CYPRUS HAS inherited a colonial civil
service which at the time, more than half a century ago, was quite
efficient and affective for the limited demands then placed on it. Over
time this changed with economic growth, technological advancement,
globalisation and changes to the role of the state.
New demands have been created and old ones reduced or altered, all demanding a leaner, more focused and efficient civil service. New management and technology have provided the means of doing so, yet the Cyprus civil service, through political meddling and distortions has accumulated a lot of flab to the point of becoming a lumbering giant in a small economy.
Even as a good part of the public sector responsibilities have shifted to local government, civil society, the private sector and to Brussels, the Cyprus public sector continued to expand in numbers and cost to the point of becoming unaffordable and a cause cιlθbre of the of the current collapse of the Cyprus economy. Within the public service, meritocracy and performance incentives have gradually been ironed out by union pressures and non-merit based appointments and promotions while technological progress and new management pass it by.
In the post-memorandum era, with the severe budget cuts, the reduction of personnel and the virtual freeze on new hiring, the civil service and the public sector as a whole are called upon to do more with less, a lot less.
How can the public sector in Cyprus respond to the growing demand from both citizens and businesses for more and better services with less money and fewer civil servants? This is needed not just during the times of crisis because of the recession and the tight budgets, or because it is stipulated by the memorandum or the troika. It is an absolute necessity because of the competition from the lower-cost, more agile emerging economies in a global market with instantaneous communication, free movement of capital, technology and even labour.
Read the detail news @ http://www.cyprus-mail.com/modernisation/imperative-public-sector-reform-and-modernisation/20130526
New demands have been created and old ones reduced or altered, all demanding a leaner, more focused and efficient civil service. New management and technology have provided the means of doing so, yet the Cyprus civil service, through political meddling and distortions has accumulated a lot of flab to the point of becoming a lumbering giant in a small economy.
Even as a good part of the public sector responsibilities have shifted to local government, civil society, the private sector and to Brussels, the Cyprus public sector continued to expand in numbers and cost to the point of becoming unaffordable and a cause cιlθbre of the of the current collapse of the Cyprus economy. Within the public service, meritocracy and performance incentives have gradually been ironed out by union pressures and non-merit based appointments and promotions while technological progress and new management pass it by.
In the post-memorandum era, with the severe budget cuts, the reduction of personnel and the virtual freeze on new hiring, the civil service and the public sector as a whole are called upon to do more with less, a lot less.
How can the public sector in Cyprus respond to the growing demand from both citizens and businesses for more and better services with less money and fewer civil servants? This is needed not just during the times of crisis because of the recession and the tight budgets, or because it is stipulated by the memorandum or the troika. It is an absolute necessity because of the competition from the lower-cost, more agile emerging economies in a global market with instantaneous communication, free movement of capital, technology and even labour.
Read the detail news @ http://www.cyprus-mail.com/modernisation/imperative-public-sector-reform-and-modernisation/20130526
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