Improving the efficiency of public administration at all levels, improving the personnel potential of the civil service, switching to a service model, increasing citizens' trust in government agencies – these issues are constantly in the focus of the President's attention. We talked with the Chairman of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Civil Service Affairs Darkhan Zhazykbayev about what work is being carried out in this area.
– Darkhan Medegalievich, the Head of State, in his Address to the people, stated the need to carry out a number of political reforms in the country, including those related to public administration. In your opinion, how should the civil service be organized in the new Kazakhstan?
– The political reforms proposed in the Address of the Head of State are based on the needs and demands of society. Having outlined the main task, the President noted that "our mission is to build a New Kazakhstan. The new Kazakhstan is an image of the future of our sovereign country." The process will give a new impetus to public consciousness and increase citizens' confidence in the future.
The Head of State stated that we need to "form a new political culture based on mutual respect and trust between the state and society." And to achieve this goal, "we need to reboot the system of individual and social values."
The President has repeatedly emphasized a very important principle: "not a person for the state, but the state for the person." Public service in the new Kazakhstan should be of a service nature, work without excessive bureaucracy. This means meeting the expectations of citizens and focusing on serving the interests of society.
It is no secret that today there is a certain dissatisfaction of the population with the quality of services provided by state bodies. Addressing these gaps will be a key focus of our future activities.
To do this, it is necessary to form an open, fair, conscientious, client-oriented state apparatus. Our credo is service for the good of the people.
– The Message spoke about the need to decentralize local self-government. I would like to know your opinion on this issue.
– The decentralization of local self-government, announced in the Address, is primarily aimed at the effective implementation of political modernization and the development of civil society.
Clarifying the mutual responsibilities of the state and the institutions of local self-government strengthens the role and increases the powers of the latter, as a result of which their responsibility increases. Providing the opportunity to make decisions independently at the local level increases the activity of citizens living in the relevant territory, their desire to directly participate in solving existing problems. Consequently, conditions are being created for the growth of civic engagement and responsibility, people can make a real contribution to improving life in their hometown, district or village.
At the same time, further improvement of the regional financing system, that is, the introduction of a method of direct financing of local self-government bodies, will increase the responsibility of management for decisions taken to eliminate problems existing on the ground.
As the President said, the implementation of these events will "contribute to the emergence of truly authoritative and responsible local leaders who are able to mobilize their communities to effectively solve problems of concern to people." This is an open manifestation of the democratization of the public administration system.
– In January of this year, the Head of State gave a number of instructions to the agency. What kind of work is being done on them?
– The President has set new tasks for the Agency for Civil Service Affairs to simplify the procedures for entering and leaving the civil service, preventing bureaucracy, and promoting the principle of meritocracy. Currently, a number of proposals are being developed within the framework of these issues.
Thus, to simplify the selection for public service, the ADGS proposes to accept specialists with a high GPA (average academic performance) who graduated from universities and colleges at the expense of a state grant to lower government positions without competitive selection at the district and rural levels.
– Is this proposal aimed at supporting the younger generation?
– It is. Firstly, it is expected that this will stimulate young professionals to go to work in the regions of the country and contribute to their development. Secondly, such an approach will help to reduce the shortage of personnel in the field. Currently, the agency is developing other proposals to simplify the selection for public service.
As for simplifying the procedure for leaving public service, it should be noted: according to the current regulations, dismissal can be made if an employee has received a negative assessment for two years in a row. We recommend reviewing and enhancing the role of the evaluation tool.
Thus, after the introduction of a quarterly assessment, it is proposed to demote employees who have received an unsatisfactory assessment for two consecutive quarters, and in the absence of a vacant lower–ranking position, to dismiss them from their posts. It is expected that these changes will simplify the procedures for dismissing inefficient civil servants and increase responsibility.
As for the promotion of the principle of meritocracy, in accordance with the current legislation, in order to get a promotion, a civil servant must necessarily participate in a competition to occupy a position. Career advancement in the civil service without competition is possible only after two years of work experience in a lower position.
In the future, we propose to take into account the assessment of the effectiveness of civil servants in their career advancement. The transition to a quarterly assessment will speed up the process of evaluating the employee's performance, without waiting two years.
Accordingly, a promotion is proposed with the direct appointment of employees who have received high marks for four consecutive quarters. In order to avoid formalism in the evaluation in order to encourage a certain employee, such an appointment is agreed with the agency.
Along with this, a number of recommendations have been developed to prevent bureaucracy in public administration.
– Darkhan Medegalievich, a new edition of the Code of Ethics of Civil Servants has recently been adopted. What are its main differences from the previous version?
– The new edition of the Code of Ethics is important for the correct understanding and application of the norms of official ethics.
Firstly, if the Ethical Code of the old edition combined both, in fact, the moral requirements for civil servants and the basic principles imposed on their behavior, then in the new edition this bias is eliminated by separating ethical requirements from other provisions that do not relate to the official ethics of civil servants.
The new Code of Ethics establishes standards of service ethics and serves as a basis for the formation of moral qualities among civil servants.
Secondly, the changes affected the structure of the code, a new chapter appears - "Ethical principles of public service". According to the provisions of the document, the service ethics of civil servants is based on six principles. These are conscientiousness, honesty, fairness, openness, politeness and customer orientation.
Accordingly, the new version of the Code provides for priority requirements for compliance with the principles of openness and customer orientation. In accordance with them, civil servants should fully focus on the needs of the population as a consumer of public services, be ready to work with the public and ensure transparency of their actions.
These qualities should be inherent in the civil servants of the new Kazakhstan. It is expected that these principles will give a new impetus to the activities of the state apparatus in interaction with the population.
Thirdly, in accordance with the new edition of the Code of Ethics, the agency and its territorial structures are defined as bodies coordinating activities for the prevention of violations of official ethics. In the future, the work of ethics commissioners, commissions and councils for the prevention of ethical violations will be intensified.
– Recently, public representatives and experts have been increasingly asking questions about personnel problems. What kind of work is carried out by the agency in this direction?
– Personnel issues really require special attention today. As you know, in 2019, the Head of State initiated the formation of the Presidential Youth Personnel Reserve. Since then, the agency has been constantly working in this direction.
As the President noted, "the youth personnel reserve is the reserve of the state."
The main purpose of the reserve formation is to identify and involve young talents in public administration, guided by the principles of serving the public good, as well as giving a new impetus to the work of the state apparatus.
Today, the Presidential Youth Personnel Reserve is showing its effectiveness. As you know, two selections have already been held. And if the first selection to the reserve in 2019 was sent to both the state and quasi–public sector, then in 2021 - only to the civil service, as a result of which 50 people were enrolled in the reserve. In the second selection, the requirement of mandatory proficiency in the state language was introduced for applicants.
We have begun the formation of a new generation of civil servants by constantly selecting educated, enterprising, initiative-minded, innovative young people in the Presidential Youth Personnel Reserve.
No wonder they say: a young mind is resourceful. Educated, hardworking, conscientious youth are the main driving force of sustainable development and progress of our country.
Currently, out of 350 representatives of the reserve, 222 people work in various fields. Among them are 203 representatives of the first selection and 19 representatives of the reserve of the second selection.