Without proactive transparency and a planned approach to employment in public administration

Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH), in cooperation with the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN), presented at a conference in Sarajevo the findings of monitoring public administration reform in the field of human resource management and transparency, integrity and accountability.

The monitoring findings testify to the very modest results of public administration in the area of transparency, integrity and accountability. Information of public importance is accessed reactively, through requests for access, and the concept of proactive transparency is poorly known to institutions, which invest very little effort in better visibility and visibility of information.

Institutions do not have the practice of extracting and publishing budget data and budget execution data on their websites. Of the 20 institutions, only two (one from BiH and one at FBiH level) have adopted an integrity plan. In Republika Srpska, the very notion of an “integrity plan” is known in only one institution, which shows that there is still little to worry about in preventing corruption. On top of all that, a small number of initiated disciplinary proceedings have been recorded at all levels, which shows that repressive mechanisms do not function adequately either.

In human resource management, non-transparent recruitment processes remain a problem. The system of planning the needs for human resources is poorly developed – planning is on a quantitative basis, while the profile of the people needed is very little taken into account. Progress is visible in the field of analysis and classification of jobs, but the existing descriptions in their content and structure do not meet the needs of modern administration. The practice of monitoring and evaluating the work of employees has never been properly understood and then accepted by managers in administrative structures, which most clearly indicates the lack of managerial and leadership skills of those in management positions.

Lejla Ibranović, Acting Executive Director of Transparency International BiH, pointed out in her introductory address at the conference that the aim of the monitoring was to point out the concrete impact of activities and invested resources in reform processes, and that the findings show that reforms have not achieved adequate results, taking into account the resources invested in the past few years. “These findings of the report unequivocally indicate the need for a more serious and systematic approach to public administration reform, especially in the context of the obligations and requirements that the EU places before BiH in the process of enlargement and European integration,” Ibranovic said.

Mario Vignjevic, Program Manager for Public Administration Reform of the Swedish International Development Agency, which financially supported the project, pointed out that the key challenge remains resolving the coordination of reform processes and the will of actors involved in public administration reform. “Significant investments made in previous years by the Swedish government for public administration reform clearly indicate the commitment of the Swedish government to give all support to domestic authorities and institutions to make public administration more transparent, professional, efficient and beneficial to all citizens.” The monitoring findings presented today indicate the need for domestic authorities and institutions to take public administration reform very seriously. ”
Press rls br 2 – 13 3 2015 doc