The draft law of the Ministry of the Interior on the “New system of selection of administrations of public sector bodies, strengthening their efficiency and other provisions” is being discussed today in the Plenary of the Parliament, while its vote is expected tomorrow

In the Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Administration, the bill was voted by a majority on the Authority, the articles and its entirety by the ND. On the contrary, SYRIZA, KKE and Niki voted against it, while PASOK-KINAL, Hellenic Solution, Spartans and Freedom Sailing reserved their place in the Plenary.

The prime minister is currently in the discussion of the bill Kyriakos Mitsotakis while the presidents of the opposition parliamentary groups will follow.

Watch the Prime Minister’s speech:

“The bill under discussion constitutes a real intersection in the relationship between governments and the political system with the state apparatus. It seals him from well-known party interventions”, emphasized Kyriakos Mitsotakis in his speech. The prime minister said that with the new regulations, public administrators are no longer the exclusive personal choice of the minister, as was the case to a large extent until recently.

“Today we are strengthening the institutional framework and making a key reform in the public administration”, continued Mr. Mitsotakis. He mentioned, among other things, that on the one hand we set specific goals and introduce procedures that free up the powers of the public administration.

Mr. Mitsotakis then mentioned the main sections of the new bill. The responsibility for the first evaluation passes to the supreme staff selection board, while a comprehensive announcement will be made especially for hospitals. Assessments can proceed simultaneously by different committees and all review stages will have specific, strict deadlines. “What is the profile of the candidates? They must have studies and work experience certifying relevance to their subject and reasonable experience for some time in positions of responsibility. It is time to put a definitive end to a practice that has been happening for many decades of choosing, for example, hospital administrators, party friends without serving the greater good, to place the right person in the right position. These are decades-old pathogens. The time has come, all of us together, to take an important step towards the de-partisanization of the state”, underlined Mr. Mitsotakis.

He also spoke of structured skills tests to “see how well these people can respond and because I have heard strong criticism to say that anyone who has confidence in their abilities has nothing to fear from such a process”.

The goal, he said, is to place the right person in the right position and that is why there is the institution of the interview where 7 of the top 15 will participate. “First, there will be the so-called on off criteria, and they will take into account studies and work experience. From there, a dual scoring system from ASEP with the skills tests and the interview”, he added while saying that the new managers of public organizations should draw up annual action plans and identify objectives and based on these they will be evaluated every year and they will be able to be rewarded with productivity bonuses or removed if they fail at what they set out to do.

The Minister of the Interior, Niki Kerameos, as she announced to the Parliamentary Committee, will proceed with additions and improvements to the provisions of the bill, incorporating many of the proposals made by the MPs and which can be adopted.

Parallel to the draft law, a ministerial and a parliamentary amendment have been submitted. The ministerial amendment has provisions:

-For the granting of aid to agricultural holdings which were affected by the weather phenomena of September 2023.

-The provision of the possibility, upon request of the interested parties, to transfer regular employees who have been seconded to the General Secretariat of Civil Protection to its services.

– The extension of the provisions of the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy regarding the replacement of the inspector from the composition of the crew of shelling vessels (par. 4 of article 1 p.d. 33/2018) until October 1, 2026 as well as

– The extension of the entry into force until May 1, 2024 of the entry in a special public book of small ships (par. 2 of article 293 Law, 5020/2023).

Also, 11 SYRIZA MPs have tabled an amendment regarding the extension of the individual contracts of the cleaning staff of the University of Patras, which expired yesterday, until their employment with open-ended contracts.