PARTY PATRONAGE CLAIM: STATE OFFICIAL DECRIES POLITICALLY PROMOTED CAREERS IN CIVIL SERVICE
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow
11.05.10 | 12:51
News
Badalyan is dissatisfied with "subjective and arbitrary approaches"
of the coalitional government members in appointing civil servants.
The criticism that Chairman of the Civil Service Council Manvel
Badalyan voiced at last week’s government session that "political
parties have become labor exchanges" and are engaged in providing
jobs for their members has become a topic of serious discussions in
recent days.
(Civil servants in Armenia are employees of the state governance
system who occupy non-political, mostly bureaucratic posts, such
as chiefs of staff, specialists at ministries, state departments,
agencies, etc. Civil servants are appointed on the basis of their
qualification proved through tests and shall retain their posts when
political authorities resign.)
Many consider it to be a "government show", others think that the
initiative to clean up the state governing field is a consequence of
recent political gang fights and is aimed mainly against Prosperous
Armenia, one of the two junior partners of the ruling Republican
Party in the current governing coalition.
In emotionally charged comments last Thursday Badalyan expressed
dissatisfaction with "subjective and arbitrary approaches" of different
members of the coalitional government in appointing civil servants.
"They consider only party affiliation [of candidates]. Our parties
seem to be turning into labor exchanges and many civil servants today
carry different party membership cards in their pockets," stated
Badalyan, calling for action against the tradition of political
parties patronizing civil servants.
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan welcomed that criticism, saying that
he will assist the Civil Service Council "in the matter of fulfilling
the mission."
The Civil Service Council set up in 2002 holds examinations and
validation of civil servants working in the state governing system.
According to Badalyan, they have maximally reduced the factor of
a subjective human choice in examinations for civil service posts,
however, he adds, interferences occur from all coalition parties.
"Those interferences are often unreasonable and absurd, because if a
person has failed a test, no one can push him through," says Badalyan,
citing an example when someone tried to help a specialist in geography
to get a job at an accounting department, etc.
Badalyan, however, denies pressures from the top.
"What does it mean, pressure? There is a form of pressure, moral
pressure, that may be coming from friends or relatives. For me it is
a greater pressure. Fortunately, there has been no pressure from the
head of state and it is the [policy] vector of the country’s political
leadership," says Badalyan.
According to the Council’s data, Armenia has about 8,000 civil
servants. Badalyan says, without giving an exact number, that many
of them are people with party affiliations.
The condition of civil service jobs for political connections harkens
to Soviet times, when even the lowest-level official had to be a
Communist Party member to have a successful career. Now, for instance,
even the heads of student councils at higher schools are elected from
among the governing parties.
"I wouldn’t say it has become like it was in the Soviet times, but
unfortunately tendencies are obvious," says Badalyan in an ArmeniaNow
interview, suggesting that a new legislation should be passed to
prohibit civil servants from having party affiliations.
Meanwhile, many remain skeptical about this initiative and even point
at its main target.
"This is simply struggle between Republicans and Prosperous Armenia,"
head of the opposition Heritage party’s parliamentary faction Stepan
Safaryan tells ArmeniaNow. "Both parties appeared in parliament due
to vote rigging and administrative resource, and civil servants are
the greatest base for abusing the administrative resource, therefore,
increasing their presence in civil service is a priority for them
today."
According to Safaryan, the major target of the initiative is the
Prosperous Armenia Party led by wealthy businessman and leader Gagik
Tsarukyan, as "the Republicans anticipate the greatest danger from it".
Prosperous Armenia has denied strife between the two coalition member
parties, which have been said to be increasingly at odds lately.
"We do not promote civil servants’ careers. It’s a journalistic tale
that the Republicans and Prosperous Armenia are fighting a cold war.
There is nothing like that," Vardan Bostanjyan, a senior Prosperous
Armenia Party lawmaker, tells ArmeniaNow.