Bulgaria to Shed 4 000 Civil Servants in 2011

Domestic | March 22, 2011, Tuesday // 16:37|  views

Bulgarian Finance Minister Djankov continues to reduce the staff of the state administration as an austerity measure. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's center-right Cabinet is going to lay off some 3 500-4 000 civil servants in 2011, with 9 000 already dismissed in the last 1.5 years, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov announced.

Thus, 12% of the staff of the Bulgarian state administration was laid off, with 4% more to go in 2011.

The reduction of the state administration is supposed to save money from the state budget, while increasing its efficiency. It was made a corner stone of the austerity measures program of the GERB party Cabinet but appears not to have produced much in terms of impressive savings.

Djankov emphasized that the administration staff cuts are carried out by restructuring of its departments and units.

Next week the GERB government is expected to publish its annual report for the administrative reform.

"Our government came to power in the worst time of the global economic crisis. The first thing we did was to slash the government spending," the Finance Minister declared.

He also explained that initially the administration cuts cost more because those laid off receive 10-20 monthly salaries as compensation.

Thus, in 2010 the Bulgarian state budget saved only BGN 90 M from the administrative cuts. Djankov emphasized that when the cuts are completed, the annual savings will be BGN 200 M.

One of the major promises in the anti-crisis measures of the Borisov Cabinet from the spring of 2010 – who did not really take off – was to reduce the total spending for state administration by 20%.


Tags: state administration, state administration reform, civil servants, Simeon Djankov, finance minister

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