since the passing of the Strategy, all measures adopted by the ministry have represented an elaboration of these principles, with the utmost aim of creating public administration capable of offering citizens services which are much higher in quality and bearing a standard of overall economic and social reforms in the country. Loncar stressed that in the past period five laws drafted by the ministry that regulate the public administration sector went through the Serbian parliament, while the other three are pending for adoption. The normative framework was rounded up by 17 new decrees aimed at implementing the adopted legal solutions.

Loncar specified that these laws concern the government, public administration, civil servants, public agencies and the ombudsman, and they represent five basic principles outlined in the Strategy.

He added that before these laws, at the very beginning of its mandate the ministry also prepared the Law on Preventing Conflict of Interests when performing public duties, which was adopted along with a set of anticorruption laws.

According to Loncar, the principles of depoliticisation and professionalisation of public administration in Serbia were fulfilled by means of the current Law on Public Administration which envisages that as of July 1 this year, when the law enters into force, each ministry cuts down the number of office holders who were appointed on the basis of their political affiliation. This way knowledge and competence will be prioritised in relation to party affiliation and Serbia will get more efficient and competent public administration.

Adding that several other laws are currently undergoing parliamentary procedure, Loncar said he expects that a new normative framework, envisaged by the Strategy, should be completed in a few months, enabling a thorough implementation of all laws.

He said that the ministry also managed to stall the increase in the number of public administration employees. Last year, the number of employees in ministries was reduced by 11.6% through consistent policy and decisiveness and even without changes of constitutional and legal frameworks.

Speaking about the ministry's achievements in the local self-government sector, Loncar said the situation was much better here because the previous government had managed to begin decentralisation, which is the essential aim of this government as well.

He said that the previous government adopted the Law on Public Administration in 2002, but it was the current government that ensured its implementation in a number of cities and municipalities.

However, the law has certain drawbacks and some of its institutional solutions are unsuitable to the degree of political awareness on the local level, which is why it should be amended in the upcoming period, said the minister.

According to Loncar, the ministry intends to enable a greater degree of functionality and efficiency in local self-government through partner relations with representatives of local self-government and amendments to the law.

In order to bring about decentralisation in Serbia so as to achieve an overall democratisation of political life, it is necessary for Serbia to get a new constitution as soon as possible, concluded Loncar.