Skopje, 20 September 2023 (MIA) – I think we all know that public administration reform is absolutely central both to the future development of this country and also to its European Union membership perspective, said EU Ambassador David Geer at an event Wednesday promoting the new Public Administration Reform Strategy 2023-2030.

Ambassador Geer said that “strategies are great, but they’re only as good as their implementation,” noting the support they have given to various laws “which are yet to pass through Parliament, affecting the higher echelons of the civil service, and which will be so important in ensuring that we have this competitive, professional, highest quality civil service.”

According to the Ambassador, the ability to use EU funds, to develop policies and responses to key issues depends on the capacity and professionalism of the public administration.

“Civil servants here please don’t think I am telling you that you are not working, or that you are not hard-working. Of course, there are problems we all know, we all know services that don’t work, we all know where there are problems, but also there are very hard-working and committed civil servants who want to see a better system. The problem is the system and that’s what I think this strategy will address, and that’s what we hope that not just this Government, but successive Governments will approach this in the spirit of bipartisanship to ensure the results are ultimately in the interest of the citizens and this great country really has the civil service that it deserves as it becomes an EU member state,” said Geer.

According to Geer, the administration will play a key role as the country comes closer to the EU, and the funds and resources become available to it, so that it is able to manage, to plan, to be accountable

“I think we know that the current situation is very far from that. Yes, there has been progress, but there are still huge challenges, challenges in human capacity, challenges in transparency and accountability. Too often [there is] party political interference in appointments, which means party political factors are more important than merit or competence, and of course, too often a complicated environment which results in inadequate cross-government, cross-institution collaboration and cooperation. By the way, these are challenges which are not only restricted to this country, these are challenges which are felt in many countries across the world,” said Geer.

Another issue, said Geer, is that too often lessons are not being learned, despite the very good reports from the State Audit Authority and the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption.

“Congratulations to everyone involved in developing this strategy, and that’s excellent, strategies are great, but they’re only as good as their implementation. So, everything will depend upon implementation. We will be there to support and help, but a considerable amount of work needs to be done,” said Geer, noting there are many examples where they have provided support, but are still waiting to see the implementation of the recommendations and advice, and urged Parliament to do its job, while also scrutinizing the legislation.

The administration, according to Geer, is critical in developing appropriate responses to key challenges, because, he said, “no country can operate without forward-thinking, without forward planning.”

“Your role in the EU integration process is going to be absolutely essential, it cannot be delivered without significant development of capacity, professionalism of the public administration. And that’s why, within the accession process itself, the strengthening of the public administration is included in that group of issues which we call Fundamentals, so important that they’re addressed at the very beginning of the process, and they will continue being invested in and reviewed right until the day you join, and as a member, thereafter, because that administration is going to be so important,” said Geer.

The new Public Administration Reform Strategy 2023-2030 was promoted at an event Wednesday organized by the Ministry of Information Society and Administration, in cooperation with the Support for Improvement in Governance and Management (SIGMA) Programme.

Photo: MIA