ZAGREB, Dec 22 (Hina) - Croatia's Premier-Designate Ivo Sanader said in parliament on Monday the new organisation of the government, as moved by his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), was "the first step towards serious state
administration economising," while the opposition said "it's not the best model of reforming state administration".
ZAGREB, Dec 22 (Hina) - Croatia's Premier-Designate Ivo Sanader said in
parliament on Monday the new organisation of the government, as moved
by his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), was "the first step towards
serious state administration economising," while the opposition said
"it's not the best model of reforming state administration". #L#
During a combined debate on bills of amendments to legislation on the
government and the state administration system and a state
administration system bill, Sanader announced a significant reduction
in the number of state offices, agencies, institutes and directorates
which, as he said, currently numbered nearly 50.
Among other things, the HDZ bills envisage a reduction in the number
of ministries from 19 to 14, mainly through a combination of fields of
activity.
The post of deputy minister will be replaced by that of state
secretary.
The bills also envisage the establishment of four central state
offices which will be in charge of tasks of special importance that
should make government performance more efficient. One or more state
secretaries will be appointed to those offices as well as to
ministries.
Mato Arlovic of the opposition Social Democrats said that under the
bills, state administration bodies would have to work on the cabinet
model, like in the UK, while the distribution of offices would be as
in a system with a chancellor. Such a "mixed" system of state
administration cannot last long, he said.
Arlovic cautioned that the bills did not envisage budgetary funds that
would be required for their implementation, which he said would call
for a budget revision very soon.
His party colleague Josip Leko said the HDZ state administration
concept did not guarantee that state administration would be more
cost-effective and more efficient but that it constituted "a political
necessity on the government's part".
Damir Kajin of the Istrian Democratic Assembly said the bills would
"initially blockade the already sluggish and ineffective state
administration". State administration can be made effective only
through "radical decentralisation," he said.
Slaven Letica of the opposition Croatian Party of Rights objected to
the combining of science, education and sports. He proposed the
establishment of a state institute for sports.
Jozo Rados of the opposition Libra objected to the combining of
science, education and sports too. Significant headway has been made
in science in the past period while education "has remained without a
serious project for many years," he said. Rados assessed the HDZ had
only mechanically reduced the number of ministries, doing so with many
mistakes, and that the prime minister was being given much greater
authority than now.
Ante Markov of the Croatian Peasant Party agreed with the new
government and state administration concept. He announced the HSS
would move a number of amendments so that the role of tourism as a
strategic economic branch would be better defined.
The bill of amendments to the government law envisages uniting tourism
with sea, transport and development.
Dragutin Lesar of the opposition Croatian People's
Party/Primorje-Gorski Kotar Alliance, said this club would abstain
from voting because they felt a smaller number of ministries did not
mean a smaller state administration.
(Hina) ha sb