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Victoria Mindova

The most important shortcoming of the Greek public administration is its direct connection with the political system. Party appointments undermine the competence of public institutions, interrupt the continuity in their work and prevent transparency in decision-making. This is the conclusion of the participants in the forum "There can be no economic growth without an administrative reform," which took place in Athens this week.

"We cannot expect radical changes when we change the management of hospitals, tax services and other institutions with new employees who are selected on the basis of political criteria. At the same time, we do not change the way in which these institutions are operating. We just change the people who are running them," noted Haridimos Tsoukas, who is a teacher at the Department of Public Administration at Athens University and Warwick. He is clear that the system under which the Greek administration is trying to solve its own problems is wrong, which creates a vicious circle.

The "Lagarde List" story proves that the Greek public administration is currently serving the political power, says the teacher. The state system has been used for decades to serve private or party but not public interests.

"A radical change is to alter the way an institution operates; the practices that create the activities in such institutions. The people in key positions in the public administration should be appointed regardless of the political party currently in power".

The objectives to achieve this change include reducing or completely eliminating the party influence in the activities of the public administration, increasing the continuity in the institutions, strengthening institutional responsibility and accountability, introducing a business methodology in the activities of public services.

This means that in practice, if Greece really wants to have an effective public sector it should immediately distinguish the appointments in the public administration from the party affiliation of the applicants. The chief secretaries and the managerial administrative staff in ministries and municipal services must come from the public administration system rather than appointing "parachutists" from the closest circle of friends of a minister.

The supreme council for recruitment in the public administration (ASEP) should become the sole authority to appoint public workers and it must appoint the secretary to the council of ministers. This will ensure greater transparency in government activities and the public administration will be able to monitor the consistency in the implementation of the commitments made by the state. Capable and well prepared staff for the public administration can be created if a National Academy of Public Administration is established. Appointments in key positions should be made on the principle of business solutions that are based on international best practices and strict accountability for the activities should be introduced. Public administration should work on the bases of the model of a "business plan - statement of activities performed - analysis of results".

According to the mayor of Thessaloniki Yiannis Boutaris, the time has come for local government organizations in Greece to separate themselves from the dependence on the central government. He promotes the idea of ​​a distinct separation of cities-regional centres (metropolises), which will maintain their autonomy through the municipal fees and taxes that are imposed today. The municipalities should use these revenues rather than giving them to the central government, which then allocates other funds from the budget.

"The significant benefit from the establishment of metropolises is that they would create a correlation between the income taxes and the public goods and services," said Boutaris. Currently, there is no transparency in the formation of the budgets of the various municipalities and the funds allocated by the central government are largely associated with the political affiliation of the management body of the particular mayoralty or municipality. This phenomenon itself implies corruption in the interaction between the public administration and the local government organizations.

Boutaris said that the revenue from property taxes could cover the cost of public secondary schools and universities by regions. "The local government should be one of the main pillars of the modern Greek state. Unfortunately, its responsibilities are not apportioned according to the daily needs of the citizens".

The mayor of Thessaloniki is clear that for Greece the moment is ripe to attach more responsibilities to local government organizations. This will ease the burden of the central government, will allow mayoralties and municipalities to respond to citizens' needs and to bear direct responsibility for the actions taken.

"A radical administrative reform is a must not only for the development of the country but for the operation of law as well". The implementation of this reform requires leaders who will serve the institutions of the executive, legislative and judicial power and enjoy public confidence. It will be the result of explicit commitments to specific individuals and institutions that will be close to the citizens. Such a relationship is possible if the power is decentralized and more responsibilities are attached to the regional administrations.