“Nezavisimaya Gazeta”: “Bureaucrats deprived of administrative rent”
Vladimir Putin eliminates middleman firms.
The Prime Minister yesterday conducted a government meeting introducing amendments to the plan of privatisation of state property for 2010. After opening the meeting however, the Prime Minister unexpectedly changed its focus giving prominence to the problems of administrative reform and relieving bureaucratic pressure on the economy.
In order to make government administration more effective, upgrade the quality of its services to business and the public and make them more accessible, Putin proposed vesting the government Commission on Administrative Reform with what amounts to extraordinary powers. The Prime Minister said the Commission's priorities were to scrap excessive government functions, downsize the civil service, including by liquidating "redundant agencies and institutions."
Putin's sharp reaction was prompted by the slowness of the bureaucrats in approving key documents. "The draft regulatory acts prepared by the commission will be considered by the government under a fast track procedure without the traditional procedure of interagency approvals," the Prime Minister promised. Some documents prepared to speed up bureaucratic procedures took two years to approve, Putin lamented. From now on, this practice will be scrapped. Government apparatchiks are given just ten days to prepare the necessary amendments to the statute on the Administrative Reform Commission and the government Rules of Procedure.
Experience shows, however, that even personal supervision by the Prime Minister does not always guarantee compliance with the schedule of the movement of documents between various offices and through the corridors of power, adoption of decisions, etc.
Putin yesterday chose to discuss not the setbacks of the administrative reform, but the signs of the government and municipal agencies adopting a new work style. A notification-based procedure of starting new businesses in retail, catering, transportation and services to the population has been in force for half a year already, he said. The Prime Minister was enthusiastic about the ban on unscheduled audits of small and medium businesses without clearance from the Prosecutor's Office. All these measures have already made a difference, Putin said. The Prosecutor's Office, for example, has considered 27,000 applications of supervisory agencies for permission to carry out audits. About half of the applications were turned down. "These figures do not only show that the Prosecutor's Office is acting on principle. It has become obvious that many audits are totally unjustified," the Prime Minister said. They were at best carried out in order to "tick a box" and at worst were "commissioned" audits.
Putin is ready to wage a personal battle against arbitrary bureaucratic treatment of citizens and businesses, especially when it comes to federal and municipal services and the unjustifiably cumbersome procedure of obtaining certificates, permits, etc. Numerous firms have sprung up that provide intermediary services, whereas the law forbids speeding up bureaucratic procedure by paying an extra charge officially. With a middleman firm the problem is resolved instantly. Given such a setup exists, it is hard to imagine that bureaucrats are acting in an entirely disinterested manner. Some bureaucrats have already lost their jobs for such violations, Putin said yesterday. The Prime Minister was not convinced by the numbers of ministerial staff lists issued. He demanded that the heads of agencies provide the lists of the names of those who have been sacked and the reason, because he does not rule out that the purge of bureaucratic ranks was carried out only on paper and some bogus people were included in the list of bureaucrats allegedly exposed and dismissed in order to provide the desired statistics. For example, the lists might include people who resigned for entirely different motives. Putin believes that not only punitive methods should be used to put an end to the partnership of government agencies and intermediary firms. At his instruction, a closed list of paid services required to produce legal documents has been prepared. "The list has been cut by more than half to 19 paid services, Putin concluded. This prevents commercial firms from mediating in rendering these services."
Igor Naumov
