intro

Public Administration Reform took off as something every country had to do as part of candidacy for European Union membership. The prime ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Federation of BiH, the Republika Srpska and the mayor of Brčko District all agreed to such reform when they adopted the first Strategy for Public Administration Reform 11 years ago. Then an Action Plan with the activities, deadlines and the responsibilities of individual institutions was drawn up. It is necessary to get approval from the representatives of all levels of governance before any action can take place.

According to these documents, at the end of 2014, BiH should have had a more efficient and accountable public administration.

Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office (PARCO), which is under the purview of the BiH Council of Ministers, was set up to monitor how the reforms were going. However, it can’t do much since there are no provisions about punishment.

The 2006 Strategy had six reform objectives: public finances, administrative procedures, human resource management, legislative drafting, information technologies and institutional communication.

   MONITORING

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM MONITORING IN BiH PUBLIC FINANCE 2016
Transparency International in BiH, with financial support from the Swedish International Development Agency and the Government of Denmark and as part of the project Public Administration Reform Monitoring in BiH (PARM), prepares annual reports on public administration reform. This monitoring report looks at the results achieved by public administration in the field of Public Finance (PF) in 2016.
ANALYSIS OF RESULTS IN THE AREAS OF TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND INTEGRITY 2015-2016
Transparency International in BiH, with financial support from the Swedish International Development Agency and the Government of Denmark and as part of the project Public Administration Reform Monitoring in BiH (PARM), prepares annual reports on public administration reform. This monitoring report looks at the results achieved by public administration in the areas of transparency, accountability and integrity in the 2015-2016 period.
ANALYSIS OF RESULTS IN THE AREA OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (HRM) 2016
Transparency International in BiH, with financial support from the Swedish International Development Agency and the Government of Denmark and as part of the project Public Administration Reform Monitoring in BiH (PARM), prepares annual reports on public administration reform. This monitoring report looks at the results achieved by public administration in the field of Human Resource Management (HRM) in 2016.
MONITORING THE RESULTS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN PUBLIC FINANCES FOR 2014
Activities in achieving reform targets in the area of public finances are defined in the Revised Action Plan 1 (RAP 1), and encompass eight chapters; dimension of politics of the public finance system;
MONITORING THE RESULTS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN PUBLIC FINANCES FOR 2015
The indicators of some targets and activities set out in the Revised Action Plan 1 (RAP1) are checked as "realized" in the reports by the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office in BiH (PARCO).
MONITORING THE RESULTS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND INTEGRITY
Along with the established differences among the institutions from different levels of governance, the key findings of the monitoring witness about very modest results of public administration in terms of implementation of the standards in the areas of transparency, integrity and accountability.
MONITORING THE RESULTS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND INTEGRITY FOR 2014-2015
The results of monitoring show unsatisfactory state in the area of transparency. Namely, more than two-thirds of the institutions do not publish the basic information about their work and authority such as plans, end-year reports.
ANALISYS OF RESULTS IN THE AREA OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT FOR 2013-2014
The main issue in the reform of human resources management (HRM) is weak political support, inefficient system of coordination, politization of civil servants as well as the lack of general managerial skills by the current generation of managers.
MONITORING THE RESULTS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN THE AREA OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT FOR 2015
The collected data show that there was some intense activity in the area of human resources management during 2015, although the final results are somewhat limited and the reforms have not lived up to expectations.

   STORIES

Independent Board in the Service of Politics
The Independent Police Oversight Board does not abide by the rules: it neither does what it’s set up to do, nor does it meet regularly. This costs taxpayers around 14,000 KM per session.
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Private Interests Stronger Than Law
Firms belonging to current or former Bosnian officials received public procurement contracts worth at least 85 million KM over the a five-year period.
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Marketing of Mayors at Expense of the Poor
Last year, government agencies paid out some 31,500 KM in taxpayer money to the organizer of a ceremony for best manager awards, and the awards went to the officials who headed those agencies.
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Paying for Government’s Errors With Bloated Gas Bills
Because of bad business moves by government-owned corporations, local firms pay up to 37 percent more for natural gas than firms from neighboring countries and the EU.
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Subsidizing Minister Lijanović’s Business
During Jerko Ivanković Lijanović’ four-year term, the FBiH Ministry of Agriculture has allocated 2.8 million KM to persons and firms connected to the minister’s family.
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Officeholders Received 346,000 KM in Retirement Severance
Money went to 23 officeholders who held senior posts in eight state ministries.
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Departure from Freedom of Access to Information
Even though laws were passed 15 years ago giving citizens the right to information from public institutions, actually getting that information has not happened.
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Cushy Job After Severance
Former legislators continue their careers in public administration managerial positions. They get new jobs most often after first collecting their full severance pay.
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Darnel in FBiH Stockholding Agency
Two private firms have illegally used up wheat from the entity stockholding agency worth 1.8 million KM. The FBiH Stockholding Agency could stop such theft if it were more diligent...
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The Half-Empty Tanks of the Federation of the BiH Stockholding Agency
About 6.4 million KM worth of fuel intended for use in public emergencies has disappeared from a Žepče Zovko Oil’s terminal.
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No Free Lunch for Outgoing Officeholders
BiH taxpayers sponsored at least 460 officeholders with at least 7.3 million KM of severance pay in four years. Ten of those used severance pay twice.
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Allowance for Accommodation in One’s Own Apartment
The Federation has spent some 226,000 KM for accommodation allowances for 13 ministers. There is no system for verifying if the money is spent on accommodation and catching misuses of the perk.
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Public Administration Reform: Money Spent Without Results
Citizens see little improvement after eight years of Public Administration Reform. Those responsible have not been punished for delays and negligence.
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   NEWS

Chairman of Independent Police Oversight Board Resigned
Žiko Krunić resigned after it was established that he violated the BiH Law on Conflict of Interest.
16.12.2016
More Than 1 Billion KM Spent on Public Procurement Last Year
During last year, government agencies and public institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) concluded 11,864 contracts worth at least 1.1 billion KM.
12.04.2016
Cheaper Gas for Local Firms
The Supervising Board of Public Company “BH Gas” decided on its last session to give a 10 percent discount to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) firms from April 1.
06.04.2016
Sven Alkalaj Acquitted
The former minister of foreign affairs acquitted of charges of misconduct in public office.
26.02.2016
Marina Pendeš Acquitted
State minister of defense has been acquitted of careless performance of official duties.
25.02.2016
Retired and Back in Office
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina paid out 110,038 KM in retirement severance to nine persons, including former ambassador Nerkez Arifhodžić.
21.10.2015
Sarajevo Canton without Severance Pay and Advisors
Ministers and other officials in Sarajevo Canton will neither have a right to receive severance pay after their term expires nor will they be allowed to hire advisors.
03.03.2015
State MPs for Abolishing of Post-term Pay
The State Parliament’s House of Representatives voted for abolishing the right to severance pay equaling 12 months’ salary for officeholders. Still, some legislators think that more needs to be done to revoke this privilege.
26.02.2015
Most Budget Money Spent on Salaries
A CIN-TI analysis gives information about public finances and a survey probes whether citizens are pleased with the public administration reform.
22.09.2014

   ABOUT US

Public Administration Reform Monitoring -- PARM is a project which Transparency International and the Center for Investigative Reporting in Sarajevo conduct jointly with the financial support of Swedish International Development Agency and Danish government.

The role of the project is to support and assist the implementation of the Strategy of Public Administration Reform which calls for the creation of the more efficient, cheaper and accountable public administration that benefits all BiH citizens.

By implementing the PARM project we aim to support the implementation of the Strategy through active involvement of civil society organizations and provision of independent monitoring of public administration reform with a focus on the results and evaluation of reform implementation, as well as through activities aimed at enhancing awareness and creating articulated demands for good governance and effective and efficient public administration among all relevant stakeholders and citizens.

We monitor the results of the implementation of Strategy for Public Administration Reform, i.e. the reform’s impact on citizens and private sector. We aim to pinpoint the reform’s weak points through analyses, investigative stories, surveys, reports and publications and help the stakeholders find quality solutions. We aim to explain to citizens the importance of having good public administration and transparent reform process.

   CONTACT