CZECH REPUBLIC
Transparency International has raised concerns over the sacking of several top Czech Public Servants, saying the Government has gone further than it originally declared.
The good governance watchdog said the dismissals amounted to encroachments on what should be a non-political administration.
The Czech Republic was the last member state of the European Union to enact laws aimed at creating an independent Public Service in which merit counted for more than political connections.
The laws were cautiously welcomed as the possible start of a new era of apolitical administration where politicians were kept at arm’s-length, with better policies and laws resulting.
However, according to the Czech Branch of Transparency International, the laws are not working well.
Branch Director, David Ondráčka (pictured) said that in December last year the Government announced what it described as minor changes in the bureaucracy, which in fact resulted in the complete disappearance of some Agencies.
“Transparency International looked at the numbers and found that there were at least twice as many senior positions at the Agencies and Ministries that were replaced as the Government announced,” Mr Ondráčka said.
He said there were also quite major changes and shifts in the security forces and state-owned enterprises.
“So if you take it all together, we see clear purges at the senior level of public administration,” Mr Ondráčka said.
He said some Ministers were promising more changes, which added to evidence that the Czech Public Service laws were not working in practice.
Prague, 1 June 2018
